Basilicata · Matera
Bernalda
A 127-meter hill town between the Bradano and Basento, Francis Ford Coppola's ancestral home, holding the Magna Graecia columns of the Tavole Palatine.
Picked by Peter Benei
Letter to come
Why Bernalda is on our list
It holds Bandiera Blu.
Subscribe and you get Bernalda's letter the day it comes out.
Visiting
- Best time
- May–Sep
- By car
- 1 h 32 min from Bari
- By train
- Station in the comune
- Population
- 11,906
- J14°
- F16°
- M16°
- A19°
- M25°
- J31°
- J35°
- A34°
- S29°
- O24°
- N19°
- D15°
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
Daytime air temperature, averages for 2020–2024. The sea is warmest in August at 28° and coldest in February at 15°. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.
Going to the sea? How to find the free beaches in Italy.
Why come
Bernalda sits between the Bradano and Basento rivers, eight kilometers inland from the Ionian coast and the frazione of Metaponto. Almost twelve thousand people live in the town, named for the Aragonese courtier who moved the older Camarda settlement up to the defensible hilltop where the centro still stands. The corso and the castle anchor the upper town; the coast and its archaeological ground lie a separate world eight kilometers below.
Metaponto was founded by Achaean Greeks in the seventh century BC, the plain later home to Pythagoras until his death. What remains there today spans a wide stretch of time in a small area: temple columns from the sixth century BC, a Greek theater and necropolis, and a beach that draws summer crowds for reasons that have nothing to do with antiquity. Inland, the hill town's own history turns on a single family: an emigration in 1904 and a return a century later that reopened one of its noble houses to visitors. The town works, then, as two places joined by eight kilometers, one built on Magna Graecia and modern seaside tourism, the other on a hilltop refounding and one family's long departure and return.
How to get there
From Bari (BRI), about 1 h 38 min by car.
Lamezia Terme (SUF) is about 3 h 8 min away.
By car from the center of Bari 1 h 32 min, Lecce 2 h 11 min or Salerno 2 h 42 min.
There is a railway station in the comune, so you can arrive without a car.
Coming from Bari?
Coming by train into Taranto? Bernalda is about 47 min away by road.
Every town within reach of Bari airport.
First time driving in Italy? Read our complete manual.
What to see
Castello Aragonese
Hilltop fortress dating to the 1470 refounding by Bernardino de Bernaudo, with medieval origins and Norman, Swabian and Angevin layered additions.
Palazzo Margherita
Noble palazzo on Corso Umberto, now a nine-room hotel, the family returning most years for the town's patronal feast.
Tavole Palatine
The columns stand alone on open plain outside Metaponto, no temple walls around them, the ground where Pythagoras founded his school and died.
Parco Archeologico di Metaponto
Greek city site at the Metaponto frazione, ruins of the Temple of Apollo Licio, the necropolis, ancient theater and connected antiquarium museum.
Lido di Metaponto
Pine trees back the sand for its length, the water shallow and calm, services and cleanliness kept to the Bandiera Blu standard year after year.
From the guides
Where to stay
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.
Palazzo MargheritaHotel
Palazzo Margherita holds one Michelin Key.
Living here
Could you live here?
Bernalda meets all 3 of our rules for a small town.
- 11,906 people, inside our sweet spot of 5,000 to 20,000: a real town, still one community.
- Matera, a city of 59,628, is 53 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 11,906, down 3.1% since 2015
- Nearest city Matera, 53 min drive
- Train station in the comune
- Nearest national health service hospital Policoro, 24 km as the crow flies · how healthcare works in Italy
- Homes in the center: €1,050 to €1,250 per m² to buy, €5.00 to €5.50 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
- In-between
- Pharmacy in town
- High school within a 30-minute drive
- Full fibre reaches 94% of homes
- Primary school in the comune
- Earthquake zone 3, low hazard
- Bari airport (BRI), 1 h 38 min drive, the nearest with scheduled flights
- Regional capital Potenza, 1 h 35 min drive
If you are moving here
Who lives here
10% of residents are foreign citizens, most often from Romania, Albania and Algeria, against 9% across Italy. 14 of them come from English-speaking countries or western and northern Europe, mostly Germany. There are 223 people over 65 for every 100 children under 15, against 216 across Italy. 37% of homes have no resident, holiday homes and empty ones counted together, against 27% across Italy. Matera province ranks 79th of 107 in Il Sole 24 Ore's quality of life ranking for 2025.
Health and schools
The nearest emergency room is in Policoro, 24 km as the crow flies. The nearest major one is in Taranto, 52 km away. The nearest IB school is Gonzaga International School Palermo, 384 km as the crow flies. The nearest school listed as international is International School of Brindisi, 106 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 Basilicata spends about €1,890 a month, €580 of it on food, against about €2,170 across Italy. A family of three pays about €459 a year for water, on the Basilicata average.
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. 8% of residents live in a zone the national maps rate high for floods, 9% 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
COPPOLA ROOTS
Francis Ford Coppola's grandfather Agostino emigrated from Bernalda in 1904; the director restored 1892 Palazzo Margherita as a hotel in 2004.
TAVOLE PALATINE
Fifteen Doric columns of a sixth-century BC Hera temple at Metaponto, the city where Pythagoras lived and died after founding his school.
METAPONTO LIDO
Long pine-backed sand beach on the Ionian coast eight kilometers from town, frazione of Bernalda, holder of the Bandiera Blu.
IGP ZONES
The commune lies inside the Canestrato di Moliterno and Fragola della Basilicata IGP production zones.
Common questions
- What is Bernalda known for?
- Bernalda is a 127-meter hill town between the Bradano and Basento, Francis Ford Coppola's ancestral home, holding the Magna Graecia columns of the Tavole Palatine.
- Where is Bernalda?
- Bernalda is a comune in the province of Matera, in Basilicata, at 127 meters above sea level.
- What is the nearest airport to Bernalda?
- The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Bari (BRI), about 1 h 38 min by car.
- Can you get to Bernalda without a car?
- Yes. There is a railway station in the comune, so you can arrive by train.
- How long is the drive from Bari to Bernalda?
- About 1 h 32 min by car.
- When is the best time to visit Bernalda?
- Best in May–Sep. July is the warmest month, averaging 35 degrees, and November the wettest, with about 10 rain days.
- Which other towns are like Bernalda?
- Policoro, Carovigno and Polignano a Mare.
- How many people live in Bernalda?
- 11,906 residents, by ISTAT's count on 1 January 2025.
- Is Bernalda a good place to live?
- By the rules in our Where to Move in Italy series, Bernalda is a small town that meets all 3 of our rules. The nearest city, Matera, is 53 min away by car. The nearest national health service hospital is in Policoro, 24 km as the crow flies. Full fibre reaches 94% of homes.
Tags & data designations · numbers · sources
Recognized as
Landscape
The numbers
- Elevation: 127 m
- Population: 11,906
- Surface area: 126.19 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.
The ranked lists
Lists Bernalda appears in
- The 7 best towns worth staying overnight that you can reach by train within 90 minutes of TarantoNear Tarantoby trainwithin 90 minworth staying overnight7 towns · smallest 11,906 residents · closest 38 min away
- The best coastal towns within 90 minutes of TarantoNear Tarantocoastalwithin 90 min7 towns · smallest 3,132 residents · closest 46 min away
- The best beach towns you can reach by train within 90 minutes of TarantoNear Tarantoclean beachby trainwithin 90 min9 towns · smallest 3,132 residents · closest 49 min away
Similar
Towns like Bernalda
What all six share with Bernalda: over 10,000 people · near sea level
Policoro
Province: Matera
both on the Ionian coast · both have a railway station in the comune
Carovigno
Province: Brindisi
both have a railway station in the comune · both on the coast
Polignano a Mare
Province: Bari
both have a railway station in the comune · both on the coast
Gallipoli
Province: Lecce
both have a railway station in the comune · both on the coast
Monopoli
Province: Bari
both have a railway station in the comune · both on the coast
Isola di Capo Rizzuto
Province: Crotone
both on the Ionian coast
The letter
Bernalda 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 Bernalda comes up. By Peter & Sophia, from Turin.
The nearest town we have written up is Scheggino, 410 km away. Read its letter →
Paid plans, the moving year and the books are on the membership page.