Maratea

Maratea is Basilicata's only town on the Tyrrhenian coast, stretching across mountains, forests, and bays in the region's western corner. The area has evidence of settlement as far back as the Paleolithic, but it was in the Middle Ages that its strategic potential was realized: a citadel was built on the summit of Monte San Biagio to shelter the population from repeated raids, before the town later moved down to its current site on the mountainside facing the sea — a more practical position for a maritime trading economy. The port had its most prosperous period in the 18th century.

Maratea's historic centre is known as the "town of 44 churches," a maze of alleys and piazzas dense with places of worship, twenty of which are dedicated to the Virgin Mary; despite this Marian density, the town's actual patron is Saint Blaise (San Biagio). Above the old town stands the Cristo Redentore (Christ the Redeemer) statue, a 21-metre Carrara-marble figure with a 19-metre arm span, sculpted by Bruno Innocenti between 1963 and 1965 at the initiative of Count Stefano Rivetti di Val Cervo, who conceived the idea after flying over Rio de Janeiro's Corcovado statue. Unlike most Christ figures, whose arms are extended forward, Maratea's statue has its arms bent slightly backward, giving it a distinctive, almost floating pose.

Maratea sits on Basilicata's Tyrrhenian coast.

The Cristo Redentore statue atop Monte San Biagio, with sweeping views over the coast, and the historic centre's dense concentration of churches (the "44 churches" of local tradition) are Maratea's principal sights.

Visiting the Christ the Redeemer statue and exploring the historic centre's churches and alleyways are the main activities; Maratea's bays along the Tyrrhenian coast are also known for swimming.

Maratea is Basilicata's gateway to the Tyrrhenian coast, near Lagonegro and the Cilento coast of Campania to the north.