 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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