TBTAM Does Italy – Part 7. Maratea

We spent the last part of our vacation in Maratea, a lovely town about 2 1/2 hours south of Naples at the southern end of the Campagna Region of Italy. The area is like the Amalfi Coast without the crowds, the prices or the tourists. Italian families come here year after year to summer, as do Wanja’s friends Fernando and Martina, who generously allowed us all to tag along their annual vacation.

Maratea is really three towns. First, there is Porta Maratea, which is at sea level.

Then there is the main town, or Centro Storico, nestled on the mountainside 1,000 ft above the Porta.

It has a square,

a mermaid fountain,

charming little alleys

filled with restaurants,

shops

and galleries,

and a bakery called Iannini that sells the most amazing cookies I have ever eaten.

The old town is Maratea Superiore, which sits atop Mt San Biago above cliffs so steep that the road extends out from the rock walls to allow cars to make the climb. (Photo blatantly stolen from Europe for Visitors)

Overlooking the town is the Statua del Redentore, or Christ statue, seen up there on the left. Our kids did not want to visit the statue, being freaked out by the urban legend that the statue had the face of the dead young man in whose memory it had been built.

We three families split ourselves between 2 apartments at Pianeta Maratea, a Catskills-like resort in the hills, complete with pools and a nightly teen disco

and the rustic but lovely Hotel Illicini, a cluster of well-appointed but simple adobe huts along the Mediterranean Sea.

Here, we could choose to sit in the shade on the upper beach just outside our room

along with the salamanders,

or walk down a short path to the lower beach for a swim.

We could also join Fabrizio on his sailboat,

or take the shuttle bus to the larger public beach, which has two cafes, changing areas and kayaks to rent.

One afternoon, we took the kayaks out along the coast, and the bravest among us swam into a hidden grotto. This, my friends, was everything a vacation should be.

“But what”, I hear you asking, “do the Italians eat at the beach?”

I’ll tell you what they eat. They eat Friselle.

Friselle with Tomatoes, Olive oil and Capers

Friselle are hard, double-baked bread from Puglia. We soften the Friselle by dipping them into the sea and …

Wait. Let’s ask Wanja to explain it, she does it so much better than I.

Double-click on arrow to start video (Sorry it’s sideways…)