Santa Maria di Castellabate ( Cilentan: ''A Marina'') is a southern Italian town and hamlet (''

frazione A ''frazione'' (plural: ) is a type of subdivision of a ''comune'' (municipality) in Italy, often a small village or hamlet outside the main town. Most ''frazioni'' were created during the Fascist era (1922–1943) as a way to consolidate territ ...

'') of Castellabate, a municipality in the

province of Salerno The Province of Salerno ( it, Provincia di Salerno) is a province in the Campania region of Italy. __TOC__ Geography The largest towns in the province are: Salerno, the capital, which has a population of 131,950; Cava de' Tirreni, Battipagl ...

Campania (man), it, Campana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demog ...

. It is the most populated ''frazione'' of its ''comune'' and the

seat A seat is a place to sit. The term may encompass additional features, such as back, armrest, head restraint but also headquarters in a wider sense. Types of seat The following are examples of different kinds of seat: * Armchair (furniture), ...

of the town hall building.

History

The town was known in the 18th century as "Isca delle Chitarre", its original area and now the old town. The downtown is extended by two squares, Piazza Matarazzo and Piazza Lucia and the oldest houses are located in front of the little harbour in a place named "Porte le Gatte".

Geography

Santa Maria lies in the central-northern side of

Cilento Cilento is an Italian geographical region of Campania in the central and southern part of the Province of Salerno and an important tourist area of southern Italy. Cilento is known as one of the centers of Mediterranean diet. Geography The co ...

, alongside the

Tyrrhenian Sea The Tyrrhenian Sea (; it, Mar Tirreno , french: Mer Tyrrhénienne , sc, Mare Tirrenu, co, Mari Tirrenu, scn, Mari Tirrenu, nap, Mare Tirreno) is part of the Mediterranean Sea off the western coast of Italy. It is named for the Tyrrhenian pe ...

, and is extended from the zone of Lago, to the beach of Pozzillo. The town is only 3 km away from the old town of Castellabate, 12 from

Agropoli Agropoli is a town and ''comune'' located in the Cilento area of the province of Salerno, Campania, Italy. It is situated at the start of the Cilentan Coast, on the Tyrrhenian Sea. History Pre-medieval period The promontory on which Agropoli s ...

, 20 from

Acciaroli Acciaroli is an Italian hamlet (''frazione''), the most populous in the ''comune'' of Pollica, Province of Salerno, in the Campania Region. Geography Acciaroli is a port on the Cilento coast on the Tyrrhenian Sea. The largest township in its ''c ...

and 60 from

Salerno Salerno (, , ; nap, label= Salernitano, Saliernë, ) is an ancient city and ''comune'' in Campania (southwestern Italy) and is the capital of the namesake province, being the second largest city in the region by number of inhabitants, after ...

. The town has a little harbour, the greatest port in the ''comune'' is at the nearer hamlet of San Marco.

Tourism

The town is a part of "

Cilento and Vallo di Diano National Park Cilento, Vallo di Diano and Alburni National Park ( Italian ''Parco Nazionale del Cilento, Vallo di Diano e Alburni'') is an Italian national park in the Province of Salerno, in Campania in southern Italy. It includes much of the Cilento, the Vall ...

", its natural environment is composed of " Maquis", which is typical of

mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on th ...

countries. It attracts a lot of

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tours. The World Tourism Organization defines tourism ...

, especially in summer, because of good road links to Agropoli, Salerno and

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

and because of the quality of its water; which give it the

Blue Flag beach The Blue Flag is a certification by the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE) that a beach, marina, or sustainable boating tourism operator meets its standards. The Blue Flag is a trademark owned by FEE, which is a not-for-profit non- ...

award every year from 2003.

Media

Benvenuti al Sud ''Benvenuti al Sud'' ( en, Welcome to the South) is an Italian comedy film directed by Luca Miniero, remake of the French film ''Bienvenue chez les Ch'tis'' of two years earlier. The film has a sequel called ''Benvenuti al Nord''. The film was dedi ...

'', an Italian adaptation of the

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing ...

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

film '' Bienvenue chez les Ch'tis'', has been set in Castellabate and partly in Santa Maria and

San Marco San Marco is one of the six sestieri of Venice, lying in the heart of the city as the main place of Venice. San Marco also includes the island of San Giorgio Maggiore. Although the district includes Saint Mark's Square, that was never admi ...

.Article
on the '' Corriere del Mezzogiorno''

Gallery

File:Porte delle gatte.JPG, The ''

portico A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many c ...

'' of "Porte delle Gatte" and the little port File:Palazzobelmonte.jpg, Belmonte Palace File:Zona Lago.jpg, View of Lago and Tresino hills

References

External links

Santa Maria (on the site of its comune)
{{authority control Frazioni of the Province of Salerno Coastal towns in Campania Localities of Cilento