Although it was never recorded history , tradition has it that the town was founded in the fourth century by the Romans, shipwrecked in the area while they were on their way to Constantinople. Fortified bulwark part of the defensive system of the territory of Amalfi , followed the fortunes of the ancient Maritime Republic of Amalfi. Was a bishopric 987-1818 . In 1073, after a long siege , was set on fire by Robert Guiscard ; suffered , then , looting and destruction at the hands of the Pisans , the troops of Brass Brunswick ( 1210 ) and after the famous Sicilian Vespers ( 1283 ) . She gave birth to Gerardo de Saxo , in the eleventh century founder of the Hospital , which later became the Sovereign Military Order of the Knights of Malta.
It ‘ a country with an ancient history ( the height of its economic counted over 130 churches) , rich in monuments of great value from the point of view of art and historical , could also boast of a natural heritage of fact , woods of chestnut , the lush vegetation of the State Natural Reserve of Valle delle Ferriere , the terraces cultivated with lemon and hanging cherry tomatoes .
Among the sites of interest , we suggest :
– The Cathedral of San Lorenzo, the original structure, which dates back to the XII century in Romanesque style, has undergone alterations in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries , preserving , however , the original portal. The interior is divided into three naves , is finely decorated with stucco and a ceiling painted with scenes from the life of the Holy (1748) . In the beautiful gothic style crypt is preserved sarcophagus colored stucco of Marinella Rufolo , built in 1332 by her husband Antonio Coppola, a wooden group of the thirteenth century and other ancient sculptures .
– The Monastery of the Most Holy Redeemer , now entrusted to the Order of Redemptorists founded by the venerable Sister Celeste Crostarosa after his meetings with St. Alphonsus Maria de ‘ Liguori .
– The Chapel of St. Alphonsus , in which is preserved the small cave where St. Alphonsus retired in meditation ;
– Palazzo Mansi – D’Amelio , with late- eighteenth-century façade ;
– The ruins of the Church of Saint Eustace, in the village of Petite , with ancient origins dating back to the twelfth century ;
– The Church of the Annunciation, in the village of Petite , dating from the twelfth or thirteenth century . And ‘ preceded by a nice porch where the parliament met in the city ;
– The Arab Bath in the village of Petite , not far from the ruins of the Church of Saint Eustace , consisting of small rooms for the various phases of the cold bath , warm and hot.
– The Church of St. Catherine, in the homonymous village , inside which is a wooden statue of the Saint and the two paintings of Saint Lucia and Sorrento ;
– The ruins of the Church of San Cataldo , in the locality of the Capitol, with the adjoining former Benedictine monastery , now the Institute of Danish art and culture , established in 1909 by Charles Wiindsteatd ;
– The Church of the Annunciation, in the locality of the Capitol ;
– The Church of St. John the Water, dating from the twelfth century , with fine marble remains and an elegant bell tower with three floors ;
– The Church of St. Peter, in the homonymous village , belonging to the noble family Trara and containing memories of the family of Fra ‘ Gerardo Sasso . Inside there is a beautiful statue of St. Michael, donated in 1358 by Paul de Saxo , a bas-relief of St. Catherine (XIV century ) , a tombstone of the fourteenth century the family Trara , and an altar of the sixteenth century .
– The remains of the Palace de Saxo , in the hamlet of St. Peter ;
– The remains of the Church of Santa Maria della Neve , in the hamlet of St. Peter ;
– The Church of St. John the Baptist , in the village of Pontoon , dating from the twelfth century with a bell tower in the Moorish style ;
– The Church of St. Philip Blacks , in the village of Pontoon , dating from the tenth century and altered in later centuries ;
– The Bishop’s house in the village of Pontoon , whose ancient medieval structure is still visible , despite the collapses ;
– The Church of the Madonna del Carmine , in the village of Pontoon , a rare example in the Amalfi Coast of religious building built according to the dictates of the Counter-Reformation ;
– The Torre dello Ziro , in the village of Pontoon , cylindrical in shape , located on the spur of Mount Pontoon between Amalfi and Atrani, the most advanced part of the fortification of the ancient castle of Scalella .
– The State Natural Reserve of Valle delle Ferriere , along the river Canneto , in a wide valley between the mountains of Scala , on the border with Amalfi and Agerola. Here the tropical vegetation typical of the Azores or India is intertwined with the Mediterranean nostrana . Unique pieces such as ” Woodwardia radicans ” , a giant fern and the ” Pinguicola hirtiflora ” , a carnivorous plant with pink flowers , enrich the reserve.
– The Cave of La Scala, along the valley of the river Dragone , characterized by dark dolomitic limestone of Lower Cretaceous and formed when the Sorrento-Amalfi peninsula was situated at height differences less than at present .