Amalfi

Amalfi is the main town of the coast on which it is located, named Costiera Amalfitana (Amalfi Coast), and is included in the UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

Today a town with a population of about 5000, Amalfi was a maritime power in the early days, when Amalfi traders enjoyed privileged positions in the Mediterranean ports. An independent republic from the 7th century until 1073, Amalfi extracted itself from Byzantine vassalage in 839, It rivaled Pisa and Genoa in its domestic prosperity and maritime importance before the rise of the Republic of Venice.

In 1073 Amalfi fell to the Norman countship of Apulia. Emperor Lothair, fighting in favor of Pope Innocent II against Roger, who sided with the Antipope Anacletus, took him prisoner in 1133, assisted by the Pisans who sacked the city. It was taken by the Pisans soon after and rapidly declined in importance. A tsunami in 1343 destroyed the port and lower town, and Amalfi never recovered to anything more than local importance.