Basilicata · Matera
San Mauro Forte
A 540-meter Lucanian hill town built around a surviving Norman tower, where the Sagra dei Campanacci on 16 January wakes the village with cowbells.
Picked by Peter Benei
Letter to come
Why San Mauro Forte is on our list
It holds Borghi Autentici and Città dell'Olio.
Subscribe and you get San Mauro Forte's letter the day it comes out.
Visiting
- Best time
- Apr–Oct
- By car
- 2 h 16 min from Bari
- Population
- 1,208
- J11°
- F13°
- M14°
- A17°
- M23°
- J29°
- J33°
- A32°
- S27°
- O22°
- N16°
- D12°
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
Daytime air temperature, averages for 2020–2024. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.
Why come
San Mauro Forte sits at 540 meters in the western Matera hills, fifty-five kilometers from the Sassi and forty from Pietrapertosa. The Timponi site, with eighth-century BC remains and fourth-century BC tombs, places the area inside the Lucanian prehistoric network. The current settlement was founded around 1060 in the Norman period and takes its name from a Benedictine monastery dedicated to Saint Maurus.
The Torre Normanna, the cylindrical defensive tower in the main piazza, is the surviving element of the Norman-Swabian castle, later rebuilt by the Angevins. The Chiesa di Santa Maria Assunta of 1553 preserves a sixteenth-century processional cross. The town's calendar is dominated by the Sagra dei Campanacci on the eve of Sant'Antonio Abate, on 16 January, when men strap belts of cowbells around their waists and walk the streets at dusk in a transhumance rite that predates the church and was kept alive by the shepherding economy. The town carries Città dell'Olio status: olive groves cover much of the commune.
How to get there
From Bari (BRI), about 2 h 13 min by car.
Naples (NAP) is about 3 h 5 min away.
By car from the center of Bari 2 h 16 min, Salerno 2 h 22 min or Naples 3 h 5 min.
First time driving in Italy? Read our complete manual.
What to see
Torre Normanna
Cylindrical Norman tower in the main piazza, the surviving element of the Norman-Swabian castle, rebuilt by the Angevins.
Chiesa di Santa Maria Assunta
Mother church built in 1553 inside the medieval center, preserving a sixteenth-century astile cross and an eighteenth-century canvas.
Chiesa e Convento dell'Annunziata
Franciscan complex begun in the late fifteenth century, with the convent attached to the church of the Annunciation.
Chiesa di San Rocco
Small church dedicated to the protector against plague, part of the Franciscan-era religious building campaign.
Sito archeologico dei Timponi
Eighth-century BC settlement evidence and fourth-century BC tombs, in the commune territory outside the center.
Living here
Could you live here?
San Mauro Forte is at the end of the road.
- A village of 1,208. The nearest town of 5,000 people, Ferrandina, is 35 min away: past our 15-minute rule, which makes this the end of the road.
- Potenza, a city of 63,864, is 1 h 15 min by car. Further than our 30 to 60 minutes, a long way for the hospital visit or the monthly shopping.
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 1,208, down 22.4% since 2015 (Italy's emptying towns)
- Nearest city Potenza, 1 h 15 min drive
- Nearest national health service hospital Matera, 35 km as the crow flies · how healthcare works in Italy
- Homes in the center: €440 to €660 per m² to buy, €1.50 to €2.20 per m² a month to rent
All the numbers Common questions, designations, lists and sources.
More about living here
- Remote
- Pharmacy in town
- Nearest high school over ~30 minutes away
- Full fibre reaches 93% of homes
- Primary school in the comune
- Earthquake zone 2, medium hazard
- Bari airport (BRI), 2 h 13 min drive, the nearest with scheduled flights
- Regional capital Potenza, 1 h 15 min drive
If you are moving here
Who lives here
4% of residents are foreign citizens, most often from the Gambia, Romania and Bangladesh, against 9% across Italy. There are 340 people over 65 for every 100 children under 15, against 216 across Italy. 57% 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 Matera, 35 km as the crow flies. The nearest major one is in Potenza, 42 km away. The nearest IB school is St. Stephen's School, 351 km as the crow flies. The nearest school listed as international is International School of Brindisi, 142 km away.
Information, not medical advice. Confirm with a professional.
Taxes
A home that is not your main one pays 0.94% a year in property tax, charged on the cadastral value rather than the price. A main home pays none unless it is in a luxury category. The town adds 0.7% 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 D, on a scale from A, the warmest, to F, the coldest, and heating may run from November 1 to April 15, up to 12 hours a day, unless the mayor changes it. The national maps show no residents in a high or medium flood zone. 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
CAMPANACCI
The 16 January Sagra dei Campanacci, a transhumance and propitiatory rite where men walk the streets wrapped in belts of cowbells.
NORMAN TOWER
Cylindrical Torre Normanna in the main piazza, the surviving element of the medieval castle and the visual anchor of the borgo.
OIL
Olive groves dominate the commune territory; San Mauro Forte holds Città dell'Olio status alongside its medieval landmarks.
Common questions
- What is San Mauro Forte known for?
- San Mauro Forte is a 540-meter Lucanian hill town built around a surviving Norman tower, where the Sagra dei Campanacci on 16 January wakes the village with cowbells.
- Where is San Mauro Forte?
- San Mauro Forte is a comune in the province of Matera, in Basilicata, at 540 meters above sea level.
- What is the nearest airport to San Mauro Forte?
- The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Bari (BRI), about 2 h 13 min by car.
- How long is the drive from Bari to San Mauro Forte?
- About 2 h 16 min by car.
- When is the best time to visit San Mauro Forte?
- Best in Apr–Oct. July is the warmest month, averaging 33 degrees, and March the wettest, with about 11 rain days.
- Which other towns are like San Mauro Forte?
- Grottole, Miglionico and Poggiorsini.
- How many people live in San Mauro Forte?
- 1,208 residents, by ISTAT's count on 1 January 2025.
- Is San Mauro Forte a good place to live?
- By the rules in our Where to Move in Italy series, San Mauro Forte is at the end of the road: the nearest town of 5,000 people, Ferrandina, is 35 min away. The nearest city, Potenza, is 1 h 15 min away by car. The nearest national health service hospital is in Matera, 35 km as the crow flies. Full fibre reaches 93% of homes.
Tags & data designations · numbers · sources
Recognized as
Landscape
The numbers
- Elevation: 540 m
- Population: 1,208
- Surface area: 87.06 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 San Mauro Forte appears in
Similar
Towns like San Mauro Forte
What all six share with San Mauro Forte: under 3,000 people · hill towns
Grottole
Province: Matera
both inland, away from the coast
Miglionico
Province: Matera
both inland, away from the coast
Poggiorsini
Province: Bari
both inland, away from the coast
Castelcivita
Province: Salerno
both inland, away from the coast
Aiello Calabro
Province: Cosenza
both inland, away from the coast
Valsinni
Province: Matera
1 h 35 min apart by road
The letter
San Mauro Forte 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 San Mauro Forte comes up. By Peter & Sophia, from Turin.
The nearest town we have written up is Scheggino, 377 km away. Read its letter →
Paid plans, the moving year and the books are on the membership page.