 The
origin of the town is not a certain one. The name
comes from Latina (from Melfi, a Lucan sea village
abandoned by Roman people in IV century a.C. or
maybe from Roman gens Amarfia, that lived in I
century a.C.). A legend tells that the name comes
from Amalfi, a nymph loved by Hercules. She was
buried there as a desire of the gods. Amalfi was
surely inhabited by Romans, escaped on Lattari
mounts to hide from Germanic and Longobard invasions.
It was a castrum in defence of Byzantine ducat
of Naples. The town had a privileged relation to
Byzantium thanks to its ability in the commerce.
Amalfi people invented the compass and spread its
use in the Mediterranean sea in the first half
of XIII century.The
famous “mythic” inventor Flavio Gioia
never existed even if a monument in the main square
of Amalfi was dedicated to him by an artist from
Cava de’ Tirreni, Alfonso Balzico. An ancient
Amalfi tradition tells that a man, Giovanni Gioia,
was the person who invented the compass. Sailors
from Amalfi were able to manage commercial relations
to all the towns of Mediterranean Sea, also to
Saracens.
Amalfi has been
an Episcopal seat since 596. On the 1st September
839 Amalfi separated from the Ducat of Naples and
became an autonomous town. Longobard princes had
always been interested to conquer this rich town,
but Amalfi was able to resist. The small autonomous
state was governed by a count, elected each year
by representatives from the noble families and
then it was governed by a duke. During that period
the state covered the area between Cetara and Positano,
together with Capri and Li Galli isles, and in
the inner part it included also Lattari mounts
to Gragnano, near Naples. This was the best period
for Amalfi: this was also the period of the rivalry
with Pisa, Genoa and Venice. Amalfi had its own
currency: the tarì. Commerce was very prosperous
and merchants had colonies in many places on the
Mediterranean Sea. There was the institution of
the maritime law code, too. It was called “Tavola
amalfitana” (it is kept as a paper copy of
XVII century in the Museo Civico). In 1039 Guaimario
V, Prince of Salerno, subdued Amalfi for a short
while. Then Roberto il Guiscardo started its domination
in Southern Italy. To survive, Amalfi had to ask
for its protection and the last duke of Amalfi,
Marino Sebaste, was removed. The Pope formed an
alliance against Roberto il Guiscardo and the Pisani,
that were part of this alliance, in 1135 sacked
Amalfi and the near towns. Amalfitana Coast was
now a feud governed by several different noble
families. It had lost its wealth and its power.
In 1131 it had been
conquered by Ruggiero II, the Norman king. He protected
Amalfi and its commerce that represented a very
important resource for the Reign of Sicily. But
in 1135 Pisani came again to Amalfi and destroyed
it, while its navy was fighting against Saracens.
Amalfi commercial power completely declined also
because of anti-Byzantine politics of Norman rulers:
Amalfi could no more trade with Byzantine towns,
but only with the ports of Southern Italy. During
Middle Ages Amalfi had powerful fleets: a military
navy and a commercial one. The military one was
very strong and defeated many times Arabs, for
example in the famous battle of Ostia (849) when
Amalfi navy contributed to the defence of Rome
against Muslims. Amalfi built its ships in an arsenal
whose ruins still remain. It is now the only survived
arsenal in Southern Italy. It was restructured
in 1240 and 1272. Commercial ships were built on
the beaches, called for that reason with the Byzantine
name of “scaria”. In the night between
24th and 25th November there was a terrible landslip
that submerged the port. It was provoked by a terrible
Libeccio storm.
In 1398 Amalfi became
a feud of Sanseverino family, then of Colonna,
Orsini and Piccolomini families. In XV century
Amalfi was ruled by Aragons and there was the arrival
of Catalan merchants that were in competition with
the local ones. This was another period of decadence.
In 1643 there was a terrible and cruel plague,
a third of the population died. The coast became
more and more miserable. In XVIII century Amalfi
was almost uninhabited, the noble families had
moved to Naples. But in this period there was the
naissance of new handicraft activities: the “centrellari”,
that built rivets in Pogerola, the coral-workers,
the goldsmiths, the blacksmiths and the “calafati” (the
workers that repaired the ships to make them waterproof).
In June 1807 Giuseppe Bonaparte visiting the Coast
was enchanted by it and decided to build a road
from Naples to Amalfi. The road was completed in
1854 by Ferdinand II. In 1879 the famous writer
Erik Ibsen, walking through the narrow streets
of the Coast, had the right inspiration to complete
his masterpiece “A doll’s house”.
In XX century Amalfi became a famous tourist destination,
the “dolce vita” arrives from Rome
to Capri and Amalfi: film directors, artists, actors
and actresses came to this Coast.
Stefania Maffeo
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