Fodor's Expert Review San Salvatore de Birecto

In the Middle Ages, the 10th-century church of San Salvatore de Bireto played an important role in the crowning of new doges for the Republic of Amalfi. The name Birecto likely comes from the Semitic word biru, meaning a small stream of water, referring to the fact that the church is built on an arch right over a stream—today a narrow road leading through Atrani. The church was remodeled in the 1800s but has received a careful restoration to reveal some aspects of its medieval past, including Arab-influenced Gothic designs, ancient ceramic tile work, and religious artifacts like a curious 12th-century marble plaque showing two peacocks. The paneled bronze doors cast in the 11th century came from Constantinople, as did the doors in the Amalfi Duomo, both testimonies to the cultural and commercial exchange between the Republic of Amalfi and the Orient.