The Amalfi coast traces 42 km of the Tyrrenhian Sea and lies at the foot of the Salerno slopes of the Lattari Mountains.
During the times of the Republic that was founded in 839, the Amalfitan territory extended from Cetara to the mountainous ranges of Scala, Tramonti and Agerola, and included Lettere, Piedmonte and Gragnano as far as the Isle of Capri. Its borders were protected with castles and fortifications whose remains are still to be seen near the town centres half-way between the sea and the mountain ridges. A series of watchtowers along the coast remind us of the danger posed by Turkish pirates.
Nowadays, the Unesco site covers 12 Comunes and an area of extraordinary scenic and environmental interest that form the historical/artistic background and identity of this place. The area is home to the Roman villas in Minori and Positano that were built in the 1st century AD. It houses examples of private and public Mediaeval architecture, examples of jewellery made by local goldsmiths and hand-crafted works on show in churches and museums not to mention the natural splendour of the Valle dei Mulini (Valley of the Mills).
The majolica tiled domes of Vietri sul Mare speak of a level of craftsmanship that is renowned the world over and signal the start (or finish if you are coming from the direction of Sorrento) of the lands that make up the Amalfi coast.
Market gardens and gardens seem to cling to the mountain sides and all year round are a riot of golden hues from the lemons that bud amidst the green foliage then melt into a kaleidoscope of turquoise, indigo and emerald of an ever-changing sea.
Seemingly suspended between the sea and the sky, Ravello lives in an atmosphere of times gone by with its works of art in thousand-year-old churches, the spectacle of the Villa Cimbrone and the magic of Villa Rufolo much admired by Boccaccio who mentioned it in his Decameron.
Tiny Atrani hidden away in the Valle del Dragone hosted the investiture of Amalfitan Doges. The village of Conca dei Marini perched on a rocky outcrop on the road that climbs up and out of Amalfi towards Furore is easily recognised by its white 17th century barrel arches.
The two characters of Amalfi are seen in the way the Cathedral acts as a backdrop to the piazza and in the other Arabian city with its maze of secretive alleyways, entrances and whitewashed arcades.
History, art and culture
The history of Amalfi is shrouded in legend. There are many myths surrounding the origins of the city but all the varying stories have one common thread – the involvement of the Romans as central players in the dramas. This is confirmed by the finding of archaeological remains of the Imperial epoch including the nymphaeum of a villa that was probably built in the times of the Emperor Tiberius. The word “Amalfi” itself is, without any doubt, of Latin origin and according to the most popular legend comes from the word “Melfi” that was a seaside village in the Lucano district abandoned by Roman refugees in the 4th century AD. On the other hand, it may stem from the Roman surname Amarfia from the 1st century AD.
Following Germanic invasions during the 5th century, many Romans fled from the towns in Campania that were being overrun by the Barbarians to seek shelter in the Lattari Mountains. Within a short time, these new residents had breathed life into what was a small village and transformed it into a city that had already had a bishop since 596 AD.
Amalfi and its coastline were the property of the Neapolitan Romanesque-Byzantine duchy that seceded the territory in 839 thus giving life to a new independent republic. To protect its maritime interests from attack by the Benevenuto Longobards, the Amalfi republic was first governed by Counts that were elected each year, then by prefects and finally by Dukes that transformed it into a sort of Ducal Monarchy.
From the 8th century onwards, the Amalfitanis settled in main Mediterranean ports forming colonies made up of houses, shops, factories, churches, monasteries and hospitals that were run according to Amalfitan regulations. Amalfi’s role in Mediaeval Mediterranean politics was that of mediator between diametrically opposed civilisations including Arabic, Byzantine and the Western Romanesque-Germanic schools of thought.
Commerce
Amalfi business affairs formed part of a triangle that involved Italy, the Arabian North Africa and the Byzantine Empire. Amalfi ships carried wood to the North African coastal Arabian cities and sold their cargoes for gold. The second leg of the triangle took them to Syrian-Palestinian coasts where they bought spices, gem stones, fine cloths and gold objects that they then sold all over Italy by sailing as far as Ravenna and from there up the Po as far as Pavia. Amalfi lost its independence in 1131 when it became part of the Norman Kingdom of Sicily but its prosperity and importance as a maritime power did not wane. It was the later effects of new sea-going activities by the powerful cities of Pisa and Genoa that put an end to Amalfi’s once unassailable position.
The true reasons for the economic crisis that struck Amalfi in the mediaeval period lie in the 20-year War of Vespro between the Angevines and the Aragonese for the domination of Southern Italy.
Seafaring
During the entire mediaeval age, Amalfi possessed a powerful fleet of ships made up of mercantile and naval vessels. For the construction of war ships, Amalfi relied on the walled shipyard of which remain today only two pathways flanked by ten pillars. This is the only surviving example of a mediaeval shipyard at least in Southern Italy. The hulls for fighting galleons were laid here and were fitted with 120 oars. Mercantile ships that were generally used for shallow water coastal trading, were built on the shores. The harbour and shipbuilding facilities were sunk following an undersea landslide and this was the coup de grace for both the merchant and naval fleets that were already waning.
Apart from the shipyard and its seafaring history, Amalfi also gave us a book of maritime regulations known as the Tabula de Amalpha and the compass was also allegedly invented here. It is by now accepted that the Amalfitans invented the magnetic compass and were responsible for its widespread use in the Mediterranean by the mid 8th century.
UNESCO INSCRIPTION
Costiera Amalfitana (The Amalfi Coast)
Inscription N° 830 1997 C (ii) (iv) (v)
The Committee decided to inscribe this site on the basis of criteria (ii), (iv) and (v), considering that the Costiera Amalfitana is an outstanding example of a Mediterranean landscape, with exceptional cultural and natural scenic values resulting from its dramatic topography and historical evolution.
