The Cappuccini Convent in Amalfi is one of the most important monuments on the Amalfi coast.
The beauty of the place, the flight of steps, the natural cave, the entrance, the cloister, the lemon gardens, the monks’ walk, have been, for years, inspiration for artists, painters, photographers and overall for travelers coming from all over the world.
The complex is surrounded by lemon trees and lush gardens, once cultivated areas, thanks to a water channel running from Pogerola.
“S. Pietro a Toczolo” – “La Canonica” (1212)
The foundation probably dates back to 1212 by the Cardinal Pietro Capuano, noble Amalfitan citizen, elected by the Pope Celestino III in 1193.
The hill of Falconcello or “Ballenule”, chosen as elected place, is a wide terrace dominated by a big cave that collapsed in 1899, close to the pre-existent church of S. Pietro a Toczolo, which was joined to the monastery one year later.
The choice to settle the church in a cave was a tradition of the Christian Asceticism.
S. Benedetto, the founder of western monasticism in “Sacro Speco” in Subiaco, began the example of a solitary life dedicated to prayer and contemplation. This tradition was the reason for choosing the cave of Cappuccini, and of many places along the Amalfi coast like S. Maria dell’Olearia in Maiori and the Chapel of S. Croce, no more existing, in Vettica Minore.
The Cistercians Abbey 1214-1452
In 1214, two years after the foundation, the Cenobium was consigned to Cistercians monks coming from Fossanova. It became an abbey in 1223 and, after ten years, it was directly dependent from the Cistercians mother house in Clairvaux in France.
Cistercians monks, at the beginning, do not accept the idea of moving there as the position of the complex was unsuitable for their needs.
Only after the Pope imposition and the promise of forthcoming funds, in June 1214, the Prior and eight monks, took possession of the “Canonica”.
Pietro Capuano asserted that the Convent was incomplete and was going to be completed in two years. In the meantime the monks adapted to celebrate the mass in the old church of S. Pietro a Toczolo and to live in a precarious way.
In 1223, the Emperor Federico II of Palermo sent a special declaration to the Abbot of Amalfi, informing that he was underneath his protection and assigned to the monastery all the properties donated.
This privileges and in particular the economic wellness allowed the convent to live a period of prosperity with the consequent affirmation of numerous monks.
This wellness lasted till the first half of 1400; but although the attention reserved to the religious institution also from the Angevin monarchy, a long period of decay occurred between the 14th and 15th centuries.
Nonetheless, since 1384, Vicar of the Order of Cistercians, exonerated the monastery from the payment of any taxes, this decision did not avoid the Convent to be abandoned from the Cistercians monks.
The “Commenda” 1452-1583
After the monks left in 1452, the University of Amalfi restored the complex and the same year the Pope Paul II assigned the Convent to a religious responsible to benefit of it. This system allowed an occasional occupancy from delegated religious but determined a gradual lost of money, furniture, antiques and also of registries and books.
In 1580 the University of Amalfi acquired, for 1300 “ducati” (local current money), the monastery of S. Basilio, to move the “Cappuccini” friars there. Due to the discontent of the friars, in 1583 the civic government take the decision to assign the convent to this religious order.
Cappuccini Friars 1583-1813
The Cappuccini friars obtained the convent in 1583 and started a recovering and rebuilding program, conducted by the Architect Matteo Vitale from Cava de’ Tirreni.
During those years an important cultural place was the “Badia della SS. Trinità” in Cava de’ Tirreni. With the Benedictine monks, the work, which used to be considered a sentence and was made only by lower classes, began a rule: “ora et labora”.
By cultivating lands, breeding animals and making artisans activities, the monks granted the economic independence. The physical work was joined by the intellectual one which consisting in reading books and rewriting them by hand, in order to study and hand them down.
The Friars stayed in the Convent of Amalfi for more of two centuries, reorganizing the structure of the convent according to their rule: individual cells, refectory and kitchen.
They abolished anything that could cause static problems (half of the cloister), reinforced and widened the convent. In 1813 after the suppression of the ecclesiastical wells operated after Napoleonic occupation, the monks left the convent.
The “Locanda” 1813-1836
After the friars left, the complex was proposed for the cemetery and after the fall of this destination for formal and administrative difficulties, it was assigned to the Archbishop of Amalfi. He first intended it as bishop refectory and later assigned it to Gambardella or Mansi family as a “Locanda”.
The Cappuccini Friars of Salerno 1836-1866
The King Ferdinando II referring to the population request and overcoming the opposition of the Curia, with the decree of October 3rd 1836, made the Cappuccini friars come back.
On May 1st 1840 the formal act, between the Archbishop Bianco and the Provincial of the Cappuccini of Salerno, was signed. The Cappuccini friars stayed in the convent till 1866, when with another decree the convent was permanently suppressed and became possession of the town hall of Amalfi.
Nautical Institute 1866 – 1882
During the November of 1866 the Town Hall Council of Amalfi decided to convert the convent into a Nautical Institute, with the aim of re-launch the sailor tradition of the Mariner Republic, and assigned the “urgent adjustments” to the architect Giuseppe Bellotti.
The Hotel Cappuccini 1882 – 2002
For a better use of the Convent and for a touristic development, a reconstruction of the aisle that collapsed in 1899 was necessary. In 1939 a new second aisle, around the dining room, was built. Between 1935 and 1938 the cloister was restored by initiative of the Organization of Antiques and Monuments of the province of Salerno, according to the engineer Pasquale Pansa.
Nowadays, after a total restoration in line with the former aspect of the Convent, visitors can breath the atmosphere and tranquility of that times; in fact the monument present itself majestic in the complex and splendid in some of its parts, situated in an outstanding environmental contest.
The Church and the Cloister
The church has a single naïve, divided in four spans with cross vaults, that repeat the scheme of flat apse, widely used by Cistercians.
The actual state is the result of the remake operated in the Late Baroque period and of the interventions realized by the Cappuccini friars, in 1840, in particular the rectory area with the marble altar, the ceramic and majolica tiles floor.
The cloister, instead of flanking the church as usual, had a rare position due to the limited space, therefore it is situated before the entrance of the church. The actual shape is probably the result of some works realized by the Cappuccini friars at the beginning of their stay. They replaced the south wing with two floors of cells, through a lobby, destroyed by the landslide of 1899.
The Hotel