Republic of Amalfi by dvideira
From the 9th to the 11th century, the seafaring Republic of Amalfi rivaled the great maritime powers of Genoa and Venice. It is in fact Italy's oldest maritime republic whose ships sailed troughout the Mediterranean carrying merchandise to all the sea-ports of southern Italy, Cyprus, Egypt, Syria, Constantinople and the distant shores of Africa and Asia.Hometown of Flavio Gioia, the inventor of the compass, Its maritime code, the Tavole Amalfitane, was followed in the Mediterranean for centuries.