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Amalfi

It was founded by the Romans becomming a trading centre in the sixth century, and in 839 AD, became the first Italian maritime republic.

It waged war with Genoa and Pisa for centuries for mastery of the Tyrrhenian Sea and was at the peak of its splendour around 1000 AC.

It was sacked and destroyed by the Pisans in 1135 and this marked the beginning of its decline. It passed thereafter into the power of various feudal lordships and eventually became part of the kingdom of Naples whose fate it followed.

While in Amalfi visit the Duomo at the top of a steep flight of steps, dominatings the town's main piazza, with its facade topped by a glazed tiled cupola that's typical of the region. Inside, it's a mixture of Saracen and Romanesque styles, though now heavily restored, with a major relic in the body of St Andrew buried in its crypt.

The most appealing part of the building is the cloister oddly Arabic in feel, with its whitewashed arches and palms. Close by, the Museo Civico displays the original Tavoliere Amalfitane the book of maritime laws which governed the republic, and the rest of the Mediterranean, until 1570. Beyond these, the focus is along the busy seafront, where there's an acceptably crowded beach.

You can also visit the arsenal of the Republic which is a grandiose Gothic construction, the Cappuccini Hotel which was a thirteenth century convent with cloisters and a loggia, the Civic Museum containing the Tabula Amalphitana which is the oldest navigational manual in the world, and the map museum.