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00 Agropoli
Stemma di Agropoli

Campania · Salerno

Agropoli

The gateway commune of the Cilento, a Byzantine acropolis on a promontory taken by the Saracens in 882 as a base for raids on Salerno.

Best time
May–Sep
By car
1 h 6 min from Salerno
By train
Station in the comune
Population
21,262

Known for

  • ANGEVIN CASTLE

    Triangular fortress with three circular towers on sixth-century Byzantine foundations, the postcard outline of the Cilento gateway.

  • SARACEN RABAT

    Taken by the Saracens in 882 and turned into a trenched stronghold for raids on Salerno until they were driven from the Garigliano in 915.

  • BANDIERA BLU

    Blue Flag water quality, with Trentova beach south of the headland inside the Cilento marine protected area.

  • CARCIOFO DI PAESTUM

    The commune lies inside the Carciofo di Paestum IGP production zone.

When to visit

Best · May–Sep

  • J13°
  • F15°
  • M16°
  • A18°
  • M23°
  • J28°
  • J31°
  • A31°
  • S28°
  • O23°
  • N19°
  • D15°
  • Best
  • Hot or crowded
  • Quiet
  • Mostly closed

Daytime averages, 2020–2024. The sea is warmest in August at 29° and coldest in February at 15°. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.

Why come

Agropoli is the northern gate of the Cilento coast, a promontory between two bays forty kilometres south of Salerno. The name itself, akropolis, was given by the Byzantines who fortified the high point during the Greco-Gothic war between 535 and 553. In 882 the Saracens took the town and turned it into a rabat, a trenched stronghold from which they raided as far as the walls of Salerno until they were dislodged from the Garigliano camp in 915.

The Angevin-Aragonese castle still stands on the highest point, a triangular plan with three circular towers and a moat, built on the original Byzantine foundations. Below the castle, the centro storico runs in stone stairways down to the small fishing port. Modern Agropoli has 21,000 residents, a Bandiera Blu beach, the Spighe Verdi mark for agro-environmental quality, and Cilento National Park status that links it inland to the Mediterranean Diet biosphere.

The Sunday letter

Agropoli is on our list. Its letter is still to come.

We are writing about all 1,000 of these towns, one at a time, in a free letter every Sunday: the photo, the food, the festa. That is our mission. Sign up and you will be there when Agropoli comes up. By Peter & Sophia, from Pietrasanta.

Read on

Agropoli in our articles

How to get there

From Naples / Salerno (NAP), about 1h 49m by car.

Bari / Brindisi (BRI) is about 3h 42m away.

By car from the centre of Salerno 1 hour, Naples 1h 49m or Bari 3h 45m.

There is a railway station in the comune, so you can arrive without a car.

Coming from Naples?

Coming by train into Salerno? Agropoli is about 1h 9m away by road.

Every town within reach of Naples / Salerno airport.

Agropoli, photo 1
Agropoli, photo 2

What to see

  • Castello Angioino-Aragonese

    Triangular castle with three circular towers and a moat, built on sixth-century Byzantine foundations and remodelled by the Angevins and Aragonese.

  • Centro storico sul promontorio

    Old town on the headland, stone stairways from the castle down to the fishing port, with the seventeenth-century Porta arch and tight whitewashed alleys.

  • Chiesa dei Santi Pietro e Paolo

    Sixteenth-century mother church inside the centro storico, rebuilt after war damage, dedicated to the patrons celebrated each 29 June.

  • Spiaggia di Trentova

    Crescent of fine sand south of the headland, framed by macchia mediterranea cliffs, Bandiera Blu water and part of the Cilento marine protected area.

  • Cilento, Vallo di Diano e Alburni National Park

    UNESCO Mediterranean Diet biosphere reserve linking the coast at Agropoli to the inland Alburni mountains and the Vallo di Diano interior.

The slow-trip planner

Building a trip? Find where Agropoli fits in a slow Italy circuit.

Answer five questions. We will shape a geographically coherent slow trip from the 1,000 Italian towns most travelers skip. Yours to save and share.

Plan your trip

We recommend

Where to eat

Not our picks, but places the guides put their name to: a Michelin star, a Gambero Rosso fork, a Slow Food snail, a Michelin Key for the hotels. Worth a table, a counter, or a night when you pass through.

Living here

  • Population 21,262
  • Remotei
  • Pharmacy in town
  • High school within a 30-minute drive
  • Train station in the comune
  • Nearest airport Naples / Salerno, 1 h 49 min drive
  • Regional capital Napoli, 1 h 49 min drive

Common questions

What is Agropoli known for?
Agropoli is the gateway commune of the Cilento, a Byzantine acropolis on a promontory taken by the Saracens in 882 as a base for raids on Salerno.
Where is Agropoli?
Agropoli is a comune in the province of Salerno, in Campania, at 24 meters above sea level.
What is the nearest airport to Agropoli?
Naples / Salerno (NAP), about 1h 49m by car.
Can you get to Agropoli without a car?
Yes. There is a railway station in the comune, so you can arrive by train.
How long is the drive from Salerno to Agropoli?
About 1 hour by car.
When is the best time to visit Agropoli?
Best in May–Sep. July is the warmest month, averaging 31 degrees, and December the wettest, with about 15 rain days.
Which other towns are like Agropoli?
Piombino, Monte Argentario and Pompei.
How many people live in Agropoli?
21,262 at the 2023 count.
Tags & datadesignations · numbers · sources

The numbers

  • Elevation: 24 m
  • Population: 21,262
  • Surface area: 32.77 km²

These figures were compiled from public directories: ISTAT, OpenStreetMap and Wikidata, and from the official listings of the guides named on this page. Town details change; verify with official sources before you travel.

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