What is Nova Siri known for?

Marina di Nova Siri has held the Bandiera Blu since 2018, with sandy Ionian beaches and pine forest behind the dunes. Near the seventh-century BC Ionian Greek colony of Siris, whose river, today's Sinni, names the region of Siritide. FEE rural-environmental award held by the commune, recognising sustainable land management alongside the Blue Flag coast.

Nova Siri is a comune in the province of Matera, Basilicata region of Italy, about 86 kilometers from Taranto.

Basilicata · Matera

Nova Siri

A 350-meter Ionian hill town with a Blue Flag beach nine kilometers below, near the site of the ancient Greek colony of Siris.

86 km / 53 mi

Nearest hub (Taranto)

6,784

Population

May–Sep

Best time to visit

Recognised as

Why come

Nova Siri exists in two parts. The old town sitson a hill nine kilometers inland; Marina di Nova Siri lies on the Ionian Sea below, developed from the 1970s onward as a beach town. The site is on the southern edge of Basilicata where the region meets Calabria, near the ancient Greek colony of Siris, founded by Ionian settlers in the seventh century BC and destroyed in the sixth, whose territory gave the region its name of Siritide and whose river, the modern Sinni, still defines the comune. Byzantine military use followed in the early medieval period. The Torre Bollita, a semicircular tufo tower inside the medieval walls, is the surviving fortification; in its vicinity, the remains of a Hellenistic necropolis have come to light. The Chiesa Madre dedicated to Santa Maria Assunta dates to the sixteenth century. The Marina holds the Bandiera Blu since 2018, with wide sandy beaches, dunes and pine forest behind. Spighe Verdi recognises the commune's rural and environmental management.

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Gallery

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Known for

Marina di Nova Siri
Bandiera Blu beach since 2018, with sandy coast, dunes and a pine-shaded promenade nine kilometers below the old town.
Torre Bollita
Semicircular tufo defensive tower within the medieval walls, the surviving fortification of the historic centre.
Chiesa Madre di Santa Maria Assunta
Sixteenth-century mother church in the old town, dedicated to Santa Maria Assunta, the village's patron saint and protectress.
Necropoli ellenistica
Hellenistic burial remains near Torre Bollita, traces of the ancient Siritide territory that took its name from the Greek colony of Siris.
Castello
Medieval fortification overlooking the old town from above, remodelled multiple times across the centuries since the Byzantine period.

When to visit

Best months · May–Sep

Best
Hot or crowded
Quiet
Mostly closed

May through September is the Ionian beach season for Nova Siri Marina. Water is swimmable from late May, the Bandiera Blu is in force, and the dune-and-pine strip behind the beach keeps the heat tolerable. July and August reach the mid-thirties; the old town nine kilometers inland is several degrees cooler at 350 meters. April and October are quiet, with beach establishments thinning. November through March is closed: most Marina services shut and the old town is left to its residents. The Ionian coast tends to clear weather earlier than the Tyrrhenian side, with stable May and September windows.