Basilica of San Biagio

The Basilica of San Biagio occupies the summit ridge of Monte San Biagio just below the Cristo Redentore statue. It is the oldest church in the area and the holiest place in Maratea — built over what is believed to be an earlier temple of Minerva, with the present church largely 17th and 18th century in form but containing significantly older elements.

The interior is modest by Italian basilica standards, the focus being the silver bust containing the relics of San Biagio in the right-hand chapel. The most evocative aspect of a visit is the setting itself: the church sits among the ruins of medieval Maratea Superiore, with the modern coastal town glittering far below and the Tyrrhenian stretching to the horizon. Pilgrim tradition holds that praying here grants the petition of one wish; the basilica is busiest on the second Sunday of May during the saint's festival.

things to do sight architecture
A story
San Biagio (Saint Blaise) is the patron saint of Maratea, and his relics, brought here in 723 AD according to local tradition, are still kept in a silver bust in the basilica. Each year on the second Sunday in May, the saint's bust is carried in procession from the basilica down to the old town and back — one of the oldest continuously celebrated religious festivals in southern Italy.