Amalfi
Amalfi (, , ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Salerno, in the region of Campania, Italy, on the Gulf of Salerno. It lies at the mouth of a deep ravine, at the foot of Monte Cerreto (1,315 metres, 4,314 feet), surrounded by dramatic c ...
paper, also called Charta Bambagina, is a valuable type of paper produced in Amalfi since the
Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...
.
Documents report its presence in
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
since the thirteenth century, although it seems that the paper mills of the maritime republic of Amalfi were active before that time.
Its use was forbidden in 1220 by king Frederick II as less durable than
parchment
Parchment is a writing material made from specially prepared untanned skins of animals—primarily sheep, calves, and goats. It has been used as a writing medium for over two millennia. Vellum is a finer quality parchment made from the skins of ...
. However, it continued to be produced, and in the eighteenth century twenty mills were active in Amalfi and nearby cities. Sheets of ancient Bambagina paper, despite the prohibition, survive and host documents from the fourteenth century.
Production
Amalfi paper owes its second name, Carta Bambagina, to the specific production process which, apart from the use of
cellulose
Cellulose is an organic compound with the formula , a polysaccharide consisting of a linear chain of several hundred to many thousands of β(1→4) linked D-glucose units. Cellulose is an important structural component of the primary cell wall ...
from wood, is based on the processing of rags, tatters of linen, cotton and
hemp white
Hemp, or industrial hemp, is a botanical class of ''Cannabis sativa'' cultivars grown specifically for industrial or medicinal use. It can be used to make a wide range of products. Along with bamboo, hemp is among the fastest growing plants o ...
.
These fabrics were once pulped with hammers moved by hydraulic-powered mills (still visible in the area). Later, more sophisticated machinery (electrical) allowed greater refinement. The fabrics beaten down to fine pulp formed a slurry. The slurry in water is transformed by hand into sheets by means of frames formed by wires of brass and bronze. The facility is still in working condition making Bambagina paper.
Paper productsAmalfi