Basilicata coast to coast is the 2010 film in which director Rocco Papaleo, born in Lauria, told the story of his region: four small-town musicians cross Basilicata on foot, from the Tyrrhenian Sea to the Ionian Sea, to reach a music festival in Scanzano Jonico. Since then “coast to coast” has become the simplest way to say that Basilicata can be crossed from one sea to the other in just a few days.
This guide offers two ways to do it: a road trip inspired by the film, with the twelve stops drawn on the map, and the waymarked walking trail created by APT Basilicata along the Sinni valley.
The road trip, stop by stop
- Maratea: Basilicata’s only stretch of Tyrrhenian coast, with the statue of Christ the Redeemer on Mount San Biagio, the old town and the Grotta delle Meraviglie cave.
- Trecchina: the large tree-lined square and the sanctuary of the Madonna del Soccorso on the mountain, overlooking the Gulf of Policastro.
- Lauria: Rocco Papaleo’s home town, split into the Castello and Borgo districts, with the church of San Nicola and the places of Blessed Domenico Lentini.
- Moliterno: the medieval castle, the old town and Canestrato di Moliterno PGI cheese, aged in cellars called fondaci.
- Tramutola: an Agri valley village among mountains and springs, on the way to the upper valley.
- Viggiano: the sanctuary of the Black Madonna, patron saint of Basilicata, and the tradition of Viggiano harpists — fitting for a trip born from a film about music.
- Corleto Perticara: the mother church of Santa Maria Assunta and the sanctuary of the Madonna della Stella, among the woods of the Sauro valley.
- Aliano: the village where Carlo Levi was exiled, with his house museum, the literary park and the badlands (calanchi).
- Craco: the village abandoned after the 1960s landslide, open for guided visits and the set of many films.
- Tursi: the Rabatana, the oldest quarter on a rocky spur, and the places of the poet Albino Pierro.
- Policoro: the National Archaeological Museum of the Siritide, the excavations of ancient Herakleia and the Bosco Pantano woods by the sea.
- Scanzano Jonico: the film’s finish line, on the long, shallow beaches of the Ionian coast.
The walking trail: Tyrrhenian to Ionian along the Sinni
If you really want to walk like the film’s characters, APT Basilicata has created the Basilicata Coast to Coast trail: about 167 kilometres from Maratea to Nova Siri, with waymarking, suggestions for where to sleep at the end of each stage and an optional luggage transfer. The route follows the Sinni river valley and crosses the Pollino National Park.
It passes through thirteen towns: Maratea, Trecchina, Lauria, Latronico, Episcopia, Fardella, Chiaromonte, Senise, Noepoli, San Giorgio Lucano, Valsinni, Rotondella and Nova Siri. Along the way you will find the Latronico spa with Anish Kapoor’s Earth Cinema, Isabella Morra’s castle in Valsinni, the view over the Gulf of Taranto from Rotondella and the Roman villa of Cugno dei Vagni in Nova Siri.
Stages, maps and services are on the official website basilicatacoasttocoast.com.
Practical tips
- How many days: by car three or four days are enough, with a night in Maratea, one in the Agri valley and one between Aliano and the Ionian coast; on foot it takes about eight days.
- When to go: spring and early autumn are best; in summer the badlands and the Ionian coast are hot, but it is the season of festivals and food fairs.
- Getting there: Maratea is on the Tyrrhenian railway line; from the Ionian coast Matera is about an hour’s drive.
- Roads: between villages roads are often mountainous, winding and with few petrol stations — fill up before you set off.
Events along the way
Many towns on the route hold patron saint festivals, food fairs and historical re-enactments all year round: from the pilgrimage of the Black Madonna of Viggiano, between May and September, to the Aliano Carnival. Before you leave, check the Ebas calendar on the town pages and in this weekend’s events: you can add the stops to your trip with “Plan your trip”.
