Medieval Amalfi was ruled, in the tenth and eleventh centuries, by a series of dukes (Latin: duces), sometimes called dogi (singular: doge), corresponding with the republic of Venice, a maritime rival throughout the Middle Ages. Before the title of Duke of Amalfi was formally established in 957, various patricians governed the territory. Amalfi established itself as one of the earliest maritime trading powers renowned throughout the Mediterranean, considered for two centuries, one of the most powerful of the maritime republics.
The title of Duke of Amalfi was reestablished as a Spanish dukedom in 1642 by King Philip IV of Spain for Ottavio Piccolomini, an Imperial field marshal. Of noble Tuscan descent, two popes were scions of the Piccolomini family, and the first duke's younger brother, Ascanio II Piccolomini, served as archbishop of Siena from 1628 until 1671.
King Alfonso XIII of Spain revived the dukedom in 1902, and the title is extant.[1]