Basilicata's Blue Flag Beaches 2026: From Maratea to Metaponto

In Basilicata, 2026 sees 5 municipalities awarded the Blue Flag, the international recognition the FEE grants each year to destinations that meet strict criteria for bathing water quality, environmental management, services and safety. Basilicata has the shortest coastline in Italy — just 50 km (31 miles), split between two very different seas: the jagged, rocky Tyrrhenian coast around Maratea, and the low, sandy Ionian shore of the Metaponto area. Despite that limited stretch of coast, the region still earns 5 Blue Flags, a remarkable showing for such a small share of Italy's shoreline, and a clear sign of the water quality and beach facilities on offer.

Where Basilicata's Blue Flag beaches are

The 5 award-winning municipalities break down by province like this:

Province	Blue Flag municipalities 2026
Matera	4
Potenza	1

The Tyrrhenian Coast: Maratea

Maratea is the only coastal town in the province of Potenza, and Basilicata's sole window onto the Tyrrhenian Sea: 32 km (20 miles) of high, jagged coastline, cut by coves and inlets that drop straight into the sea, and watched over by the towering statue of Christ the Redeemer on Monte San Biagio. Many of the beaches here are reachable only by stone staircases carved into the cliffs, or by boat, looking out over a stretch of the Gulf of Policastro that ranks among the most photographed in southern Italy, where the seabed shifts quickly from shallow to deep.

The Ionian Coast: The Metaponto Area

On the Ionian side, in the province of Matera, the coastline changes completely: low, sandy beaches, coastal pine forests, and the long strip of shore that gives the Metapontino area its name. Bernalda, home to the seaside village of Metaponto, sits within the famous Magna Graecia archaeological park, just steps from the Tavole Palatine temple ruins. A little further south, Pisticci faces the coast at its own marina, between the mouths of the Basento and Cavone rivers, along a stretch that remains noticeably less built-up than other spots on the Ionian coast.

The Southern Ionian Coast: From the Agri River Mouth to the Calabrian Border

Two more towns close out Basilicata's coastline along the southern stretch of the Ionian Sea. Policoro protects the Bosco Pantano Regional Nature Reserve, one of the last coastal floodplain forests left in southern Italy, right where the Sinni river meets the sea. Nova Siri, the last seaside town in Basilicata before the Calabrian border, alternates sandy beach with dune-backed pine woods, marking the southern edge of the region's entire Ionian coastline.

Full list and map

You can browse the full list of 5 Blue Flag beaches in Basilicata, with amenities, accessibility info, a map and sea temperature, on the dedicated Basilicata page. Each entry shows the municipality, the awarded localities and the services found nearby.