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Amalfi is also a town in the Antioquia Departament in Colombia .


Amalfi is a town and Archepiscopal See of Campania , Italy , on the Gulf Of Salerno , 24 miles southeast of Naples at . It lies at the mouth of a deep Ravine , at the foot of Monte Cerreto (1,315 Meters , 4,314 feet), surrounded by dramatic Cliff s 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.


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 Dinar s minted in Egypt and Syria , in order to buy the Silk s 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 .

It was then an independent republic with a population of some 70,000, reaching an apogee about the turn of the millenium, during the reign of Duke Manso ( 9661004 ). Amalfi, under his line of dukes, remained independent, except for a brief period of Salernitan dependency under Guaimar IV , until 1073 . In that year it fell to Norman Apulia , but was granted many rights. However, in 1131 , it was reduced by King Roger II Of Sicily , who had demanded the keys to its citadel and had been refused. In 1135 and 1137 , it was taken by the Pisans , and rapidly declined in importance, though its maritime code, known as the ''Tavole Amalfitane'', was recognized in the Mediterranean until 1570 . In 1343 a large part of the lower town was destroyed by a Tsunami , and its harbor is now of little importance.


Burial place of Saint Andrew

The Catholic Encyclopedia notes that Saint Andrew's relics were brought from Constantinople to Amalfi in Campania, Italy, by Pietro, cardinal of Capua, an Amalfian, in 1206 after the completion of the town's cathedral. The cathedral, dedicated to St Andrew (as is the town itself), contains a tomb in its crypt that it maintains still holds the body of the apostle.


TODAY

Amalfi is the main town of the coast on which it is located, named ''Costiera Amalfitana'', and is today an important touristic destination together with other towns on the same coast, such as Positano , Ravello , and others. Amalfi is included in the UNESCO World Heritage Site s.

The Amalfi coast is famed for its production of Limoncello liqueur.


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