The principal source (actually, it's the only source) for the story I am about to relate is a book published in 1904 called "La Prima Repubblica Marinara d'Italia - Amalfi", written by a gentleman called Umberto Moretti.
In what is described as 'il capitolo unico' (the only chapter) in the section headed 'Notes on Industry and Commerce' Moretti discusses the traditional industries of the area (both manufacture and agriculture). Unfortunately for me, much of his chronological referencing is obscure. It was clearly understood by his readers and I have sought the assistance of Google on more than one occasion but not always with any notable success.
His first stop is with the fishing industry which brought in, among other things, coral, tuna, mackerel and swordfish which were sold in the markets in Naples and Salerno. Coral fishing in Amalfi, however, had died in the 16th century and was, at the time when Moretti was writing, restricted to Torre del Greco (it is still one of the principal tourist souvenirs in the shops along the coast).
The agricultural muscle of the area (involving a third of the local population earning about 1.5 Lira a day per man - it's pretty much meaningless to me too and I can't find anything on the internet to convert it into a modern equivalent) is dedicated principally to the lemon groves (and still is it has to be said) and that is closely followed by the grape (God bless the grape) although Moretti notes that much of the land given over to vines was being 'converted' (if that's the right word) to lemon groves on account of the fact that the latter is, apparently, more productive than the former which presumably means that lemons were more profitable.
Much of the grape grown in Amalfi is sent to Naples where it finds its way to the table. The rest is used to produce "light wines of excellent quality" much of which is exported under the name Capri Bianco. The area also produced sufficient pulses and potatoes for the needs of the local population but no more than enough.
Moretti next turns to mourn the fact that "... the art of extracting the essential oil of the rose and producing that pleasant perfume ... sought by medieval gentlemen for its fragrant qualities." for which Amalfi was once a centre of excellence had entirely disappeared - the rose beds making way for lemon groves. Rose water was, apparently, demanded of tenants by their landlords by way of rent and the last recorded case was to be found in a tenancy agreement dated 1824.
The Amalfi silk industry, run predominantly by Jews, which had prospered, particularly in Amalfi, Ravello, Scala and Agerola, was short lived and it faded and finally died when, in the early 16th century Garcia Alvarez de Toledo, 4th Marquis of Villafranca del Bierzo and Viceroy of Naples chased the Jews from the area. Another case of commercial good sense being suppressed by religious zeal.
It was replaced by a wool industry when Alfonso the Magnanimous (what a wonderful epithet) introduced merino sheep into the area. Wool mills sprang up in Amalfi, Scala, Ravello and, above all, in Atrani. This wool found its way onto the markets of Calabria, Sicily, Sardinia, Capua, Benevento, Naples, Foggia and Melfi. As appears to be the way of things in Amalfi, however, this endeavour too met its end when the wool mills were converted to flour mills. Once again Moretti is left to mourn the disappearance of a promising and productive industry.
Moving on to the manufacturing efforts of the good burgers of Amalfi and the surrounding area, we are taken to the paper mills. Amalfi was, and is, famous for its paper. It boasted, and boasts, that it started producing paper in 1276 and Moretti states confidently that, in 1861, there were 38 paper mills in the town employing 270 workers, producing 2,000,000 kilos of paper and bringing in Lit 145,000 per annum. In 1904 Moretti counted no more than 15 mills employing 80 workers. One of these mills, a very significant edifice, can still be found hidden in the woods behind the town, its machinery mute. Cobwebbed. Sad.
Next on the list of things to do in Amalfi is the work in the pasta factories (I use the term factory loosely because it has modern connotations that are misplaced). Moretti describes it as the principal industry in Amalfi which continues to survive not because it has been able to modernize and keep up with the rest of the industry but because the workers are very poorly paid. Nevertheless, employing 1,800 workers, it produces 2,000,000 kilos of pasta a year worth Lit 800,000.
He finishes his journey through the forms of gainful employment available to the Amalfitani with a visit to the merchant fleet which, in the days of the Amalfi Marine Republic, had made it very rich indeed. It stretched in the middle ages to every shore of the Mediterranean from the Black Sea to the Western Mediterranean Basin. By the end of the 19th century, it was reduced to the coast of Southern Italy and Sicily. Amalfi's exports (by sea and not necessarily to places outside Italy) included lemons, salted anchovies, pasta, cheese, paper and fresh fruit. Almost nothing was moved by land because of the mountainous nature of the region.
This was the land of my Criscuolos. This was the land in which Pasquale grew up. Life was clearly hard but as John Goodwin Esq. made abundantly clear in his paper on the development of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, things were improving and could be expected to improve further.
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