Santa Maria di Castellabate ( Cilentan: ''A Marina'') is a southern

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

town and hamlet (''

frazione A ''frazione'' (: ''frazioni'') 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 consolidat ...

'') of Castellabate, a municipality in the

province of Salerno The province of Salerno () is a province in the Campania region of Italy. It has 1,054,766 inhabitants as of 2025. Geography The largest towns in the province are: Salerno, the capital, which has a population of 131,950; Cava de' Tirreni, Bat ...

Campania Campania is an administrative Regions of Italy, region of Italy located in Southern Italy; most of it is in the south-western portion of the Italian Peninsula (with the Tyrrhenian Sea to its west), but it also includes the small Phlegraean Islan ...

. 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 may also refer to concentrations of power in a wider sense (i.e " seat (legal entity)"). See disambiguation. Types of seat The ...

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 mountain range (part of the Lucan Apennines), which gives its name to a geographical region of Campania in the central and southern part of the province of Salerno. Is an important tourist area of southern Italy. ...

, alongside the

Tyrrhenian Sea The Tyrrhenian Sea (, ; or ) , , , , is part of the Mediterranean Sea off the western coast of Italy. It is named for the Tyrrhenians, Tyrrhenian people identified with the Etruscans of Italy. Geography The sea is bounded by the islands of C ...

, 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, 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 ...

and 60 from

Salerno Salerno (, ; ; ) is an ancient city and ''comune'' (municipality) 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 Naples. It is located ...

. 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 language, Italian ''Parco Nazionale del Cilento, Vallo di Diano e Alburni'') is an List of National Parks of Italy, Italian national park in the Province of Salerno, in Campania in southe ...

", 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 east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

countries. It attracts a lot of

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the Commerce, commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. World Tourism Organization, UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as ...

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

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

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 organi ...

award every year from 2003.

Media

Benvenuti al Sud ''Benvenuti al Sud'' () is a 2010 comedy film directed by Luca Miniero and a remake of the 2008 French film ''Welcome to the Sticks''. The film was dedicated to Angelo Vassallo, an Italian mayor murdered for his anti-crime campaign.

'', an Italian adaptation of the

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

French 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 sestiere (Venice), 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 Piazza San Marco, Saint Mar ...

.Article
on the ''

Corriere del Mezzogiorno ''Corriere del Mezzogiorno'' is an Italian local newspaper owned by RCS MediaGroup and based in Naples, Italy, with editorial offices in all over southern Italy (''Mezzogiorno''). It was launched in 1997 in Campania to handle the growing competit ...

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 cu ...

'' 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