Amalfi is one of the most famous and exclusive holiday resorts in Italy. Picturesquely situated on steep slopes descending towards the azure sea, it has excellent beaches and beautiful, historic buildings.
Amalfi's heyday fell in the early Middle Ages. At that time, there was an important commercial port on the route between the eastern and western shores of the Mediterranean Sea. Its intensive development was brought to an end by the Norman invasion. From the 12th century on, the city began to decline and became, above all, a local craft and fishing center.
The great comeback of Amalfi began in the second half of the 19th century. The fashion for relaxation by the water and the natural values of this place meant that tourism began to develop very quickly. In the twentieth century, Amalfi became a synonym of luxury and beauty, and cinema stars, art stars and representatives of the social cream from all over the world have their houses and apartments here.
The great attraction of Amalfi are the local beaches. Small, tucked into coves, surrounded by high, rocky slopes, they are like little scraps of paradise over the crystal clear, azure waters of the sea. The entire Amalfi Coast is dotted with places that additionally provide a high level of services, such as equipment rentals, bars and restaurants.
The Amalfi Center is a memorial to the city's former glory as a commercial center. The Romanesque cathedral of St. Andrew the Apostle, the interior of which is decorated in the Baroque and Rococo styles. Around Katedralny Square you can see representative tenement houses, in the arcades of which there are now numerous restaurants. Houses in the old part of the city are drowning in flowers, and their facades complement the atmosphere of the Italian city. An important monument and tourist attraction of Amalfi is the Paper Museum operating in a former printing house and reminding of the history of the resort as a center of paper production.
