From the very beginning Amalfi had been the southern-most outpost of the Byzantine Duchy of Naples and was in continual opposition first to the Lombards from Benevento and then to the Lombards from Salerno. As a result of several attempts Lombards conquered the city of Amalfi in 838 but the Amalfi people re-organized their ranks soon, attacked and freed their fellow townsmen.
On 1st September 839 Amalfi declared its independence and later established itself as an autonomous and sovereign Republic.
From the 8th century sea the Amalfi’s main resource was sea trade, commercing with the Arabs of northern Africa and with Byzantines. However under the domination of Normans the Amalfi’s commertial interests were sacrificed letting Venice dominate on its well-known market. Despite this many aristocratic families from Scala and Ravello got important posts in the administration of Amalfi. In the early 13th century they perfected their navigation technical characteristics and started to manufacture paper following Arab world techniques. In 1274 an important body of civil laws “Consuetudines Civitatis Amalfie” was put together by Judge Giovanni Augustariccio.
During the 17th and 18th centuries Amalfi and its surrounding villages were completely reconstructed in Baroque style. In the early 19th century the coast was governed by Giuseppe Bonaparte and then from September onwards by Gioacchino Murat. With the arrival of Romanticism a lot of foreign visitors looking for exoticism and artistic inspiration re-discovered Amalfi and surroundings. This period was the beginning of tourism, the mover of economic and social development in the coming future of Amalfi.