Amalfi
[key], town, in Campania, S Italy, a small fishing port on the Gulf of Sorrento. Built on a
mountain slope, it is also a picturesque seaside resort. According to legend, Amalfi was
founded by the Romans; 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 cent. Amalfi reached its zenith in the 11th cent. 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 cent., 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.
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