Village
Amalfi
Amalfi Coast · Campania
QUICK INFORMATION
- CATEGORY
- Village
- COUNTRY
- Italy
- REGION
- Amalfi Coast · Campania
- DURATION
- 1–2 days
ABOUT THIS ATTRACTION
Amalfi is the main town of the coast and the former capital of the Amalfi Maritime Republic, which rivalled Pisa and Genoa in the Middle Ages. The town sits at the mouth of the Valle dei Mulini, a gorge of waterfalls and paper mills, and its heart is the cathedral of St Andrew, an Arab-Norman building of striped marble and a gold mosaic façade, reached by a great staircase of 62 steps. The cloister of Paradise beside the cathedral, the paper museum in the old mill, and the harbour with its row of cafés give the town its character. It is the historical centre of the coast, and the natural base for a visit.
HISTORY & BACKGROUND
The story behind it
Amalfi was one of the four great maritime republics of medieval Italy, alongside Venice, Pisa and Genoa, and at its peak in the 10th and 11th centuries it was a major Mediterranean trading power with its own laws — the Tabula Amalfitana, the earliest maritime code. The republic fell to the Normans in 1131 and never recovered its independence, and a tsunami in 1343 destroyed much of the town and the harbour. The cathedral of St Andrew was begun in the 9th century and rebuilt in the 13th, with its striped marble and the bronze doors from Constantinople; the relics of St Andrew were brought here from Constantinople in 1206. The paper mills of the gorge, powered by the river, made Amalfi one of the earliest paper-making centres in Europe.
WHAT TO SEE
What to see here
The cathedral of St Andrew — the Arab-Norman cathedral with its striped marble, the gold mosaic façade and the bronze doors from Constantinople.
The Cloister of Paradise — the 13th-century white-marble cloister beside the cathedral, with its interlaced arches.
The Paper Museum — the Museo della Carta, in a 13th-century paper mill, showing the medieval paper-making process.
The Valle dei Mulini — the gorge behind the town, with its waterfalls and the old paper mills.
WHY IT MATTERS
Why it matters
Amalfi is the historical centre of the coast — the capital of a maritime republic that once rivalled Venice, and the town whose cathedral and paper mills hold the record of that history. For a visitor, it is the one town on the coast where the history is as visible as the scenery, and the cathedral staircase and the cloister are the most complete medieval sights on the coast.
PRACTICAL INFORMATION
Before you go
MAP & LOCATION
Amalfi
Amalfi, Amalfi Coast, Campania, Italy
40.6340, 14.6027
MORE ATTRACTIONS
More to see in Amalfi Coast
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THINGS TO DO
Things to do nearby
FOOD & DRINK
Where to eat nearby
Da Adolfo — a beach restaurant at Laurito reachable by boat from Positano, for grilled fish and the sunbeds
La Caravella — a historic Michelin-starred restaurant in Amalfi, for refined Amalfitan cooking
Rossellini’s — the restaurant of the Palazzo Avitorea in Ravello, for the terrace and the cooking
Casa e Bottega — a farm-to-table restaurant above Positano, for seasonal cooking and the view
Da Maria — a simple trattoria in Amalfi for honest Amalfitan dishes and the lemon menu
HOTELS & STAYS
Where to stay nearby
Le Sirenuse — the celebrated hotel in Positano, a former 18th-century palace, the most famous on the coast
Hotel Santa Caterina — a grand hotel above Amalfi with a sea-water pool and a private beach
Palazzo Murat — a boutique hotel in an 18th-century palace in the heart of Positano
Hotel Villa Cimbrone — a hotel in the gardens of Villa Cimbrone in Ravello, with the Terrace of Infinity
NEARBY DESTINATIONS
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