Amalfi gave its name to one of the most famous coastlines in the world. Today it is a town of about 4,600 people on the Gulf of Salerno, but a thousand years ago it was the capital of a maritime republic that traded across the Mediterranean. That history is still on show in its cathedral, its handmade paper and the lemon terraces that climb the hills above the harbour.
A short history of the Maritime Republic of Amalfi
From 839 until around 1200, Amalfi was the capital of the Duchy of Amalfi, one of Italy’s great medieval sea powers alongside Pisa, Genoa and Venice. Its merchants traded with Constantinople, North Africa and the Levant, and at its height around the year 1000, under Duke Manso, the city may have had 70,000 to 80,000 inhabitants. Tradition names Flavio Gioia, said to be a local man, as the person who introduced the mariner’s compass to Europe.
The decline came quickly. Pisan forces sacked Amalfi in 1135 and 1137, and in 1343 a tsunami destroyed the port and much of the lower town. Amalfi never regained more than local importance, which is partly why its medieval core survives so intact.
Amalfi Cathedral and the Cloister of Paradise
The Cathedral of Sant’Andrea dominates the main square, Piazza Duomo. Sixty-two wide, steep steps lead up to its striped façade, which is a 19th-century rebuilding in Norman-Arab-Byzantine style. The bronze doors are much older: they were cast in Constantinople before 1066, signed by Simeon of Syria, and are the earliest post-Roman bronze doors in Italy, a reminder of how close Amalfi’s ties to the Byzantine world once were.
The complex grew out of two churches from the 9th and 10th centuries. The older one, the Basilica of the Crucifix, now holds the Diocesan Museum, and steps lead down from it into the crypt, where the relics of the Apostle Andrew have rested since they were brought from Constantinople in 1206 during the Fourth Crusade. The Romanesque bell tower, begun in 1180, is decorated with Arab-Norman majolica tiles.
The highlight for many visitors is the 13th-century Cloister of Paradise, a quiet courtyard of slender white columns and interlaced pointed arches in Arab-Norman style. The official cathedral complex guide explains the visiting route through the cloister, museum and crypt. It is an active place of worship, so dress modestly and keep quiet during services.
Bambagina: Amalfi’s handmade paper
Amalfi was one of Europe’s earliest papermaking centres. Mills once lined the stream in the valley behind the town, and the craft has never quite died out. The Paper Museum occupies an old mill in the upper town, at the start of the road into the Valle delle Ferriere.
The local speciality is bambagina, an ivory-coloured paper made by hand from pure cotton and prized for its durability. Inside the museum you can see medieval tools and old papermaking machines, including a multiple-hammer machine and a Dutch beater, and on the guided tour visitors of any age can make a sheet of paper themselves. Amalfi paper notebooks, writing sets and prints make lighter souvenirs than limoncello; pack them flat to bring them home in good shape.
Lemons, limoncello and the UNESCO Amalfi Coast
The whole Costiera Amalfitana was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997. UNESCO recognises it as a cultural landscape: towns built into the cliffs, with citrus groves and vineyards on terraced lower slopes and pasture higher up.
The terraces grow the sfusato amalfitano, the coast’s own lemon variety. Much of the crop goes into limoncello, and the region produces some 40 million litres of the liqueur a year. Ask shops whether their lemons come from the coast itself.
How to get to Amalfi
The town’s official arrival guide recommends leaving the car behind, and it is good advice: the SS163 Amalfitana coast road is narrow and winding, the historic centre is a restricted traffic zone, and peak-season rules can limit which vehicles may drive the coast.
- From Naples: take a train from Napoli Centrale to Salerno, then continue by ferry or bus. From April to October a direct bus runs from Naples Capodichino airport, 74 km away.
- From Salerno: Travelmar ferries sail from the Concordia pier, and SITA Sud buses leave from the railway station. Salerno Costa d’Amalfi airport is about 45 km away.
- Along the coast: Travelmar and Alicost ferries link Amalfi with Positano, Minori, Maiori, Cetara, Salerno and Capri.
- Tickets: bus and train tickets can be bought in the Unico Campania app.
Ferry timetables are seasonal and sea conditions can cancel sailings, so check the operator’s website on the day. Arriving by sea is also the best way to see Amalfi as its medieval sailors did, stacked up the cliff behind the harbour.
How to spend a day in Amalfi
Start early at Piazza Duomo, before the day-trippers arrive, and visit the cathedral, cloister and crypt. Then walk uphill through the narrow main street towards the Paper Museum and the valley beyond. Come back down for a long lunch, a swim or an hour on the beach by the harbour.
If you still have energy, walk on to neighbouring Atrani. Atrani offers a different kind of coastal village walk. Spring and early autumn are the most pleasant seasons, with lighter crowds than July and August.
Still deciding between Italian coasts? Compare Amalfi with our Riomaggiore guide; the Cinque Terre lie far to the north in Liguria and make a separate trip.
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- Riomaggiore: Harbour, Hillside Vineyards and the Cinque Terre
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