Civita di Maratea: The Ancient Heart Above the Sea of Basilicata

Many know Maratea for the statue of Christ the Redeemer that dominates the gulf, but nearly everyone drives straight through, bound for the coves. Few climb up to the Civita, the historic core perched on the flank of Monte San Biagio. Here cars stay outside and you walk: stone staircases, arches, sudden little squares where the noise fades to the footstep of a passer-by and a shutter banging.

The village is a tangle of lanes that open every so often onto a natural terrace over the Tyrrhenian. Numerous churches are said to stand here, a sign of ancient devotion, but more than the count it's the atmosphere that matters: worn portals, cats in the sun, washing hung out to dry, the odd shop opening on elastic hours. The early-morning light on the pale stone and the blue of the sea below are reason enough for the climb. Towards evening the air cools and the little tables fill with local voices rather than tourists.

The right way to experience it is slowly. Leave the car down in the valley, take a couple of aimless hours, stop for a drink in a little square and talk with those who live here: in Maratea the village is still inhabited, not an open-air museum. Eat where the residents eat, shop in the village stores, respect the silence of the lanes that for some are simply home.

Civita is at its best outside the peak months, when the coast empties and the village returns to breathing at its own rhythm. It's the discreet alternative to an all-beach holiday: the same sea, the same surprising Basilicata, but experienced from above and from within, one step at a time.

Related guides: An alternative to Matera: 7 stone and cave cities of the South to discover · Little-known seaside and lakeside villages of Italy · Basilicata without a car in 3 days: Matera, the Murgia and the Lucanian Dolomites.

Getting there

Civita is the ancient historic centre of Maratea, overlooking the Tyrrhenian Sea. By car it is reached from the A2 motorway at the Lagonegro Nord-Maratea exit, continuing along the SS585 to Maratea Centro. The village is served by Maratea station on the Tyrrhenian Naples–Reggio Calabria line, while the reference airports are Naples-Capodichino and Lamezia Terme.

Practical guides

• How to Get to Maratea: a Practical Transport Guide
• Two Days in Maratea: the Redeemer, hidden coves, and Italy's forgotten Tyrrhenian gem
• Where to Stay in Maratea: Sleeping Between the Ancient Hilltop and the Secret Coves of Basilicata's Tyrrhenian Coast
• Where to Eat in Maratea: A Coast Where the Mountains Season the Sea