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About Amalfi Coast
Amalfi is a small town in the southern Italy, in the region of Campania, on the Gulf of Salerno. Built on a mountain slope, it is also a picturesque seaside resort, surrounded by dramatic cliffs and coastal scenery. The town of Amalfi was the capital of The Maritime Republic of Amalfi, an important trading power in the Mediterranean between 839 and around 1200.
According to legend, Amalfi was founded by the Romans and it was of little importance until the mid-6th century, when it fell under Byzantine control; it later became (9th cent. A.D.) an early Italian maritime republic. It rivaled Pisa, Venice, and Genoa in wealth and power and had a population of about 70,000. Amalfi's maritime code, the Tavole Amalfitane, had wide influence until the 18th century. Amalfi reached its zenith in the 11th century. 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. Thereafter it declined fairly rapidly; it was captured (1131) by the Normans and sacked (1135, 1137) by the Pisans, and in 1343 a storm destroyed much of the town.
Of note in Amalfi is the Sicilian-Arab cathedral (11th century, with numerous later additions), which has an imposing facade, fine bronze doors cast (1066) in Constantinople, and a stunning cloister (chiostro del Paradiso). The Amalfi Coast, running from Salerno to Sorrento, is famous for its rugged scenery.
Today Amalfi is the main town of the coast on which it is located, named Costiera Amalfitana, and is today an important tourist destination together with other towns on the same coast. Amalfi is included in the UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
The Amalfi drive (connecting Sorrento and Amalfi) is the narrow road that threads around the high cliffs above the Mediterranean.
Amalfi Coast cities
Positano - Positano made the transition from sleepy fishing village into one of Italy's most popular resort towns. The main part of the city sits in an enclave in the hills leading down to the coast. Positano was a prosperous port of the Amalfi Republic in the 10th and 11th centuries. But by the mid-1800s, the town had fallen on hard times. More than half the population emigrated, mostly to the United States of America. It began to attract large numbers of tourists in the 1950s, especially after John Steinbeck published his essay about Positano in Harper's Bazaar in May, 1953. Positano bites deep, Steinbeck wrote. It is a dream place that isn't quite real when you are there and becomes beckoningly real after you have gone. Today tourism is the major industry in Positano.
Ravello - Ravello was an important town of The Maritime Republic of Amalfi, an important trading power in the Mediterranean between 839 and around 1200. Ravello has stupendous views, quiet lanes, two important Romanesque churches, and several irresistibly romantic gardens. Rediscovered by English aristocrats a century ago, the town now hosts one of Italy's most famous music festivals.Every year in the summer months, the Ravello Festival takes place. They began in 1953 in honour of Richard Wagner. The beauty of the city, its charm, and a sense of freedom has inspired its inhabitants and guests for centuries. The town has served historically as a destination for artists, musicians, and writers, including Richard Wagner, M.C. Escher, Giovanni Boccaccio, Virginia Woolf, Gore Vidal, and Sara Teasdale who mentioned it in her prefatory dedication in Love Songs, one of her many books of poems.
Praiano - An ancient fishing village turned into a prestigious seaside resort. More spread out than the other villages, see the church dedicated to St. Luke, the Chiesa di San Luca Evangelista, containing relics of the saint.
Furore - A little village of 800 that wasn't much of a tourist destination until the mayor decided to have folks paint the place up nice and it became 'il Paese Dipinto'; the painted village. Lots of walks start from here. Good wine.
Other towns are Minori, Maiori and Cetara.
