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the origins... |
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Ceramic
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Thanks to the Roman aristocracy, that built villas on the valley of the coast, during the I century A.D., that were born the first human centers. Some of these villas were discovered in Minori, Positano, Tramonti and Amalfi.
But only, in the year 838, Amalfi began indipendent after a war against the Longobardi of Benevento.
The Amalphitain sailors were still knew in the Mediterranean since VIII century; In fact the first colonies were built in the same century on the Eastern coast of the Mediterranean. Later other colonies were built on the African's coast.
But, in this age, two personality were very important to Amalfi. The first was the Cardinal "Pietro Capuano", who built the Crypt, the hospital of "S.Maria Cruciferarum", the new harbour and some public school. The second was the Archbishop "Filippo Augustariccio", who built the "Chiostro Paradiso". Between the XI and XII century, Amalfi lost its commercial power, thants to Roberto il Guiscardo (1073) and the Pisani (1135 and 1137), which conquered Amalfi. Only Scala and Ravello followed to have commercial reports with their colonies. By now, the cost of Amalfi lost its importance and it followed the same historical sorts of Napoli, between the Spanish and French dominations. |
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In
those years, the territory of the Republic included on the seaside,
all towns from Cetara to Positano, while the inside area, included the towns
of tramonti, Lettere, Gragnano and Pimonte.
To defend itself Amalfi built many castle and tower, like the castle
of Turris Magna and Scalella, above the towns of Amalfi and
Atrani.
The
Amalphitain had good trade reports especially with the arabic word. It was
an Arabic traveller (Ibn Havqal), in 972, described the town of Amalfi as
the richest town of the "Longobardia"; Guglielmo da Puglia, in the
XI century, defined the Amalfi's sailors as the best of the Mediterranean
sea. They are the centuries of the "Tabula de Amalpha", the first
maritim code and the invention of the compass.