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Stemma di Camerota

Campania · Salerno

Camerota

A Cilento hill town of 422 meters above the Costa degli Infreschi, its caves holding one of the longest prehistoric stratigraphies on the southern Tyrrhenian.

Known for

  • PREHISTORIC CAVES

    Marina di Camerota cave system with Neanderthal and early modern human stratigraphy from the late Middle Palaeolithic to the Chalcolithic, excavated since the 1950s.

  • COSTA DEGLI INFRESCHI

    Protected marine area with freshwater springs feeding cold pools into the Tyrrhenian, accessible by foot or by boat from the Marina.

  • BANDIERA BLU

    Blue Flag water quality at Marina di Camerota, with sandy and pebbled coves inside the Cilento national park boundary.

When to visit

Best · May–Sep

  • J11°
  • F12°
  • M13°
  • A16°
  • M21°
  • J25°
  • J28°
  • A28°
  • S25°
  • O20°
  • N16°
  • D12°
  • Best
  • Hot or crowded
  • Quiet
  • Mostly closed

Daytime averages, 2020–2024. The sea is warmest in August at 28° and coldest in February at 15°. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.

The festa: Vincenzo Ferreri, second Sunday of July

Why come

Camerota's hilltop sits six kilometres inland from its own marina, with two further hamlets, Lentiscosa and Licusati, scattered between the summit and the sea, so the town is really four settlements bound to one name rather than a single center. That name probably comes from the Greek kamaròtos, curved, after the limestone arches worked into the coast below. The hill above stays a medieval center, nearly empty through winter and full in August, its slopes also carrying Cilento DOP olive oil down toward the water.

The coast beneath it is a different register entirely: fishing village, protected marine reserve, and a run of sea caves whose excavated layers reach back through the Chalcolithic to Neanderthal occupation, among the longest such sequences on the Tyrrhenian. What holds the two together is the geography itself, a limestone hill giving its shape to both the arches that named it and the caves that preserved what lived along its shore.

The Sunday letter

We haven’t written Camerota’s letter yet.

One town every Sunday, with the photo, the food, the festa. Be there when this one comes up. Free, by Peter & Sophia from Pietrasanta.

How to get there

From Naples / Salerno (NAP), about 3 hours by car.

Lamezia / Reggio (SUF) is about 3h 47m away.

By car from the centre of Salerno 2h 10m, Naples 3 hours or Bari 4 hours.

Camerota — photo 1
Camerota — photo 2

What to see

  • Grotte di Marina di Camerota

    Grotta della Cala and Grotta di San Biagio sit cut into the sea cliffs, reached along the coast rather than from the hilltop, the caves themselves unassuming from outside despite what has come out of them.

  • Costa degli Infreschi e della Masseta

    The marine area runs between the Marina and Scario, cold freshwater surfacing straight into the sea, a stretch reachable only on foot or by boat, with no road running along it.

  • Castello Marchesale di Camerota

    Norman in origin, remodelled under the Marchesi, standing on the highest point of the town with the Gulf of Policastro laid out below.

  • Centro storico di Camerota

    Stone alleys wrap the castle at the hill's summit, alongside the eighteenth-century mother church, in a town still organized around four hamlets rather than one center.

  • Cilento, Vallo di Diano e Alburni National Park

    The Bulgheria massif rises behind the town, part of a UNESCO Mediterranean Diet biosphere reserve that stretches from that inland ridge down to the protected coastline.

The slow-trip planner

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

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Plan your trip

Through the year

What happens here

Feasts and festivals that come back year after year. We give the month rather than the date, because the date moves and the month rarely does. Check with the source before you plan a journey around one.

Living here

  • Population 6,875
  • Very remotei
  • Pharmacy in town
  • Nearest high school over ~30 minutes away
  • Nearest airport Naples / Salerno, 2 h 54 min drive
  • Regional capital Napoli, 2 h 54 min drive

Common questions

What is Camerota known for?
Camerota is a Cilento hill town of 422 meters above the Costa degli Infreschi, its caves holding one of the longest prehistoric stratigraphies on the southern Tyrrhenian.
Where is Camerota?
Camerota is a comune in the province of Salerno, in Campania.
What is the nearest airport to Camerota?
Naples / Salerno (NAP), about 3 hours by car.
How long is the drive from Salerno to Camerota?
About 2h 10m by car.
When is the best time to visit Camerota?
Best in May–Sep. July is the warmest month, averaging 28 degrees, and November the wettest, with about 14 rain days.
Is there a sagra or a festival in Camerota?
Yes. Gusto Italia. August is when the first of them falls.
Which other towns are like Camerota?
Centola, Ascea and Maratea.
How many people live in Camerota?
6,875 at the 2023 count.
Tags & datadesignations · numbers · sources

The numbers

  • Elevation: 422 m
  • Population: 6,875
  • Surface area: 70.58 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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