Santa Maria di CastellabateThe Cilento hamlet where “you can’t die” according to Murat

Right before Agropoli there is Santa Maria di Castellabate, a town that can be divided in two areas: the “upper” area where the Medieval hamlet is, and the “lower” area where you will find a beautiful coast, beaches, blue sea and clubs overlooking the sea.

There is an uphill road that goes through the Sant’Angelo hill up to the Medieval hamlet of  Castellabate. This hamlet was created around the walls of Castello dell’abate (Abbott’s Castle), an ancient fortress used to guard the area against the Saracen raids. The main way in to the hamlet is the Belvedere San Costabile (San Costabile Viewpoint). Castellabate is a cluster of rocky streets connecting houses and stately homes, such as Palazzo Perrotti (Perrotti Palace) and Palazzo Matarazzo (Matarazzo Palace).

The most famous area is Piazza XX ottobre 1123 (the year the Castello dell’abate foundation stone was laid), best known as “piazzetta” (small piazza). This piazza served as the set for the “Benvenuti al sud” movie, with its small shops, coffee bars and restaurants overlooking the coast of  S. Maria.

Walking around the hamlet of Castellabate you will reach the Basilica Pontificia Santa Maria de Gulia, a cathedral dating back to early 12th century, with a Romanesque-style tower bell.

After visiting the hamlet, you can reach the Santa Maria shore area, where you can take a walk around the small town full of shops selling souvenirs and restaurants overlooking the Marina Piccola beach. Right at the end of the pedestrian area there is the beautiful Villa Matarazzo Park.

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The coast of Castellabate is pretty wide, with beaches, cliffs and bays. The further south beaches of the area are Punta Licosa and Ogliastro Marina. Proceeding towards S. Maria there are the beaches of San Marco, and then the beaches belonging to S. Maria di Castellabate.

In 2009 the area marina protetta Santa Maria di Castellabate (Santa Maria di Castellabate protected marine area) was established. It includes the sea area from the end of Ogliastro to the baia del Sauco (Sauco’s bay). The crystal clear sea houses some very rare marine species, such as the parrot fish, so you will surely enjoy a swim in the beautiful sea of Castellabate.

By car: drive along the A3 SA-RC highway, take the exit signposted Eboli and proceed along the SS 18 state road towards Paestum; then, take the exit signposted Agropoli sud and follow the directions to Santa Maria di Castellabate.

By train: take one of the Roma-Reggio Calabria trains that leave from the Salerno train station and get off at  the Agropoli-Castellabate train station. Once you get there, take one of the Busitalia buses (line 34, 35 or 99) that will take you to Castellabate in 16 minutes.

By bus: take the Line 034 Busitalia bus towards Acciaroli that leaves from via Vinciprova in Salerno and get off at S. Maria di Castellabate.

By boat: in summer you can reach Salerno, Napoli, the Amalfi Coast and the Cilento coast by boat thanks to the Cilento Blu service by metròdelmare.it.