View source for Amalfi

{{Short description|Town in Campania, Italy}}
{{other uses}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2021}}
{{Infobox Italian comune
| name                   =Amalfi
<!-- images and maps  ----------->
| image_skyline          = Amalfi sea view Italy.JPG 
| image_caption          = View of Amalfi from the sea
| image_shield           = Coat_of_arms_of_Amalfi.svg
| shield_size            =
| image_flag             = Flag of the Republic of Amalfi.svg
| image_map              = Amalfi pos SA.gif
| map_caption            = Amalfi within the Province of Salerno
<!-- maps and coordinates ------>
| coordinates            = {{coord|40.63367|14.60262|display=title}}
|region = [[Campania]]
| province = [[Province of Salerno|Salerno]] (SA)
| frazioni= Lone, Pastena, Pogerola, Tovere, Vettica
<!-- Politics ----------------->
| mayor =Daniele Milano
| mayor_party = 
<!-- Area    --------------------->
| area_total_km2         =5.7
<!-- elevation ----------------->
| elevation_m            = 6
<!-- population ---------------->
| population_as_of       = 2025
| population_total       = 4611
| population_demonym     = Amalfitani
| population_footnotes   =
<ref name="population">{{cite web|title=Monthly Demographic Balance|url=https://demo.istat.it/app/?l=en&a=&i=D7B|publisher=[[Italian National Institute of Statistics|ISTAT]]}}</ref>
| postal_code            = 84011
| area_code              = 089
|istat=| saint =[[Saint Andrew]]
| day =  30 November
<!-- website, footnotes -------->
| website                = {{Official website|http://www.comune.amalfi.sa.it}}
| footnotes              =
| module       = {{Infobox UNESCO World Heritage Site
| child        = yes
| part_of = [[Costiera Amalfitana]]
| criteria     = {{UNESCO WHS type|(ii)(iv)}}(ii)(iv)
| ID           = 830
| year         = 1997
| area         = {{convert|11206|ha|acre|abbr=on}}
| buffer_zone  = {{convert|11857|ha|acre|abbr=on}}
}}
}}
'''Amalfi''' ({{IPAc-en|UK|ə|ˈ|m|æ|l|f|i}},<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/amalfi|title=Amalfi|work=[[Collins English Dictionary]]|publisher=[[HarperCollins]]|access-date=12 May 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190512183442/https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/amalfi|archive-date=12 May 2019|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite dictionary |url=http://www.lexico.com/definition/Amalfi |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200322182200/https://www.lexico.com/definition/amalfi |archive-date=2020-03-22 |title=Amalfi |dictionary=[[Lexico]] UK English Dictionary |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]}}</ref> {{IPAc-en|US|ɑː|ˈ|m|ɑː|l|f|i}},<ref>{{Cite Merriam-Webster|Amalfi|access-date=12 May 2019}}</ref> {{IPA|it|aˈmalfi|lang}}) is a town and ''[[comune]]'' in the [[province of Salerno]], in the region of [[Campania]], Italy, on the [[Gulf of Salerno]]. It lies at the mouth of a deep [[ravine]], at the foot of Monte Cerreto (1,315 metres, 4,314 feet), surrounded by dramatic [[cliff]]s and coastal scenery.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Amalfi Coast travel |url=https://www.lonelyplanet.com/italy/amalfi-coast |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230707041251/https://www.lonelyplanet.com/italy/amalfi-coast |archive-date=2023-07-07 |access-date=2023-09-21 |website=Lonely Planet |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2018-05-31 |title=A Guide to Italy's Amalfi Coast |url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/world-heritage/article/amalfi-coast-italy |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230716073255/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/world-heritage/article/amalfi-coast-italy |archive-date=2023-07-16 |access-date=2023-09-21 |website=Travel |language=en}}</ref> The town of Amalfi was the capital of the [[maritime republic]] known as the [[Duchy of Amalfi]], an important trading power in the Mediterranean between 839 and around 1200.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book |last=Mathews |first=Karen R. |title=Conflict, commerce, and an aesthetic of appropriation in the Italian maritime cities, 1000-1150 |publisher=Brill |year=2018 |isbn=978-90-04-33565-3 |location=Leiden |page=55 |oclc=1007067413}}</ref> It has 4,611 inhabitants.<ref name="population2" />

The town became a popular seaside resort beginning in the [[Edwardian era]], with members of the [[British upper class]] spending their winters in Amalfi.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Dunford |first=Martin |title=The Rough Guide to Naples and the Amalfi Coast |publisher=[[Rough Guides]] |year=2012 |isbn=978-1-4053-8984-6 |page=212 |language=en |chapter=The Amalfi Coast}}</ref> Amalfi is included in the [[UNESCO]] [[World Heritage Site]]s.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Costiera Amalfitana |url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/830/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230801090119/https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/830/ |archive-date=2023-08-01 |access-date=2023-09-21 |website=UNESCO World Heritage Centre |language=en}}</ref>

==History==
{{see also|Duchy of Amalfi}}
[[File:View of Amalfi.JPG|thumb|left|View of Amalfi.]]

Amalfi began as a maritime power, trading grain from its neighbours, salt from Sardinia and slaves from the interior, and even timber, in exchange for the [[gold]] [[dinar]]s minted in [[Egypt]] and [[Syria]], in order to buy the [[Byzantine silk]]s that it resold in the West. Grain-bearing Amalfi traders enjoyed privileged positions in the Islamic ports, [[Fernand Braudel]] notes. The [[Amalfian Laws|Amalfi tables]] (''{{Interlanguage link multi|Tavole amalfitane|it}}'') provided a maritime code that was widely used by the Christian port cities. Merchants of Amalfi were using gold coins to purchase land in the 9th century, while most of Italy worked in a [[barter]] economy. During the late 9th century, long-distance trade revived between Amalfi and [[Gaeta]] with [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine]], the latter which benefited from a flourishing trade network with the Arabs.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last1=Brown |first1=Thomas |title=The Oxford History of Medieval Europe |last2=Holmes |first2=George |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=1988 |location=Great Britain |page=27 |language=en}}</ref> Karl Marx in "The German Ideology" acknowledged the role of Amalfi in the very beginning of European mercantile Capitalism. 

An independent republic from the 7th century until 1073, Amalfi extracted itself from Byzantine vassalage in 839<ref>Barbara M. Kreutz, ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=P-ucSSZrJ0YC&pg=PA81 Before the Normans – Southern Italy in the Ninth and Tenth Centuries] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160517104553/https://books.google.com/books?id=P-ucSSZrJ0YC&pg=PA81 |date=17 May 2016 }}'', p. 81</ref> and first elected a duke in 958; it rivalled [[Pisa]] and [[Republic of Genoa|Genoa]] in its domestic prosperity and maritime importance before the rise of the [[Republic of Venice]]. In spite of some devastating setbacks it had a population of some 70,000 to 80,000 reaching a peak about the turn of the millennium, during the reign of [[Manso I, Duke of Amalfi|Duke Manso]] (966–1004).<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zVUvAczJgsYC&pg=PT910|title=501 Must-Visit Destinations|isbn=978-0-7537-2214-5 |access-date=30 September 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160426152940/https://books.google.com/books?id=zVUvAczJgsYC&pg=PT910|archive-date=26 April 2016|url-status=live|last1=Brown |first1=D. |last2=Brown |first2=J. |last3=Findlay |first3=A. |date=15 October 2007 |publisher=Octopus }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Cg7JYZO_nEMC&pg=PA161|title=Cities and Economic Development|isbn=978-0-226-03466-9 |access-date=30 September 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140722195346/http://books.google.com/books?id=Cg7JYZO_nEMC&pg=PA161|archive-date=22 July 2014|url-status=live|last1=Bairoch |first1=Paul |year=1988 |publisher=University of Chicago Press }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cXuCjDbxC1YC&pg=PA270|title=Urban World History|isbn=978-2-7605-2209-1 |access-date=30 September 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160521160721/https://books.google.com/books?id=cXuCjDbxC1YC&pg=PA270|archive-date=21 May 2016|url-status=live|last1=Tellier |first1=Luc-Normand |year=2009 }}</ref><ref name=Catholic/> Under his line of dukes, Amalfi remained independent, except for a brief period of [[Salerno|Salernitan]] dependency under [[Guaimar IV of Salerno|Guaimar IV]].{{Citation needed|date=September 2023}}

In 1073, the republic fell to the [[Italo-Normans|Norman]] countship of [[Apulia]], but was granted many rights. A prey to the Normans who encamped in the south of Italy, it became one of their principal posts. However, in 1131, it was reduced by [[Roger II of Sicily]], who had been refused the keys to its citadel. The [[Holy Roman Emperor]] [[Lothair II, Holy Roman Emperor|Lothair]], fighting in favour of Pope [[Innocent II]] against Roger, who sided with the [[Antipope Anacletus]], took him prisoner in 1133, assisted by forty-six Pisan ships. The Pisans, commercial rivals of the Amalfitani, sacked the city; Lothair claimed as part of the booty a copy of the [[Pandects of Justinian]] which was found there.<ref name=Catholic/>

In 1135 and 1137, it was taken by the [[Pisa]]ns and rapidly declined in importance, though the [[Amalfian Laws]] were recognized in the [[Mediterranean]] until 1570. A [[Earthquake of 1343|tsunami in 1343]] destroyed the port and lower town,<ref>Braudel p. 107</ref> and Amalfi never recovered to anything more than local importance.

In medieval culture Amalfi was famous for its flourishing schools of law and mathematics. [[Flavio Gioia]], traditionally considered the first to introduce the [[mariner's compass]] to Europe, is said to have been a native of Amalfi.<ref name=Catholic/>

Amalfi has a long history of catering to visitors, with two former monasteries being converted to hotels at a relatively early date, the Luna Convento in the second decade of the 19th century and the Cappuccini Convento in the 1880s.  Celebrated visitors to Amalfi included the composer [[Richard Wagner]] and the playwright [[Henrik Ibsen]], both of whom completed works while staying in Amalfi.{{fact|date=May 2025}}

== Demographics ==
{{Historical populations|1861|6952|1871|7169|1881|7737|1901|7308|1911|7472|1921|7300|1931|6497|1936|6063|1951|6237|1961|7163|1971|6258|1981|6055|1991|5589|2001|5428|2011|5163|2021|4830|cols=2|align=none|source=[[National Institute of Statistics (Italy)|ISTAT]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Popolazione residente e presente dei comuni. Censimenti dal 1861 al 1971|trans-title=Resident and present population of the municipalities. Censuses from 1861 to 1971|url=https://ebiblio.istat.it/digibib/Censimenti%20popolazione/Censimentipopolazioneresidentedal1861/PUV0027177Pop_res_pres_cens_1861_1971_Tomo1.pdf|date=1971-10-24|lang=it|publisher=[[National Institute of Statistics (Italy)|ISTAT]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Dashboard Permanent census of population and housing|url=https://esploradati.censimentopopolazione.istat.it/databrowser/#/en/censtest/dashboards|publisher=[[National Institute of Statistics (Italy)|ISTAT]]}}</ref>}}

==Main sights==
Amalfi occupied a high position in medieval architecture; its cathedral of Sant'Andrea ([[Saint Andrew]], 11th century), the [[campanile]], the convent of the Cappuccini, founded by the Amalfitan Cardinal [[Peter of Capua the Elder|Pietro Capuano]], richly represent the artistic movement prevailing in Southern Italy at the time of the Normans, with its tendency to blend the Byzantine style with the forms and sharp lines of the northern architecture.<ref name="Catholic">{{Catholic|wstitle=Amalfi|inline=1| last =Buonaiuti | first =Ernesto | year =1907 | volume =I}}</ref>

===Cathedral===
{{Main|Amalfi Cathedral}}{{Unreferenced section|date=September 2023}}[[File:Shrine of Saint Andrew, Amalfi.JPG|thumb|220x220px|Shrine of Saint Andrew.|left]]
At the top of a flight of steps, [[Amalfi Cathedral|Saint Andrew's Cathedral]] ([[Duomo]]) overlooks the Piazza Duomo, the heart of Amalfi. The cathedral dates back to the 11th century; its interior is adorned in the [[Rococo|late Baroque]] style with a nave and two aisles divided by 20 columns. The façade of the cathedral is Byzantine in style and is adorned with various paintings of saints, including a large fresco of Saint Andrew.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Amalfi Cathedral |url=http://www.famous-historic-buildings.org.uk/amalfi-cathedral.html |access-date=2025-09-10 |website=www.famous-historic-buildings.org.uk}}</ref>

[[File:Amalfi BW 2013-05-15 11-49-21 DxO.jpg|thumb|240px|Duomo di Amalfi and the piazza.]]The gold caisson ceiling has four large paintings by [[Andrea dell'Asta]]. They depict the flagellation of [[Saint Andrew]], the miracle of Manna, the crucifixion of Saint Andrew and the Saint on the cross. From the left hand nave there is a flight of stairs which leads to the crypt. These stairs were built in 1203 for Cardinal Pietro Capuano, who, on 18 May 1208, brought Saint Andrew's remains to the cathedral from [[Constantinople]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Stages of the Relocation of St. Andrew's relics |url=https://www.visitamalfi.info/en/poi/stages-of-the-relocation-of-st-andrews-relics/ |access-date=2025-09-10 |website=Visit Amalfi |language=en-US}}</ref>

The bronze statue of Saint Andrew in the cathedral was sculpted by [[Michelangelo Naccherino]], a pupil of [[Michelangelo]]; also present are [[Pietro Bernini]] marble sculptures of St. Stephen and St. Lawrence.<ref>{{Cite web |title=THE CRYPT – Museo Diocesano di Amalfi |url=http://museodiocesanoamalfi.it/app/it/la-cripta/ |access-date=2025-09-10 |language=it-IT}}</ref>

In 1206, [[Saint Andrew]]'s relics were brought to Amalfi from Constantinople by the Pietro Capuano following the [[Sack of Constantinople]] (an event of the [[4th Crusade]]) after the completion of the town's cathedral.<ref name="Catholic" /> The cathedral contains a tomb in its crypt that it maintains still holds a portion of the [[relic]]s of the [[Twelve Apostles|apostle]]. A golden [[reliquary]] which originally housed his skull and another one used for [[procession]]s through Amalfi on holy days can also be seen.<ref>{{Cite web |title=THE CRYPT – Museo Diocesano di Amalfi |url=http://museodiocesanoamalfi.it/app/it/la-cripta/ |access-date=2025-09-10 |language=it-IT}}</ref>

===Arsenal of the Maritime Republic (''Gli Arsenali della Repubblica'')===
[[File:Amalfi-Chiostro del paradiso.jpg|thumb|240px|The ''Chiostro del Paradiso''.]]The structure of the arsenal consists of two large stone-built halls with vaulting supported by repeated pointed arches. The vaulting rests on ten piers, originally there were twenty two, the missing twelve and the structure they supported having been lost to centuries of [[coastal erosion]].  The main function of the arsenal was the building, repair and storage of warships.  Amalfitan war-galleys were among the largest to be found in the Mediterranean during the Early Middle Ages.  The building now contains architectural and sculptural remains, a row-barge used in the Historical Regatta, a number of models of ships and it also acts as a venue for visual art exhibitions. Starting from December 2010, the Ancient Arsenals of Amalfi host the Compass Museum on the premises of the two aisles of the building, which were spared by the Amalfi seaquake of 1343.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://amalfi-coast.com/amalfi-ancient-arsenals|title= The Ancient Arsenals of Amalfi|access-date= 25 January 2012|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120109060637/http://amalfi-coast.com/amalfi-ancient-arsenals|archive-date= 9 January 2012|url-status= live}}</ref>

===Museum of Handmade Paper (''Museo della Carta'')===
[[File:Amalfi Piazza del Duomo Italy 3.JPG|thumb|View of Piazza del Duomo.|240x240px]]

The Museum of Handmade Paper, located in Mill Valley in the northern part of the modern town, celebrates the long-established paper making tradition in Amalfi. The town was one of the first centres of paper making in Europe, the skill having been acquired by the Amalfitans from the Arabs. The museum is housed in an ancient paper mill which was once owned by the Milano family, a family famous in Amalfi for its involvement in the production and manufacture of paper. In 1969 the building was converted into a museum as a result of the will of Nicholas Milano, the mill's then owner. The museum contains the machinery and equipment (restored and fully functional) that was once used to manufacture paper by hand.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Museum – Museo della Carta |url=https://www.amalfipapermuseum.com/the-museum/ |access-date=2025-09-10 |website=www.amalfipapermuseum.com}}</ref>

==Culture==
The [[Amalfi coast]] is famed for its production of [[Limoncello]] liqueur and the area is a known cultivator of [[lemon]]s.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Sarno |first=Maria |last2=Ponticorvo |first2=Eleonora |date=2020-05-01 |title=A new nanohybrid for electrocatalytic biodiesel production from waste Amalfi coast lemon seed oil |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0016236120301733 |journal=Fuel |volume=267 |article-number=117178 |doi=10.1016/j.fuel.2020.117178 |issn=0016-2361 |quote=In particular, the lemon is one of the symbols of the Amalfi Coast (Italy), and limoncello one of its most recognized products all around the world as well as a made in Italy icon. The production, which is a landscape characterizing element, takes place in a substantially limited area. It accounts for ∼40 × 106 L of limoncello every year (about 25% for the Italian market).|url-access=subscription }}</ref> The correct name is "sfusato amalfitano", and they are typically long and at least double the size of other lemons, with a thick and wrinkled skin and a sweet and juicy flesh without many pips. It is common to see lemons growing in the terraced gardens along the entire Amalfi coast between February and October. Amalfi is also a known maker of a hand-made thick paper which is called "[[bambagina]]". It is exported to many European countries and to America and has been used throughout Italy for wedding invitations, visiting cards and elegant writing paper. The paper has a high quality and has been used by artists such as [[Giuseppe Leone]], who described it: "There is a whole world that the Amalfi paper evokes and an artist who is sensitive to the suggestion of these places is aware that it is unique and exciting".{{Citation needed|date=September 2023}}

Three traditional events draw numerous visitors to Amalfi. First are the [[feast day]]s of [[Saint Andrew]] (25–27 June, and 30 November), celebrating the city's [[patron saint]]. Then there is "Byzantine New Year's Eve" (31 August) celebrating the beginning of the New Year according to the old civil calendar of the [[Byzantine Empire]].<ref>The [[Eastern Orthodox Church]] continues to celebrate the beginning of the [[liturgical year]] on 1 September, a date chosen because of its proximity to the [[Jewish New Year]].</ref> The third event is the Historical [[Regatta]] (first Sunday in June), a traditional rowing competition among the four best known Italian historical [[maritime republics]]: Amalfi, [[history of Genoa|Genoa]], [[history of Pisa|Pisa]], and [[History of the Republic of Venice|Venice]]. This event is hosted by a different city every year, so it comes to Amalfi once every four years.<ref>{{Cite web |last=perspect.it |title=Palio |url=https://www.repubblichemarinare.org/en/palio/ |access-date=2025-09-10 |website=Palio delle Repubbliche Marinare |language=en-US}}</ref>

{{Panorama
|image   = File:Amalfi panorama I.jpg
|height  = 260
|alt     =
|caption = Panoramic view of the town of Amalfi, with the [[Amalfi Cathedral]] in the centre
}}

==Transportation== 
Amalfi can be reached using the [[Strada statale 163 Amalfitana|SS163 Amalfitana]] state road, the SR366 regional road and the SP252 provincial road.{{Citation needed|date=September 2023}}

The port of Amalfi has passenger connections to [[Capri]], Positano, [[Maiori]], [[Minori, Campania|Minori]], [[Cetara, Campania|Cetara]], and Salerno.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Port of Amalfi » Ferries from and to Amalfi {{!}} TraghettiUp |url=https://www.traghettiup.com/en/porti/amalfi#:~:text=During%20the%20tourist%20season%20the,no%20direct%20connections%20with%20Procida. |access-date=2025-09-10 |website=www.traghettiup.com}}</ref>

The nearest airports are:
* [[Salerno-Pontecagnano Airport]] (QSR) 45&nbsp;km
* [[Naples Airport|Napoli-Capodichino]] (NAP) 74&nbsp;km

==See also==
{{Portal|Italy
}}{{colbegin}}
* [[Amalfi Coast]]
* [[Archdiocese of Amalfi]]
* [[Diocesan Museum of Amalfi]]
* [[Duchy of Amalfi]]
* [[The Duchess of Malfi]], a play by [[John Webster]] set in the court of Amalfi in the early 16th century.
* [[Italian armored cruiser Amalfi]]
* [[Muristan]], founded by an Amalfitan merchant
* [[Salerno Costa d'Amalfi Airport]]
* [[Sorrentine Peninsula]]
{{colend}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* Jill Caskey, ''Art and Patronage in the Medieval Mediterranean: Merchant Culture in the Region of Amalfi'' (Cambridge University Press, 2004) {{ISBN|978-0-521-81187-3}}
* [[Robert Gathorne-Hardy]], ''Amalfi: Aspects of the City and Her Ancient Territories'' (Faber & Faber, 1968)
* Robert I. C. Fisher, ''Close to Paradise: The Gardens of Naples, Capri and the Amalfi Coast'' (Frances Lincoln, 2011) {{ISBN|978-0-711-23038-5}}

==External links==
{{commons and category}}
* {{wikivoyage-inline|Amalfi}}
* {{Official website|http://www.comune.amalfi.sa.it/ }}

{{Province of Salerno}}
{{Amalfi Coast-Sorrento Peninsula}}
{{Repubbliche Marinare}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Amalfi| ]]
[[Category:Amalfi Coast]]
[[Category:Coastal towns in Campania]]