Maratea
Discover Maratea
A concise introduction to Maratea, its geography, history and culture.
Introduction
Maratea is a town of about 5,000 people on the Tyrrhenian coast of Basilicata, wedged between Campania and Calabria on the Gulf of Policastro.
It is not one settlement but several. The borgo is the medieval centre, a knot of lanes and small squares on the hillside. Above it rises Monte San Biagio, carrying the basilica of the town's patron, the ruins of the abandoned upper town, and the Statue of the Redeemer. Below, strung along the coast, are the harbour and the hamlets of Fiumicello, Acquafredda, Cersuta and Castrocucco.
The coastline is the attraction: cliffs falling into clear water, with small beaches and coves between them, most of them reached by steps or by boat rather than by road.
Maratea is sometimes called the town of forty-four churches, which is roughly the number of churches and chapels scattered through the borgo and the surrounding hills.