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Amalfi was originally a Roman colony,
which gained more and more importance over the centuries, and after
the fall of the empire it became a diocese (596 AD).
Later, the whole coastline, along with Amalfi, became property of
the Duchy of Naples, until 839, when the city declared its
independence and became an autonomous republic. The Maritime
Republic of Amalfi was soon to become an important maritime
commercial center, trading with the whole of the Italian peninsula,
North Africa, the Middle East and the Byzantine Empire. The Republic
bought spices, precious stones, carpets and fabrics from the Arabs,
and sold them throughout Italy.
The town had a privileged relation to
Byzantium thanks to its ability in the commerce. Amalfi people
invented the compass and spread its use in the Mediterranean sea in
the first half of XIII century. The famous “mythic” inventor Flavio
Gioia never existed even if a monument in the main square of Amalfi
was dedicated to him by an artist from Cava de’ Tirreni, Alfonso
Balzico. An ancient Amalfi tradition tells that a man, Giovanni
Gioia, was the person who invented the compass. Sailors from Amalfi
were able to manage commercial relations to all the towns of
Mediterranean Sea, also to Saracens. |
