The Amalfi or Morfonou Tower is what remains of the old monastery of Amalfinon, one of the first major monasteries of Mount Athos, founded in the 10th century by seven monks from Amalfi, Italy. The monastery -and the tower- was built in the 10th or 11th century. 

After the Great Schism of 1054 the Christian church broke up in two sections, the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church. And with the decline of Byzantium, the community of the Amalfi merchants in Constantinople declined also. The monastery was finally abandoned after the Fourth Crusade (1202–1204). Deserted by monks, it was granted in 1287 by Andronikos II Palaiologos to the Monastery of Megisti Lavra. Apparently, the tower remained in use -probably to support the defense of the area against pirates. It was refurbished in the 16th century and essentially a new fortification was built over the old byzantine tower.

These pictures of the tower are made on the 5th of May 2021 and the maker shared his pictures exclusively with Athosweblog.com. To my knowledge no other pictures were made before at such a short range and that hight of the tower. Even a picture from above and inside the tower will be shown here.

It is obvious that the condition of the tower is in a terrible state. Trees are growing insde and between the stones of the walls.

In 1986 things looked very different, because the whole hill was stripped of all bushes and trees at that time. Let’s have a closer look at the top of the tower:

Three photo’s of the base of the tower, hidden in bushes

Looking at the photo reportage I think it’s high time to do something to save this building from destruction. So I do an appeal to the KEDAK official’s to reserve fundings tp preserve this extraordinary remnant of the early history og the Holy Mountain. And I wonder what a acheological survey would bring to light if the old monastery is found. The image below shows how promising this survey might be.

Wim Voogd, 16-1-2022