What is Maratea known for?

Twenty-one meter Carrara marble Christ on Monte San Biagio at 623 meters, sculpted by Bruno Innocenti, inaugurated 1965, facing inland. Basilicata's only Tyrrhenian shoreline, about thirty-two kilometers of rock and cove between Campania and Calabria, Bandiera Blu beaches. Traditional count of chapels and oratories across the borgo and frazioni, the basis of Maratea's nickname as the town of forty-four churches.

Maratea is a comune in the province of Potenza, Basilicata region of Italy, about 151 kilometers from Salerno.

Basilicata · Potenza

Maratea

Basilicata's only commune on the Tyrrhenian, thirty-two kilometers of rocky coast under a twenty-one meter marble Christ raised over Monte San Biagio in 1965.

151 km / 94 mi

Nearest hub (Salerno)

4,725

Population

May–Sep

Best time to visit

Recognised as

Why come

Maratea is the only Basilicata commune on the Tyrrhenian Sea, ninety kilometers south of Salerno on the coast between Campania and Calabria. The historic centre, called Il Borgo, sits at three hundred meters on the south slope of Monte San Biagio, a few kilometers inland from the water. Above it, at six hundred and twenty-three meters near the summit, stands the Cristo Redentore, a twenty-one-meter statue of Christ in pure Carrara marble sculpted by the Florentine Bruno Innocenti and inaugurated in 1965; arms outstretched, it faces inland toward the Basilica di San Biagio rather than out to sea. The comune holds about thirty-two kilometers of rocky coast with more than twenty beaches and coves, the only Tyrrhenian shoreline in the region, marked by the Bandiera Blu. Maratea is known as the town of forty-four churches, a count of the chapels and oratories accumulated across the borgo and its frazioni over the centuries. The earlier town site, Maratea Superiore, on top of Monte San Biagio, was the medieval Castello settlement; today only ruins remain.

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Gallery

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Known for

Cristo Redentore
Twenty-one meter Carrara marble statue of Christ on Monte San Biagio at 623 meters, sculpted by Bruno Innocenti and inaugurated in 1965, facing inland.
Basilica di San Biagio
Marian sanctuary at the summit of Monte San Biagio, immediately below the Cristo Redentore, holding relics of the patron saint.
Il Borgo
Historic centre of Maratea on the south slope of Monte San Biagio 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 on the summit of Monte San Biagio at 633 meters, the original Maratea before residents moved down.
Coste di Maratea
About thirty-two kilometers of rocky Tyrrhenian shoreline with more than twenty beaches and coves, the only Basilicata coast on this sea, Bandiera Blu.
Grotta delle Meraviglie
Karst cave near the coast with stalactites and stalagmites, smaller than the famous Apulian caves but a well-preserved Tyrrhenian-side example.

When to visit

Best months · May–Sep

Best
Hot or crowded
Quiet
Mostly closed

May through September is the season for Maratea. The Tyrrhenian water is swimmable from late May to mid-October. June and September are the strongest months: warm water, lighter crowds, and the kind of clear air that pulls the Calabrian coast into view from the Cristo. July and August push past thirty-five degrees on the coast and the borgo fills with Italian summer regulars from Naples and Salerno. October into November is quiet and often wet. December through April many seasonal restaurants and hotels close, the Cristo is open year-round but the road up Monte San Biagio is sometimes closed by weather. The patronal San Biagio falls on the second Sunday of May with a procession from the basilica down into the borgo.