Marina di Pisciotta + borgo di Pisciotta
Pisciotta (SA)
Hidden gemFree beaches
The story
Below the village clinging to its hill of olive trees, the fishermen still lower the menaica net, and the marina smells of the anchovies that bear its name.
Access
Free; Pisciotta-Palinuro railway station
The story
Pisciotta is a hill village of the Cilento facing the Tyrrhenian, immersed in an expanse of centuries-old olive trees from which a fine oil is obtained, of the local variety called pisciottana. Below, Marina di Pisciotta is the fishing village tied to an ancient tradition: the fishing of anchovies with the menaica, a special net, recognised as a Slow Food presidium.
What to see
The old centre, perched on the hill with alleys and stone houses, and the marina by the sea, with the little harbour and the culture of the menaica anchovies. Around it, the olive groves that descend towards the coast: one of the most authentic landscapes of the Cilento.
Hours and prices
Free entry.
Tips
Pisciotta is an inhabited village: move with respect and on foot among the alleys. The village is on the hill, the marina by the sea a few kilometres lower down. If you happen upon the right season, look for the menaica anchovies, still worked by hand according to tradition.
Frequently asked questions
What are the menaica anchovies?
Anchovies fished with the menaica, a traditional net, and worked by hand: a tradition of Marina di Pisciotta recognised as a Slow Food presidium.
What makes Pisciotta special?
The hill village among centuries-old olive trees, the oil of the pisciottana variety and the tradition of the menaica anchovies in its marina.
Are Pisciotta and Marina di Pisciotta the same place?
No: Pisciotta is the village on the hill, Marina di Pisciotta is the hamlet by the sea, a few kilometres lower down.
More gems: Free beaches
Free beachesBaia di Ieranto
Nerano
The bay protected by the FAI that looks across at the Faraglioni of Capri, reachable only on foot among olive trees and scrub, with the clear water of an old quarry.
◆ Free beachesFiordo
Massa Lubrense
A cleft in the rock where the sea slips in, narrow and green, almost always shaded beneath high walls: you don't come here for the sun, but for the silence.
- ◆ Free beaches
Lido delle Monache / spiaggia libera di Posillipo e Riva Fiorita
Posillipo
Tiny coves among the rocks, once the bathing place of the nuns of a convent above the sea: almost secret free beaches, reachable mostly from the water.
- ◆ Free beaches
Baia di Trentaremi
Posillipo
A bay closed in by high cliffs of yellow tufo (volcanic tuff), with caves cut by the Romans: no road reaches it, only the sea and the kayaks slip in among the rocks.
- ◆ Free beaches
Capo Miseno e porticciolo di Acquamorta
Bacoli/Monte di Procida
The headland that closes the gulf and, at its foot, the little harbour of Acquamorta with the boats hauled ashore and the water shallow and clear.
- ◆ Free beaches
Cala di Mitigliano e grotta
Massa Lubrense
A path through olive trees drops down to the rocks, Capri looks an arm's length away, and the cave opens in the water like a hall of shadow and salt.