What is Maiori known for?

Centre of the Sfusato Amalfitano IGP lemon, terraced up the Reginna valley; the Sentiero dei Limoni runs to Minori through the orchards. Reginna torrent burst the medieval town into the sea on 26 October 1954; rebuilt grid plan, palm seafront, longest beach on the coast. Roberto Rossellini filmed Paisà, Voyage in Italy and Il Miracolo here in 1946-53, using the postwar town as backdrop.

Maiori is a comune in the province of Salerno, Campania region of Italy, about 19 kilometers from Salerno.

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.

19 km / 12 mi

Nearest hub (Salerno)

5,359

Population

May–Sep

Best time to visit

Recognised as

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.

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Gallery

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Known for

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.

When to visit

Best months · May–Sep

Best
Hot or crowded
Quiet
Mostly closed

May, June, September and early October are the months Maiori is set up for. The long beach absorbs more visitors than the cove towns nearby, the SITA bus connects west to Amalfi and east to Salerno, and the Sentiero dei Limoni is open without the heat. July and August fill the kilometer of sand and push every restaurant on the lungomare to two evening shifts. November through March is quiet: many hotels close, the Collegiata holds its services for the residents, and the Reginna runs full from the Lattari rains. The Festa di Santa Maria a Mare on 15 August closes the seafront with a maritime procession and fireworks over the water.