Amalfi History
Amalfi is first
mentioned in the 6th
century, and soon
acquired importance
as a maritime power,
trading its grain,
salt and slaves from
the interior, and
even timber, for the
gold dinars minted
in Egypt and Syria,
in order to buy the
silks of the
Byzantine empire
that it resold in
the West. Merchants
of Amalfi were using
gold coins to
purchase land in the
9th century, while
most of Italy worked
in a barter economy.
In the 8th and 9th
century, when
Mediterranean trade
revived it shared
with Gaeta the
Italian trade with
the East, while
Venice was in its
infancy, and in 848
its fleet went to
the assistance of
Pope Leo IV against
the Saracens.
An independent
republic from the
seventh century
until 1075, it
rivalled Pisa and
Genoa in its
domestic prosperity
and maritime
importance. It had a
population of some
70,000, reaching an
apogee about the
turn of the
millennium, during
the reign of Duke
Manso (966–1004).
Under his line of
dukes, Amalfi
remained
independent, except
for a brief period
of Salernitan
dependency under
Guaimar IV. |
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Amalfi
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, such
as Positano, Ravello
and others. Amalfi
is included in the
UNESCO.
The Amalfi coast is
famed for its
production of
Limoncello liqueur
and home-made paper
used throughout
Italy for wedding
invitations,
visiting cards and
elegant writing
paper World Heritage
Sites. |