Campania · Salerno
Pisciotta
A Cilento hilltop town of olive terraces above the Tyrrhenian, where fishermen still pull anchovies with a medieval net.
Picked by Peter Benei
Letter to come
Why Pisciotta is on our list
It holds Bandiera Blu.
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Visiting
- Best time
- May–Sep
- By car
- 2 h 5 min from Salerno
- By train
- Station in the comune
- Population
- 2,410
- J12°
- F13°
- M14°
- A17°
- M21°
- J26°
- J29°
- A29°
- S26°
- O21°
- N17°
- D14°
- 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
The hill the town occupies rises between Ascea and Palinuro, part of the strictest zone of the Cilento and Vallo di Diano National Park, and the ridge gives the stone houses of the centro storico a clear line of sight to Capo Palinuro twelve kilometers south. The town's parts sit at different elevations doing different work: the historic core holds the ridge, the olive terraces cover the slopes below it, and Marina di Pisciotta occupies the shore at the foot of the hill, where the fishing boats go out. The menaica net worked by the Marina's fishermen is a technique once widespread around the Mediterranean and now reduced to a few coves, of which this is one.
Carlo Pisacane's failed 1857 revolutionary expedition landed at Sapri and was crushed nearby; the Cilento coast keeps the memory in plaques and processions rather than in any structure at Pisciotta itself. What holds the town together is elevation: everything of note here, the anchovies, the olives, the beach, the ridge, is defined by how far it sits above or below that 171-meter line.
How to get there
From Naples (NAP), about 3 h 2 min by car.
Lamezia Terme (SUF) is about 3 h 55 min away.
By car from the center of Salerno 2 h 5 min, Naples 3 h 2 min or Bari 4 h 11 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
Centro storico di Pisciotta
Hilltop medieval core of stone houses on a ridge 171 meters above the sea, with a clear sightline to Capo Palinuro.
Marina di Pisciotta
Fishing port at the foot of the hill, departure point for the last menaica anchovy boats on the coast, its beach holding the Blue Flag.
Uliveti di Pisciottana
Terraces holding trees of considerable age, the source groves of the Cilento DOP extra-virgin oil.
Chiesa dei Santi Pietro e Paolo
Parish church in the historic center, with a high stone bell tower and traditional patronal procession in late June.
Parco Nazionale del Cilento
UNESCO Biosphere Reserve and National Park stretching inland from the town to the Alburni, with marked hiking and pasture trails.
From the guides
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.
AngiolinaTrattoria
A Michelin Bib Gourmand for Angiolina, and three Gambero Rosso prawns.
PerbaccoRistorante
Perbacco has a Slow Food snail and a spot in the Michelin Guide.
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?
Pisciotta is at the end of the road.
- A village of 2,410. The nearest town of 5,000 people, Ascea, is 30 min away: past our 15-minute rule, which makes this the end of the road.
- Salerno, a city of 126,000, is 2 h 5 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 2,410, down 9.7% since 2015
- Nearest city Salerno, 2 h 5 min drive
- Train station in the comune
- Nearest national health service hospital Vallo della Lucania, 13 km as the crow flies · how healthcare works in Italy
- Homes in the center: €1,250 to €1,750 per m² to buy, €4.00 to €6.00 per m² a month to rent
All the numbers Common questions, designations, lists and sources.
More about living here
- Very remote
- Pharmacy in town
- Nearest high school over ~30 minutes away
- Full fibre reaches 95% of homes
- Primary school in the comune
- Earthquake zone 3, low hazard
- Naples airport (NAP), 3 h 2 min drive, the nearest with scheduled flights
- Regional capital Naples, 3 h 2 min drive
If you are moving here
Who lives here
7% of residents are foreign citizens, most often from Romania, Morocco and Poland, against 9% across Italy. 13 of them come from English-speaking countries or western and northern Europe, mostly Sweden. There are 328 people over 65 for every 100 children under 15, against 216 across Italy. 64% of homes have no resident, holiday homes and empty ones counted together, against 27% across Italy. Salerno province ranks 90th of 107 in Il Sole 24 Ore's quality of life ranking for 2025.
Health and schools
The nearest emergency room is in Vallo della Lucania, 13 km as the crow flies. The nearest major one is in Salerno, 73 km away. The nearest IB school is Gonzaga International School Palermo, 274 km as the crow flies. The nearest school listed as international is École Francaise de Naples Alexandre-Dumas, 117 km away.
Information, not medical advice. Confirm with a professional.
Taxes
A home that is not your main one pays 1% 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 Campania spends about €1,800 a month, €650 of it on food, against about €2,170 across Italy. A family of three pays about €328 a year for water, on the Campania 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. 2% of residents live in a zone the national maps rate high for floods, 2% in a high or medium one. 17% 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
MENAICA ANCHOVIES
Slow Food Presidium for the night-fished, hand-sorted, salt-cured anchovies caught with a medieval menaica net by a handful of Marina boats.
PISCIOTTANA OLIVE
Endemic cultivar of the lower Cilento, hand-harvested on steep terraces, base of the Cilento DOP extra-virgin oil.
BANDIERA BLU
Marina di Pisciotta beach holds the Blue Flag for water quality and shoreline management on the Cilento coast.
Common questions
- What is Pisciotta known for?
- Pisciotta is a Cilento hilltop town of olive terraces above the Tyrrhenian, where fishermen still pull anchovies with a medieval net.
- Where is Pisciotta?
- Pisciotta is a comune in the province of Salerno, in Campania, at 171 meters above sea level.
- What is the nearest airport to Pisciotta?
- The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Naples (NAP), about 3 h 2 min by car.
- Can you get to Pisciotta 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 Pisciotta?
- About 2 h 5 min by car.
- When is the best time to visit Pisciotta?
- Best in May–Sep. August is the warmest month, averaging 29 degrees, and November the wettest, with about 15 rain days.
- Which other towns are like Pisciotta?
- Parghelia, Praiano and Minori.
- How many people live in Pisciotta?
- 2,410 residents, by ISTAT's count on 1 January 2025.
- Is Pisciotta a good place to live?
- By the rules in our Where to Move in Italy series, Pisciotta is at the end of the road: the nearest town of 5,000 people, Ascea, is 30 min away. The nearest city, Salerno, is 2 h 5 min away by car. The nearest national health service hospital is in Vallo della Lucania, 13 km as the crow flies. Full fibre reaches 95% of homes.
Tags & data designations · numbers · sources
Recognized as
Landscape
The numbers
- Elevation: 171 m
- Population: 2,410
- Surface area: 31.24 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 Pisciotta appears in
- The 6 best beach towns with a serious restaurant in CampaniaCampaniaclean beachserious restaurant6 towns · smallest 2,410 residents
- The best towns you can reach by train in the province of SalernoSalerno provinceby train6 towns · smallest 2,410 residents
- The best beach towns in the province of SalernoSalerno provinceclean beach7 towns · smallest 2,410 residents
- The best beach towns you can reach by train in CampaniaCampaniaclean beachby train7 towns · smallest 2,410 residents
- The best hidden beach towns in CampaniaCampaniaclean beachhidden8 towns · smallest 2,410 residents
- The best coastal towns inside a national park in CampaniaCampaniacoastalinside a park9 towns · smallest 2,410 residents
Similar
Towns like Pisciotta
What all six share with Pisciotta: on the Tyrrhenian coast · near sea level
Parghelia
Province: Vibo Valentia
both under 3,000 people · both have a railway station in the comune
Praiano
Province: Salerno
both under 3,000 people
Minori
Province: Salerno
both under 3,000 people
Cetara
Province: Salerno
both under 3,000 people
Praia a Mare
Province: Cosenza
both have a railway station in the comune
Vietri sul Mare
Province: Salerno
both have a railway station in the comune
The letter
Pisciotta 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 Pisciotta comes up. By Peter & Sophia, from Turin.
The nearest town we have written up is Cerveteri, 337 km away. Read its letter →
Paid plans, the moving year and the books are on the membership page.