Calabria · Catanzaro
Badolato
A medieval borgo of thirteen churches above the Ionian, which took in 350 Kurdish refugees in 1997 and started its own slow rebirth.
Picked by Peter Benei
Letter to come
Why Badolato is on our list
It holds Borghi più belli d'Italia.
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Visiting
- Best time
- Apr–Oct
- By car
- 4 h 35 min from Salerno
- By train
- Station in the comune
- Population
- 2,813
- J13°
- F14°
- M15°
- A17°
- M23°
- J28°
- J32°
- A31°
- S27°
- O23°
- N18°
- D15°
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
Daytime air temperature, averages for 2020–2024. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.
Why come
Badolato sits on a hill above the Ionian coast in the southern Catanzaro province, ringed by two deep valleys that drop toward the sea. The fief was granted around 1080 to the Norman knight Roberto il Guiscardo; in 1254 Filippo de Badulato was named lord, and the village stayed in his hands until 1272 when Pietro Ruffo, Count of Catanzaro, removed him. The medieval grid was laid out in the shape of a Latin cross, with thirteen churches inside the centro storico, most of them now closed; only the Chiesa Matrice, dedicated to the Santissimo Salvatore, holds regular services.
In 1997 the village, severely depopulated by emigration, took in 350 Kurdish refugees from a ship that ran aground on the coast. The episode turned Badolato into a model for resettlement and started a slow rebirth of the historic center, with houses bought and restored by foreign and Italian returnees. Olive oil and wine are the main agricultural products.
How to get there
From Lamezia Terme (SUF), about 1 h 18 min by car.
Naples (NAP) is about 5 h 19 min away.
By car from the center of Salerno 4 h 35 min, Bari 5 h 17 min or Naples 5 h 19 min.
There is a railway station in the comune, so you can arrive without a car.
Every town within reach of Lamezia Terme airport.
First time driving in Italy? Read our complete manual.
What to see
Chiesa Matrice del Santissimo Salvatore
Mother church of Badolato, the only one of the thirteen historic churches still in regular use.
Chiesa di Santa Caterina d'Alessandria
Medieval church preserved with a fresco that village women blocked from being moved for restoration, in a famous local protest.
Convento di Santa Maria degli Angeli
Former Franciscan monastery on a hill outside the village, now home to a Mondo X recovery community founded by Padre Eligio.
Centro storico
Medieval grid laid out in a Latin cross, with stepped stone streets, depopulated by emigration and being restored house by house.
Badolato Marina
The seaside frazione three kilometers below the historic village, where the Kurdish ship Ararat ran aground in December 1997.
Living here
Could you live here?
Badolato is at the end of the road.
- A village of 2,813. The nearest town of 5,000 people, Soverato, is 28 min away: past our 15-minute rule, which makes this the end of the road.
- Catanzaro, a city of 83,313, is 56 min by car. Inside our 30 to 60 minutes: close for the services, far enough to keep its own life.
- A station of its own. Trains are the overlooked way to get around Italy: no parking, straight into the center.
The rules come from our series Where to Move in Italy, written from the places we have lived: Part 1, The End of the Road · Part 2, The Small Town · Part 3, The City · Part 4, The Postcard · Part 5, The Other Half. The towns we would pick are in Part 6, The Best Towns.
- Population 2,813, down 10.1% since 2015 (Italy's emptying towns)
- Nearest city Catanzaro, 56 min drive
- Train station in the comune
- Nearest national health service hospital Soverato, 14 km as the crow flies · how healthcare works in Italy
- Homes in the center: €540 to €640 per m² to buy, €2.20 to €2.50 per m² a month to rent
Weighing a move here? See the moving year.
All the numbers Common questions, designations, lists and sources.
More about living here
- Remote
- Pharmacy in town
- High school within a 30-minute drive
- Full fibre reaches 80% of homes
- Primary school in the comune
- Earthquake zone 2, medium hazard
- Lamezia Terme airport (SUF), 1 h 18 min drive, the nearest with scheduled flights
- Regional capital Catanzaro, 56 min drive
If you are moving here
Who lives here
6% of residents are foreign citizens, most often from Morocco, Romania and Nigeria, against 9% across Italy. 15 of them come from English-speaking countries or western and northern Europe, mostly Germany. There are 239 people over 65 for every 100 children under 15, against 216 across Italy. 57% of homes have no resident, holiday homes and empty ones counted together, against 27% across Italy. Catanzaro province ranks 92nd of 107 in Il Sole 24 Ore's quality of life ranking for 2025.
Health and schools
The nearest emergency room is in Soverato, 14 km as the crow flies. The nearest major one is in Catanzaro, 36 km away. The nearest IB school is Gonzaga International School Palermo, 281 km as the crow flies. The nearest school listed as international is International School of Brindisi, 257 km away.
Information, not medical advice. Confirm with a professional.
Taxes
A home that is not your main one pays 1.06% a year in property tax at the 2025 rate, charged on the cadastral value rather than the price. A main home pays none unless it is in a luxury category. The town adds 0.8% to your income tax. 7% pensioner tax: this town qualifies, for someone with a foreign pension who has lived abroad for five years: 7% on foreign income, for ten years.
Information, not tax advice. Confirm with a professional.
What it costs
The average household in Calabria spends about €1,620 a month, €590 of it on food, against about €2,170 across Italy. A family of three pays about €398 a year for water, on the Calabria average. In Catanzaro, the provincial capital, in September 2026, an espresso cost €1.08, a meal in a pizzeria €10.46 and a man's haircut €15.38.
Climate and risk
It is in climate zone C, on a scale from A, the warmest, to F, the coldest, and heating may run from November 15 to March 31, up to 10 hours a day, unless the mayor changes it. 18% of residents live in a zone the national maps rate high for floods, 20% in a high or medium one. Under 1% live in a zone rated high or very high for landslides.
These shares cover the whole comune, not any one street. Check an address on IdroGEO.
Moving from abroad? Which visa you need. Sources: ISTAT, the Ministry of Health, ISPRA, the Finance Ministry, the Ministry of Enterprise, Poste Italiane, the comuni, the IB, International Schools Database, Il Sole 24 Ore, Cittadinanzattiva.
Known for
TOWN OF CHURCHES
Thirteen historic churches inside the centro storico, arranged in the shape of a Latin cross, most now silent.
KURDISH ARRIVAL
In December 1997 the Ararat ran aground at Badolato Marina; the village took in 350 Kurdish refugees, becoming an Italian model for hospitality.
OIL AND WINE
Olive oil and wine production on the slopes between the borgo and the sea, the local agricultural economy for centuries.
Common questions
- What is Badolato known for?
- Badolato is a medieval borgo of thirteen churches at 240 meters above the Ionian, which took in 350 Kurdish refugees in 1997 and started its own slow rebirth.
- Where is Badolato?
- Badolato is a comune in the province of Catanzaro, in Calabria.
- What is the nearest airport to Badolato?
- The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Lamezia Terme (SUF), about 1 h 18 min by car.
- Can you get to Badolato 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 Badolato?
- About 4 h 35 min by car.
- When is the best time to visit Badolato?
- Best in Apr–Oct. July is the warmest month, averaging 32 degrees, and November the wettest, with about 13 rain days.
- Which other towns are like Badolato?
- Cirò, Stilo and Oriolo.
- How many people live in Badolato?
- 2,813 residents, by ISTAT's count on 1 January 2025.
- Is Badolato a good place to live?
- By the rules in our Where to Move in Italy series, Badolato is at the end of the road: the nearest town of 5,000 people, Soverato, is 28 min away. The nearest city, Catanzaro, is 56 min away by car. The nearest national health service hospital is in Soverato, 14 km as the crow flies. Full fibre reaches 80% of homes.
Tags & data designations · numbers · sources
Recognized as
Landscape
The numbers
- Elevation: 240 m
- Population: 2,813
- Surface area: 37.07 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.
Similar
Towns like Badolato
What all six share with Badolato: inland, away from the coast · under 3,000 people · hill towns
The letter
Badolato 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: the photo, what is worth eating, and when to turn up. That is our mission. Sign up and you will be there when Badolato comes up. By Peter & Sophia, from Turin.
The nearest town we have written up is Cerveteri, 535 km away. Read its letter →
Paid plans, the moving year and the books are on the membership page.