Maratea Old Town

The old town of Maratea, locally just called Il Borgo, stretches up the side of Monte San Biagio in a tangle of narrow stone-paved alleys, archways, and small piazzas that open suddenly onto views of the sea. Sunday morning is the best time to walk it, when the cafes around Piazza Buraglia fill up after Mass and you can wander into open churches without disturbing services.

There is no single must-see — the pleasure is in slow exploration. Look for the small chapels tucked into corners, the elaborate carved doorways of noble palazzi from the 17th and 18th centuries, and the streetside altars dotted along the climb. The main church at the centre is the Chiesa Madre, dedicated to the Annunciation, but the most beautifully sited is Santa Maria Maggiore at the lower end of the borgo. Cars are excluded from most of the centre; come on foot from the parking areas at the perimeter.

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A story
Maratea is sometimes called la città delle 44 chiese — the city of 44 churches — although the actual number is contested and depends on whether you count chapels, small votive shrines, and ruined buildings. Either way, for a town of around 5,000 people the density of religious architecture is extraordinary, the result of centuries of bequests by Maratean families who became wealthy abroad and endowed churches at home.