Basilicata · Potenza
Maratea
Basilicata's only commune on the Tyrrhenian, thirty-two kilometers of rocky coast overlooked by a stone-clad Christ finished in 1965 and turned toward the mountain.
Picked by Peter Benei
Letter to come
Why Maratea is on our list
It holds Borghi più belli d'Italia and Bandiera Blu.
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Visiting
- Best time
- May–Sep
- By car
- 1 h 50 min from Salerno
- By train
- Station in the comune
- Population
- 4,601
- J11°
- F12°
- M13°
- A16°
- M20°
- J25°
- J28°
- A28°
- S25°
- O21°
- N17°
- D13°
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
Daytime air temperature, averages for 2020–2024. The sea is warmest in August at 29° 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
Maratea sits about 120 kilometers south-east of Salerno, on the strip of coast between Campania and Calabria that gives Basilicata its only outlet to the Tyrrhenian. The town is built in layers rather than as a single settlement: the historic center, Il Borgo, holds the middle ground at three hundred meters on the south slope of the mountain, a few kilometers inland from the water. Above it, near the summit, the mountain carries both the statue of Christ and, just below it, the sanctuary of the patron saint, the two facing each other rather than out to sea.
Around them on the summit lie the ruins of Maratea Superiore, the medieval Castello settlement that residents abandoned in favor of the lower borgo. Below all of this, the comune's thirty-two kilometers of rocky shoreline carry the Bandiera Blu and more than twenty beaches and coves, the only Tyrrhenian coast Basilicata has. The town of forty-four churches is a count that spans not just the borgo but its outlying frazioni, chapels and oratories accumulated over centuries across the whole territory rather than in one place. What this adds up to is a town stacked vertically from shore to summit, each level, coast, borgo, sanctuary, ruined castello, holding a different age and function of the same settlement rather than a single center with outskirts.
How to get there
From Naples (NAP), about 2 h 34 min by car.
Lamezia Terme (SUF) is about 2 h 48 min away.
By car from the center of Salerno 1 h 50 min, Naples 2 h 34 min or Bari 3 h 41 min.
There is a railway station in the comune, so you can arrive without a car.
First time driving in Italy? Read our complete manual.
What to see
Cristo Redentore
Arms outstretched at the summit, the statue faces away from the sea, toward the sanctuary and the inland slopes rather than out over the water it overlooks.
Basilica di San Biagio
Basilica and sanctuary of the patron San Biagio on the summit of Monte San Biagio, facing the Cristo Redentore, keeping the saint's relics.
Il Borgo
Historic center of Maratea on the south slope of the mountain at 300 meters, with narrow stone lanes and small piazzas typical of an inland coastal town.
Maratea Superiore (Castello)
Ruins of the medieval upper town around the basilica on Monte San Biagio, the original walled Maratea before residents moved down to the slope below.
Coste di Maratea
More than twenty beaches and coves along the rocky shoreline, each stretch of coast distinct in scale and access, some reached only by boat or path.
From the guides
Where to eat and 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.
Taverna RovitaRistorante
Taverna Rovita carries a place on Italy's historic-locali register, plus a spot in the Michelin Guide.
CesareRistorante
Cesare has one Gambero Rosso fork (79/100) to its name.
I Sapori di MariannaTrattoria
I Sapori di Marianna holds three Gambero Rosso prawns.
2 more places the guides name in Maratea
La CambusaRistorante
La Cambusa holds one Gambero Rosso fork (79/100).
SantavenereHotel
Santavenere has a La Liste score of 92 and a Leading Hotels of the World listing.
Before you sit down: how to order at a restaurant, how to spot a tourist trap, what aperitivo is and how the Italian bar works.
Living here
Could you live here?
Maratea is at the end of the road.
- A village of 4,601. The nearest town of 5,000 people, Praia a Mare, is 29 min away: past our 15-minute rule, which makes this the end of the road.
- Potenza, a city of 63,864, is 1 h 46 min by car. Further than our 30 to 60 minutes, a long way for the hospital visit or the monthly shopping.
- 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 4,601, down 10.7% since 2015 (Italy's emptying towns)
- Nearest city Potenza, 1 h 46 min drive
- Train station in the comune
- Nearest national health service hospital Sapri, 10 km as the crow flies · how healthcare works in Italy
- Homes in the center: €650 to €1,350 per m² to buy, €4.50 to €5.50 per m² a month to rent
All the numbers Common questions, designations, lists and sources.
More about living here
- Very remote
- Pharmacy in town
- High school within a 30-minute drive
- Full fibre reaches 68% of homes
- Primary school in the comune
- Earthquake zone 2, medium hazard
- Naples airport (NAP), 2 h 34 min drive, the nearest with scheduled flights
- Regional capital Potenza, 1 h 46 min drive
If you are moving here
Who lives here
2% of residents are foreign citizens, most often from Romania, Ukraine and Brazil, against 9% across Italy. 14 of them come from English-speaking countries or western and northern Europe. There are 335 people over 65 for every 100 children under 15, against 216 across Italy. 59% of homes have no resident, holiday homes and empty ones counted together, against 27% across Italy. Potenza province ranks 84th of 107 in Il Sole 24 Ore's quality of life ranking for 2025.
Health and schools
The nearest emergency room is in Sapri, 10 km as the crow flies. The nearest major one is in Sangineto, 46 km away. The nearest IB school is Gonzaga International School Palermo, 292 km as the crow flies. The nearest school listed as international is École Francaise de Naples Alexandre-Dumas, 158 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, with nothing due on income under €10,000. 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. 1% of residents live in a zone the national maps rate high for floods, 1% in a high or medium one. 11% 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
CRISTO REDENTORE
Twenty-one meter Christ of concrete and Seravezza marble chips on Monte San Biagio at 623 meters, sculpted by Bruno Innocenti, finished 1965, facing inland.
TYRRHENIAN COAST
Basilicata's only Tyrrhenian shoreline, about thirty-two kilometers of rock and cove between Campania and Calabria, Bandiera Blu beaches.
44 CHURCHES
Traditional count of chapels and oratories across the borgo and frazioni, the basis of Maratea's nickname as the town of forty-four churches.
Common questions
- What is Maratea known for?
- Basilicata's only commune on the Tyrrhenian, thirty-two kilometers of rocky coast overlooked by a stone-clad Christ finished in 1965 and turned toward the mountain.
- Where is Maratea?
- Maratea is a comune in the province of Potenza, in Basilicata, at 300 meters above sea level.
- What is the nearest airport to Maratea?
- The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Naples (NAP), about 2 h 34 min by car.
- Can you get to Maratea 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 Maratea?
- About 1 h 50 min by car.
- When is the best time to visit Maratea?
- Best in May–Sep. August is the warmest month, averaging 28 degrees, and November the wettest, with about 14 rain days.
- Which other towns are like Maratea?
- Centola, Ascea and Camerota.
- How many people live in Maratea?
- 4,601 residents, by ISTAT's count on 1 January 2025.
- Is Maratea a good place to live?
- By the rules in our Where to Move in Italy series, Maratea is at the end of the road: the nearest town of 5,000 people, Praia a Mare, is 29 min away. The nearest city, Potenza, is 1 h 46 min away by car. The nearest national health service hospital is in Sapri, 10 km as the crow flies. Full fibre reaches 68% of homes.
Tags & data designations · numbers · sources
Recognized as
Landscape
The numbers
- Elevation: 300 m
- Population: 4,601
- Surface area: 67.84 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 Maratea appears in
- The best towns with a serious restaurant in BasilicataBasilicataserious restaurant6 towns · smallest 696 residents
- The 7 prettiest villages in the province of PotenzaPotenza provinceprettiest villages7 towns · smallest 508 residents
- The 8 prettiest small villages in BasilicataBasilicataprettiest villagessmall8 towns · smallest 508 residents
- The best towns that eat well in the province of PotenzaPotenza provinceeats well9 towns · smallest 696 residents
Similar
Towns like Maratea
What all six share with Maratea: on the Tyrrhenian coast · between 3,000 and 10,000 people
Centola
Province: Salerno
both hill towns · both have a railway station in the comune
Ascea
Province: Salerno
both hill towns · both have a railway station in the comune
Camerota
Province: Salerno
both hill towns
- Written about. No. 47.
Capalbio
Province: Grosseto
both hill towns · both have a railway station in the comune
Praia a Mare
Province: Cosenza
both have a railway station in the comune
Tramonti
Province: Salerno
both hill towns
The letter
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Chioggia | Everyone is wrong about this town
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