History

Atrani was formerly a Greek and then an Etruscan emporium; from the sixth century the village became part of the Republic of Amalfi. In its church had invested with the office and also buried the Dukes of the Republic. Since the mid-eleventh century it had  various rulers, such as the Normans, Swabians, French and Spanish. Atrani was sacked in 1135 and in 1137 by Pisa, and later, King Manfredi moved in it a Saracen colony, chased then by Charles of Anjou.

As thanks for the expulsion of the Muslim community, the Atrani inhabitants consecrated  the ancient church of the castle  to “Santa Maria Maddalena”. In those years the history of the village is indistinguishable from that of Amalfi. At the time of the Republic, Atrani was inhabited by the most noble families. Atrani is the coastal town that has best preserved the ancient characteristic, with the houses overlooking the sea and gathering around the square, then to go up  the cliffs of the mountain.

In 1734, the Bourbon Dynasty gave a major increase to the city building; in fact, the along the Dragone River rose some paper mills, textile factories and especially “pasta” factories. The “pasta” of Atrani was very  famous, and  local merchants sold it in neighbouring countries, up to Calabria.

Etymology

Atrani would seem to have  a quite transparent etymology, for which most scholars opt for the simplest solution, namely that Atrani derives from the Latin word "Ater" (“dark”). In fact, in the 'Engineering Geology "(Elsevier Pub. Co., 1993: 197, note) clearly it is said that "[...] According to historical sources, the name Atrani derives from the Latin ‘Atrum’ ( Neuter noun of the adjective 'Ater'), Meaning a dark, sombre place [...]".

About its etymology, anyway, some other hypothesis has been advanced, so it would seem that Atrani  was an  Etruscan family name; in this sense in the “Etruscan Studies” (Olschki, 1970:.312) one said that "[... ] The noble name 'Atran' is already known in Perugia. It is also certified as a trademark (in the forms 'Atran' and 'Atrani') of a series of 'askoi' (Greek vases used for oil), some from Perugia [...]".