Campania · Salerno
Maiori
The Amalfi Coast town with the longest beach and a grid street plan, rebuilt after the 1954 flood took the medieval lanes.
- Best time
- May–Sep
- By car
- 22 min from Salerno
- Population
- 5,359
Known for
AMALFI LEMONS
Centre of the Sfusato Amalfitano IGP lemon, terraced up the Reginna valley; the Sentiero dei Limoni runs to Minori through the orchards.
1954 FLOOD
Reginna torrent burst the medieval town into the sea on 26 October 1954; rebuilt grid plan, palm seafront, longest beach on the coast.
ROSSELLINI
Roberto Rossellini filmed Paisà, Voyage in Italy and Il Miracolo here in 1946-53, using the postwar town as backdrop.
When to visit
Best · May–Sep
- J13°
- F15°
- M16°
- A18°
- M23°
- J28°
- J31°
- A31°
- S27°
- O23°
- N18°
- D15°
- 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.
Why come
Maiori sits at the mouth of the Reginna torrent between Minori and Cetara, the widest valley on the Amalfi Coast and the only flat ground on the strip. A wall of medieval houses rose up the gorge until the night of 26 October 1954, when a freak storm dropped 500 millimeters of rain on the Lattari ridge in twelve hours. The torrent swept the centro storico, the lemon terraces and several streets into the sea, killing over 80 people.
The town was rebuilt with a rare straight grid behind a kilometer-long beach of volcanic sand, the longest on the coast. The Castello di San Nicola de Thoro-Plano sits on the ridge above, 11th-century walls part-ruined since the Anjou siege. The Collegiata di Santa Maria a Mare, 13th-century with a green and yellow majolica dome, survived the flood and looks out from the hill. Roberto Rossellini shot Paisà, Voyage in Italy and Il Miracolo here in the late 1940s.
The Sunday letter
Maiori 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 Maiori comes up. By Peter & Sophia, from Pietrasanta.
Read on
Maiori in our articles
The best wine towns that eat well in Campania7 towns, Maiori among them.
The 8 best wine towns within 90 minutes of Salerno8 towns, Maiori among them.
The best towns known for what they grow within 45 minutes of Salerno10 towns, Maiori among them.
The best towns known for what they grow within an hour of Naples10 towns, Maiori among them.
How to get there
From Naples / Salerno (NAP), about 1 hour by car.
Bari / Brindisi (BRI) is about 3h 23m away.
By car from the centre of Salerno 22 minutes, Naples 1 hour or Rome 3h 12m.
Coming by train into Salerno? Maiori is about 24 minutes away by road.
What to see
Collegiata di Santa Maria a Mare
Thirteenth-century parish church on the hill, three-aisle neoclassical interior with gilded coffered ceiling and green-and-yellow majolica dome.
Castello di San Nicola de Thoro-Plano
Eleventh-century fortress in partial ruin on the ridge above town, with views over the Reginna valley and the coast east to Capo d'Orso.
Spiaggia di Maiori
Kilometer-long beach of volcanic sand, the longest on the Amalfi Coast, replanted with palms behind the seawall after the 1954 flood.
Sentiero dei Limoni
Mule track between Maiori and Minori through IGP lemon terraces, starting at Piazza Milo by the Collegiata, about 90 minutes one way.
Abbazia di Santa Maria de Olearia
Tenth-century basilian rock abbey 2 km east toward Capo d'Orso, three superimposed chapels carved into the cliff.
The slow-trip planner
Building a trip? Find where Maiori 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.
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.
OltremareRistorante
One Gambero Rosso fork (78/100) for Oltremare, and a spot in the Michelin Guide.
Living here
- Population 5,359
- In-betweeni
- Pharmacy in town
- High school within a 30-minute drive
- Nearest airport Naples / Salerno, 1 h 6 min drive
- Regional capital Napoli, 1 h 0 min drive
Common questions
- What is Maiori known for?
- Maiori is the Amalfi Coast town with the longest beach and a grid street plan, rebuilt after the 1954 flood took the medieval lanes.
- Where is Maiori?
- Maiori is a comune in the province of Salerno, in Campania, at 5 meters above sea level.
- What is the nearest airport to Maiori?
- Naples / Salerno (NAP), about 1 hour by car.
- How long is the drive from Salerno to Maiori?
- About 22 minutes by car.
- When is the best time to visit Maiori?
- Best in May–Sep. July is the warmest month, averaging 31 degrees, and November the wettest, with about 15 rain days.
- Which other towns are like Maiori?
- Tropea, Bagnara Calabra and Belvedere Marittimo.
- How many people live in Maiori?
- 5,359 at the 2023 count.
Tags & datadesignations · numbers · sources
Recognised as
The numbers
- Elevation: 5 m
- Population: 5,359
- Surface area: 16.67 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 Maiori
Tropea
Province: Vibo Valentia
both on the Tyrrhenian coast · both between 3,000 and 10,000 people
Bagnara Calabra
Province: Reggio di Calabria
both on the Tyrrhenian coast · both between 3,000 and 10,000 people
Belvedere Marittimo
Province: Cosenza
both on the Tyrrhenian coast · both between 3,000 and 10,000 people
Amalfi
Province: Salerno
both on the Tyrrhenian coast · both between 3,000 and 10,000 people
Positano
Province: Salerno
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Province: Salerno
both on the Tyrrhenian coast · both between 3,000 and 10,000 people
🏛️ UNESCO
More UNESCO towns in Campania
Amalfi
Province: Salerno
The first Italian maritime republic and the coast it named, six meters above the sea between cliffs that close around the duomo's steps.
Ascea
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Two villages, a hilltown at 230 meters and a Cilento marina, with Parmenides and Zeno's Eleatic school in the ruins of Greek Velia below.
Atrani
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The smallest commune in Italy by area, twelve hectares of stacked houses where the Amalfi Coast pinches shut around a single piazza.
Benevento
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Sannio capital at the Calore-Sabato confluence, with a 114 AD Trajan arch and a Lombard rotunda on the UNESCO list.
Capaccio Paestum
Province: Salerno
Three Doric temples of 550 to 450 BC on the Sele plain, with mozzarella di bufala DOP on the buffalo flats below.