We are on the Amalfi coast, so we decided it was prudent to visit the actual town of Amalfi. Atrani is a hop, skip, and a jump from Amalfi, so we visited both of them.

We decided to leave the dinghy on Seahike, so we did the thing where I took Michael ashore in the dinghy, took the dinghy back to Seahike, then swam ashore. I then washed my hair and rinsed the saltwater off under the freshwater showers. (In case you are wondering, I chose shorts that would dry quickly and my swimsuit top.) I put a shirt over my swimsuit top when we got to the ferry, which meant that my shirt got wet. Oh well, it would dry eventually.

The ferry from Salerno to Amalfi takes about 45 minutes, so one has time to admire the coastline. We did.

Right away, we saw these interesting statues. I didn’t know what they were at the time, but they were very intriguing. This is what I learned later from My Modern Met:

“Artist Bruno Catalano‘s fragmented sculptures have touched down on the Amalfi Coast. Four of his Travelers are displayed on the waterfront, with the stunning Amalfi landscape filtering through their fractured bodies. As a French artist with Italian origins who was born in Morocco, Catalano feels a strong kinship with these voyagers, who walk with suitcases in hand.

‘In my work, I seek movement and the expression of feelings; I make new forms emerge from inertia and manage to smooth them out to give them new life,’ shares the artist. ‘Coming from Morocco, I too have traveled with suitcases full of memories that I represent so often in my works. They contain not only images but also life, my desires: my origins on the move.’

Among the works on display is Blue de Chine, which is dedicated to migrant workers who travel far and wide in the hopes of being able to support their families. The sculpture’s blue tint is intended to evoke the uniforms of workers and seamen. The piece is highly personal for the artist, as he was also one of these workers, coming to France from Morocco with just a suitcase.

. . . . In contrast, Simone is elegantly dressed in a suit and tie. He walks with confidence, suitcase in hand. In his oversized luggage, he brings his hopes and dreams with him as he looks out into the distance at his future. While all of these travelers have their differences, what binds them together are their abilities to blend into their environment. Through the fragmented parts of their bodies, Catalano allows these voyagers to become part of the location, giving them new memories to place in their suitcases.”

I was only able to get a good picture of two of them due to the crowds. Aren’t they amazing?!

I am so glad we saw them. They were only there until September 30th. That was a lovely introduction to Amalfi!

The second neat thing we saw was this fountain. I think it is clever how the water falls off the umbrella.

We expected Amalfi to be busy even though we are getting to the end of the tourist season. It was, but not too bad. I had two things on our agenda: the church and the paper museum.

First, the church. Information from various sources:

Amalfi Cathedral is a medieval Roman Catholic cathedral dedicated to the Apostle Saint Andrew, whose relics are kept here. Begun in the 9th and 10th centuries, it has been added to and redecorated several times, overlaying Arab-Norman, Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque elements, and finally a new 19th century Norman-Arab-Byzantine facade. The cathedral includes the adjoining 9th-century Basilica of the Crucifix. Leading from the basilica are steps into the Crypt of St. Andrew, where his relics can be found.

The bell tower was constructed between the 12th and 13th centuries in front of the first church, topped by an elaborate crown decorated with marble and majolica in the Arab-Norman style, also seen in other churches in southern Italy in this period. The chapels inside are variously Gothic and Renaissance, with the nave decorated in the Baroque style in the 18th century. In 1861, part of the facade collapsed, damaging the atrium. The whole front of the church was then rebuilt to a design by architect Errico Alvino in a richly decorated manner drawing on Italian Gothic and especially Arab-Norman styles, similar to but more ornate that the original, completed in 1891.

Arguably the most important part of the Duomo of Amalfi is the crypt of St. Andrea (St. Andrew, the brother of of St. Peter), the first disciple of Jesus and the Holy Protector of Amalfi, a portion of whose relics arrived in the region of Campania in 1208, rescued during the sack of Constantinople by Cardinal Peter of Capua, himself an Amalfitano. St. Andrea spent much of his career establishing the early Christian church in what was then Byzantium, which can help explain the remarkably eastern influences of the present day Duomo of Amalfi. Due to the presence of these relics, as well as its architectural interest, the duomo stands as among the most important monuments of both eastern and western Christianity.

The following two pictures are of two sides of a sedan, made in the first half of the 18th century. Neapolitan origin, carved and gilded lacquered wood. The sign said, in part: “It was done originally for a profane use and later donated to the Cathedral for the displacement of bishops. The scenes depicted with extreme delicacy are difficult to interpret, perhaps represent a summary of a novel. Equally valuable is the wooden structure decorated with a fine weave of vegetable elements in pure Rococo style.” All I can say is that it would be fun to be displaced in this!

And now we move onto the crypt. (The pictures above are from the cloister, basilica, and museum.)

The Crypt is the real heart of Amalfi, because this is where the relics of the body of St. Andrew – the first disciple of Jesus – are kept. The Apostle, who brought the word of God to Greece and travelled as far as what is now Russia, was crucified in the Greek city of Patras.

Moving on to the cathedral . . .

Here are a couple of pictures of Amalfi from the steps of the cathedral:

It was time for lunch. Michael searched for a restaurant with good reviews. We decided to go to Ristorante Il Chiostro. It was located in one of the narrow streets and had a few tables for outdoor seating (more inside). We grabbed a table outdoors.

The food was great! I had one of their daily specials: seared scallop nuts, on pumpkin cream, bacon bits. Michael had a deep-fried seafood mix.

And now, it was time for the paper museum! Yes, you read that correctly: the Museo della Carta. Click on the link if you want to learn about the interesting history of paper in general and Amalfi’s role in paper production.

It was fun and interesting. The price of the ticket includes a guide. This is a good summary from the website:

“The Amalfi Paper Museum is housed in an old paper mill dating back to the 13th century.

This structure, unique in the world, offers its visitors the magic of going back in time and experiencing directly the ancient techniques of paper production with guided tours in Italian, English, German, French and Spanish.

You can admire the centuries-old machines used in the production of handmade paper: the old wooden hammers which, driven by a hydraulic wheel, beat and shred the linen, cotton and hemp rags previously collected in the mighty stone piles; the Dutch machine installed in the museum paper mill on 18 November 1745; the 18th century presses used to remove excess water from the sheets; the paper machine in circles.

All these machines for the production of paper have been restored to working order, and are operated during the visit with the strength and power of the waters of the Canneto stream to make you relive the emotion of creating a sheet of the precious handmade paper of Amalfi.”

Here are two pictures of the first process described above:

The Dutch machine and its water wheel:

The presses and their water wheel:

I dipped the plate into the paper processing vat (the first method) to make some paper:

Last but not least, the guide took us up top to look at their irrigation system. How it works in a nutshell: from the location of the water wheel, they flip a switch to open a “door” leading from one of the overhead vats to that particular wheel. The water then drains down, turning the water wheel. Each water wheel must have its own vat. I didn’t ask, but I assume that is the case.

It was now time to walk to Atrani. Here are some pictures along the way.

We didn’t stay long in Atrani. We were getting ready to head out, but first Michael wanted some ice cream. This is what a 15 euro ice cream cone looks like in Amalfi:

We went to the ferry dock. There were three ferries there, all rocking and rolling a lot in the swell. That, combined with the large crowd of people, provided some entertainment while we waited to board.

We were soon back in Salerno. I walked to Seahike, got in the dinghy, and went to pick up Michael at the ferry dock.

I will leave you with another picture of the sun peeking through the clouds on this beautiful day:

We will share our visit to Positano in our next blog.