Built inside an ancient Benedictine monastery, Palazzo Città now houses exemplars of the historical prestige of the Maritime Republic of Amalfi.
July 22nd, 2022. By Anna Volpicelli, cover photo by Salvatore Guadagno
The Amalfi Coast has always been where artists have found refuge and inspiration. From the Middle Ages to today, personalities from the art world have left their mark on the facades of cathedrals, monasteries, churches, and various places of worship. Among these, the Salone Morelli is an area rich in charm and culture, the council chamber of Amalfi.
Domenico Morelli’s contribution
It is reached through a courtyard from an old Benedictine monastery from the 16th century. The Salone is named after Domenico Morelli, a prolific Neapolitan artist of the 1800s and 900s of international fame. The artist, in the 1800s, oversaw the restoration of the tympanum and supernal pediment of St. Andrew’s Cathedral.
The original papers from that restoration are preserved inside the Morelli Room. On a wall of the Palazzo Città in Amalfi, one can admire the beauty of the fresco that recalls the cathedral’s upper pediment. A biblical narrative proposes a passage from the gospel, the apocalypse. In the center, Jesus Christ is depicted with the symbols of the four evangelists behind him. At his feet, however, are the kneeling rulers. In this room, which is now dedicated to public functions and events, one can also observe the charters of the twelve apostles that recall the recently restored gable cornice of the cathedral.
Roberto Scielzo’s robes
In addition to the frescoes, the Morelli Hall also contains medieval costumes, from those worn by fishermen to those of the Grand Duke of Amalfi, designed by Roberto Scielzo, an eclectic artist from Positano who was involved not only in painting but also in theater and thus set design, architecture, and graphics. He was the first to have created the Amalfi costumes still used and exhibited in the historical procession accompanying the Maritime Republics of Amalfi regatta.
Arab-Byzantine style dresses are made from delicate fabrics, including silk, linen, brocade, and damask. The permanent collection displayed inside the Morelli Hall shows the clothes belonging to the various social classes the mariners, archers, soldiers, knights of the ducal court, judges, the count of the palace, and the duke.
A maritime treasure
At one time, Palazzo Città also housed some valuable maritime items. The Tabula Civitas Amalpha, the famous Amalfi tables, was kept. It is the oldest naval codex formed in Amalfi around the 11th century, which was used in the entire Mediterranean Sea area until the 16th century.
In addition to the maritime bylaws, the council chamber also housed the compass, better known as a shell, built by Flavio Gioia in the 1300s, nautical maps, and other specimens used in antiquity by sea experts. Today all this has been transferred to the Museum of the Ancient Arsenals of Amalfi. The Morelli Hall represents an important heritage of the cultural and artistic history not only of the city of Amalfi but of the entire coastal territory.