What is Badolato known for?

Thirteen historic churches inside the centro storico, arranged in the shape of a Latin cross, most now silent. In December 1997 the Ararat ran aground at Badolato Marina; the village took in 350 Kurdish refugees, becoming an Italian model for hospitality. Olive oil and wine production on the slopes between the borgo and the sea, the local agricultural economy for centuries.

Badolato is a comune in the province of Catanzaro, Calabria region of Italy, about 136 kilometers from Reggio Calabria.

Calabria · Catanzaro

Badolato

A medieval borgo of thirteen churchesabove the Ionian, which took in 350 Kurdish refugees in 1997 and started its own slow rebirth.

136 km / 85 mi

Nearest hub (Reggio Calabria)

2,843

Population

Apr–Oct

Best time to visit

Recognised as

Borghi più belli d'Italia

Why come

Badolato sitson a hill above the Ionian coast in the southern Catanzaro province, ringed by two deep valleys that drop toward the sea. The fief was granted around 1080 to the Norman knight Roberto il Guiscardo; in 1254 Filippo de Badulato was named lord, and the village stayed in his hands until 1272 when Pietro Ruffo, Count of Catanzaro, removed him. The medieval grid was laid out in the shape of a Latin cross, with thirteen churches inside the centro storico, most of them now closed; only the Chiesa Matrice, dedicated to the Santissimo Salvatore, holds regular services. In 1997 the village, severely depopulated by emigration, took in 350 Kurdish refugees from a ship that ran aground on the coast. The episode turned Badolato into a model for resettlement and started a slow rebirth of the historic center, with houses bought and restored by foreign and Italian returnees. Olive oil and wine are the main agricultural products.

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Gallery

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Known for

Chiesa Matrice del Santissimo Salvatore
Mother church of Badolato, the only one of the thirteen historic churches still in regular use.
Chiesa di Santa Caterina d'Alessandria
Medieval church preserved with a fresco that village women blocked from being moved for restoration, in a famous local protest.
Convento di Santa Maria degli Angeli
Former Franciscan monastery on a hill outside the village, now home to a Mondo X recovery community founded by Padre Eligio.
Centro storico
Medieval grid laid out in a Latin cross, with stepped stone streets, depopulated by emigration and being restored house by house.
Badolato Marina
The seaside frazione three kilometers below the historic village, where the Kurdish ship Ararat ran aground in December 1997.

When to visit

Best months · Apr–Oct

Best
Hot or crowded
Quiet
Mostly closed

April through June and September into October are the working months. The hill at 240 meters catches a sea breeze from the Ionian, and the centro storico holds the morning cool until ten or eleven. July and August are hot, often above thirty-five degrees, and the borgo empties between two and five each afternoon while the Marina fills with bathers. November through March is quiet, often rainy, but the temperature stays mild and the restoration projects on private houses run year-round. The festa di San Salvatore in early August is the busiest weekend of the year, and the olive harvest runs from late October.