Evidence of this fact is in the original name of thge city "Reghinna major"; the etymological root "inna" is clearly of Etruscan derivation. Come trace the origins of Maiori to the Romans, as they also do for the entire Amalfi Coast, basing their opinion on the archeological findings which date back to the Roman Empire. Other historians instead maintain that Maiori was built in the ninth century by Prince Sicardo of Salerno.

Maiori, a colony of Amalfi, seat of the Arsenals, the Admiralty, as well as the Customs house and the salt warehouse, resisted the Norman incursion for some time. But in 1268 Maiori was pillaged by the Pisans, eternal rivals of the Amalfi Republic; the Pisans, with numerous galley ships, destroyed and pillaged the entire Amalfi Coast. It was not long before Maiori established a flourishing mercantile marine and was able to build ships of great capacity. But in 1343 a sea-quake destroyed most of the coastline and most of the little city of Maiori as well. The city rapidly recovered from the catastrophe and the major economic activities resumed along the valley of the Reginna Major river; the entire valley gained importance with its concentration of manufacturing establishments.

In 1348 another dramatic event struck Maiori; the Plague, which decimated the population and in diverse periods in the course of history was present in Maiori. Unfortunately this represents a period of poverty and brigands, during which the roads of the Amalfi Coast were repeatedly the backdrop of dangerous encounters. Under the Reign of Queen Giovanna I and her successor Carlo III of Durazzo, who was succeeded by his son Ladislao, Maiori regained her past splendor, such that the historians Camera and Primicerio referred to the silk and wool manufacturing establishments as the first in the entire zone.

In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, the first paper factories were established, although through the years the cities of Amalfi and the nearby Minori that continued this tradition. In 1502 the first hostilities between the Spanish and the French surfaced, and the cities along the Amalfi Coast, which at first had sworn loyalty to the French, subsequently turned to the Spanish. Historians recount the story of a bloody naval battle along the Coast fought in the waters adjacent to Capo d'Orso between the Spanish and the Angevins in 1528. The battle cost the Spanish more than one thousand men. Following there were years of famine, plague and superstition among the population of the coast.

Pirate incursions were frequent episodes in this period. Many cities along the Amalfi Coast were pillaged many times and many of their citizens were enslaved. The Reign of Filippo IV ended the epoch of vassalage for the Amalfi Coast. In 1662 Maiori was nominated the Reigning City by King Filippo IV. In 1735 and in 1773 the city of Maiori was struck by two violent floods.

During these tragic events the local population clung to its faith in the Madonna after the finding of a wooden statue was found at sea, lost during a shipwreck. From that time the devotion to Santa Maria a Mare (St. Mary at Sea) has been handed down from generation to generation.

1860 marked the year that the South was annexed to the Italian Domain. New taxes, like the reintroduction of the bourbon tax on ground products, and the precarious economic condition of the city were the cause of many civilian rebellions. Mt. Falerzio, overlooking Maiori, with its many natural caves, became the home of brigands and refugees. In 1910, following another terrible flood, marks the visit to Maiori of King Vittorio Emanuele III. With the end of WWII and the armistice of September 8, 1943, the American and English allied troops landed at Maiori; the city was chosen to be the base of operations for its wide beach and favorable position.

The Mezzacapo Building (today seat of the City Hall) was transformed into General Headquarters; the Church of S. Domenico was transformed in to a front line hospital. These events bring us to more recent years, and still another tragic flood during the night between the 24th and 25th of October, 1954, when once again Maiori tragically saw the destruction of most of her high quarters and town center.