The Hotel Bussola has its own unique story as distinctive as the hotel itself.  The word bussola is related to the seafaring traditions of the Amalfi region: Founded in the 9th century with strong connections with the Orient, Amalfi claims to have introduced modern luxuries such as coffee, paper and carpets. 

During the 11th century, Amalfi became a dominant naval power and a hostile enemy of the northern maritime republics of Genoa and Pisa.  The Tavole Amalfitane were the Amalfitanos’ own navigation tables, used to regulate and govern the shipping routes throughout the Mediterranean sea.

Amalfitano folklore boasts that the inventor and sea farer Flavio Gioia modified and perfected a very important Chinese invention; the magnetic compass needle (la bussola).  Flavio Gioia enclosed the magnetic needle in a case with a glass cover permitting sailors to navigate rough seafaring voyages.

The existence of Flavio Gioia is disputed to this day with conflicting historical accounts from various historic writers and academics.  In the piazza close to the hotel there is a statue of Flavio Gioia bearing testament to this enigmatic figure and the sea faring past of Amalfi.

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