in Church History, a congregation of religious in Italy, so called from their professing themselves amantes Deum, "lovers of God;" or rather amati Deo, "beloved of God." They wore a gray habit, and wooden shoes, had no breeches, and girt themselves with a cord. They had 28 convents; and were united by Pope Pius V. partly with the Cistercian order, and partly with that of the Scolastici, or wooden shoe wearers.