What is "bambagina"

Amalfi paper, also called Charta Bambagina, is a valuable type of paper produced in Amalfi since the Middle Ages.

Documents report its presence in Italy 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. 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.