The Cloister of Paradise
Located about 10 kilometres from our boutique hotel, the Cloister of Paradise is the ancient cemetery of the nobles of Amalfi. It is part of the monumental complex of St Andrew’s Cathedral, in fact it is accessed from the atrium of the latter. The building, one of the best known and most interesting on the entire coast, represents one of the greatest examples of Amalfi Romanesque architecture.
It was erected at the behest of Archbishop Filippo Augustariccio between 1266 and 1268 to house the remains of Amalfi’s most illustrious citizens, although burials only lasted until 1500 due to the hygienic conditions that arose. It owes its name to the fact that in medieval times, the term ‘paradise‘ indicated a burial place connected to an important church and surrounded by a portico. Abandoned in the 17th century, it was restored in the early 20th century, becoming today, with its history and coolness, one of the most intimate and pleasant corners of the Amalfi Coast.
The structure, for the construction of which parts of the nearby Basilica del Crocifisso had to be sacrificed, consists of an elegant four-sided portico with Moorish-style cross vaults, onto which open six frescoed chapels built by aristocratic families from Amalfi in the late 13th and early 14th centuries. Along the outer walls are interlaced pointed arches resting on slender double columns with crutch capitals. In the centre is a lovely Mediterranean garden, whose rich vegetation makes the setting even more atmospheric.
The most remarkable of the six chapels is undoubtedly the Chapel of the Crucifixion. Its interior space is marked by two segmental arches, discharging onto the central column, covered with 17th-century paintings of angels and skulls, testifying to the sepulchral function of the place. The chapel takes its name from the fresco depicting the Crucifixion (covering the left ogival part) attributed to Roberto d’Oderisio, one of the greatest exponents of 14th-century Neapolitan painting. Also of great interest is the Chapel of the Holy Saviour with its fresco of Christ Pantocrator (dating back to the second half of the 13th century). The latter is the only chapel that preserves much of the original unified painting style, although some figures are headless and the state of preservation is very fragmentary.
On display in the cloister are various sarcophagi, including those depicting the Rape of Proserpine and the Union of Mars with Rhea Silvia from the second half of the 2nd century AD. Under the arcades you can also admire valuable bas-reliefs (such as the one depicting the Madonna of the Snow from the 15th century attributed to Francesco Laurana) and marble fragments with mosaic decorations that were part of the ambo in the cathedral, commissioned by Archbishop Dionisio (1174-1202) and made by artists active in Amalfi itself.
From the cloister, passing through the aristocratic chapel of the Corsano family, one enters the Basilica del Crocifisso, which houses the Diocesan Museum of Amalfi. Inaugurated in 1996, it brings together silverware, sacred vestments, crosses and reliquaries belonging to the cathedral treasury, as well as notable wooden sculptures and paintings of various chronologies and origins.
