What is Amalfi known for?

The first of the four Italian maritime republics, capital of a duchy that ran Mediterranean trade routes between 839 and around 1200. The cathedral above sixty-two steps holds the apostle Andrew's relics, brought from Constantinople in 1208 after the Fourth Crusade. Parchment-grade carta bambagina made in the Valle dei Mulini since the twelfth century, still produced in two working mills today.

When is the best time to visit Amalfi?

May–Sep. May, June, September and early October are the strongest months. The sea climbs past twenty degrees, the ferries to Capri and Positano run on full schedules, and the SS163 cliff road moves before and after the day-trip peak. July and August are full: the town fills with day-trippers arriving by bus, ferry and private boat, and the duomo steps become a queue between ten and four. November through March is the closed season for much of the coast. Many hotels and restaurants shut, the ferries reduce to weekend service, and the working town keeps the mills, the cathedral, and the centro running for a smaller crowd.

Amalfi is a comune in the province of Salerno, Campania region of Italy, about 31 kilometers from Salerno.

How do I get to Amalfi?

From Salerno, Amalfi is roughly 31 km by road.

Amalfi, Salerno

Known for

MARITIME REPUBLIC
The first of the four Italian maritime republics, capital of a duchy that ran Mediterranean trade routes between 839 and around 1200.
SANT'ANDREA
The cathedral above sixty-two steps holds the apostle Andrew's relics, brought from Constantinople in 1208 after the Fourth Crusade.
AMALFI PAPER
Parchment-grade carta bambagina made in the Valle dei Mulini since the twelfth century, still produced in two working mills today.

When to visit

Best · May–Sep

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F
M
A
M
J
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S
O
N
D

Best
Hot or crowded
Quiet
Mostly closed

The festa: Andrea, 27 June

Why come

Amalfi sits at the mouth of a deep gorge in the Lattari mountains, six meters above the sea, four thousand seven hundred and twenty-nine people on a stretch of coast that carries its name. The town was capital of a duchy trading with Byzantium, North Africa and the Levant before Pisa and Venice eclipsed it, and the Tavoliere Amalfitano, drawn up here, codified Mediterranean maritime law in the eleventh century for ships far beyond this shore. The gorge structures the town as much as the sea does: the centro is stacked on the narrow flat ground at the gorge's mouth, the cathedral staircase climbing straight up from the piazza, while the valley behind runs inland and upward, its stream once turning the wheels of the paper mills before the water reaches the harbour below.

Upper gorge and lower marina were parts of one working town, the water dropping from the mills to the boatyards to the sea. The coast was UNESCO-listed in 1997 and the commune is Cittaslow. What made Amalfi a capital was the same terrain that now makes it a resort: a sheltered cut in the mountains with deep water at its foot, close enough to the sea to build ships and drawn up on to the rock to keep the town off the water's threat.

What to see

Cattedrale di Sant'Andrea
Romanesque facade at the top of the staircase, with the Chiostro del Paradiso attached to one side, striped stone and interlaced arches around a cloister garden.
Museo della Carta
Paper museum in the Valle dei Mulini, set inside a thirteenth-century working mill where the machinery for hand-forming sheets is still operated.
Arsenale della Repubblica
Twelfth-century stone-vaulted shipyard near the marina, the only surviving naval arsenal of the four Italian maritime republics.
Valle dei Mulini
Gorge above the town with the ruins of medieval paper mills along the Canneto stream, a marked walk to the Riserva Naturale della Valle delle Ferriere.
Marina Grande
Town beach below the centro, the working harbour of the medieval duchy and now the ferry pier for connections to Capri, Positano and Salerno.

We recommend

Where to eat and stay

Not our picks, but places the guides put their name to: a Michelin star, a Gambero Rosso fork, a Slow Food snail, a Michelin Key for the hotels. Worth a table, a counter, or a night when you pass through.

SensiRistorante
Sensi carries one Michelin star, two Gambero Rosso forks (84/100), plus a place in L'Espresso's Top 300.
AliciRistorante
One Michelin star for Alici, and two Gambero Rosso forks (84/100).
La Caravella dal 1959Ristorante
La Caravella dal 1959 carries one Michelin star, plus two Gambero Rosso forks (82/100).
Da GemmaRistorante
Da Gemma has a Gambero Rosso listing to its name.
Dei CappucciniRistorante
Two Gambero Rosso forks (81/100), at Dei Cappuccini.
GlicineRistorante
One Michelin star, at Glicine.
Il Glicine dell'Hotel Santa CaterinaRistorante
Il Glicine dell'Hotel Santa Caterina holds two Gambero Rosso forks (83/100).
Marina GrandeRistorante
Marina Grande carries a spot in the Michelin Guide.
Pasticceria Pansa AndreaPasticceria
Pasticceria Pansa Andrea has a place on Italy's historic-locali register to its name.
Hotel Santa CaterinaHotel
Hotel Santa Caterina carries two Michelin Keys, a La Liste score of 99, plus a Leading Hotels of the World listing.
Anantara Convento di Amalfi Grand HotelHotel
Anantara Convento di Amalfi Grand Hotel carries a La Liste score of 91, plus a place in the Michelin hotel guide.
Borgo SantandreaHotel
Borgo Santandrea holds a La Liste score of 95.
Hotel MiramalfiHotel
Hotel Miramalfi has one Michelin Key to its name.

Signature product

Limone Costa d'Amalfi IGPIGP

The sfusato amalfitano lemon; orchards terraced on the cliffs between Amalfi and Vietri sul Mare.

See the towns we cover in the zone of Limone Costa d'Amalfi IGP.

Living here

Population 4,729
Off the beaten pathi
Pharmacy in town
High school within a 30-minute drive
Nearest airport Naples / Salerno, 1 h 9 min drive
Regional capital Napoli, 1 h 3 min drive

Tags & datadesignations · numbers · sources

Recognised as

The numbers

Elevation: 6 m
Population: 4,729
Surface area: 5.7 km²

On the map

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These figures were compiled from public directories — ISTAT, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata — and from the official listings of the guides named on this page. Town details change; verify with official sources before you travel.