Coast to Coast | BASILICATA |Italy

Basilicata, a southern Italian region, between Campania to the north west, Puglia to the north east and Calabria to the south, has the particular feature of facing onto two different seas that are not contiguous, the southern Tyrrhenian in the south west and the Ionian Sea in the south east. This feature is underscored by the profound morphological difference that distinguishes the two coasts : while the Tyrrhenian coast (which however is of limited extent, being contained within the Gulf of Policastro) is characterised by a broken, rocky, rugged coastline, with small and sometimes sandy inlets, the Ionian coastline is continuous and homogeneous, completely low lying and sandy, with wooded dune formations of modest energy backing the beach ; this coast forms the seaward limit of the southern part of the Metaponto plain.

The Tyrrhenian coast, wholly within the bounds of the municipality of Maratea, has settlements of small size concentrated mostly in nuclei or small centres, even if in the last few decades pressure has increased due to the development of tourism. In spite of this pressure the entire Maratea stretch retains its characters of landscape of considerable value and beauty making it one of the best-known and best equipped bathing stations of the southern Tyrrhenian, with numerous facilities for sports and recreational purposes. The vegetation is characteristic of the Mediterranean maquis (macchia), with the constant presence of olive trees in the immediate hinterland.

On the other hand, the Ionian coast of Basilicata in Italy has only a few residential nuclei of tourism type which, moreover, are not directly on the actual coast, with the exception of the Lido di Metaponto, and there is very little sign of scattered settlements.In this other side of the Basilicata Region the coastal area is characterised by extensive wooded stretches, rivers and sea beaches. Among the woods special mention should be made of that of Policoro (a nature reserve of the Policoro marshland wood), an interesting example of wooded high-water bed area. More generally the vegetation consists of mixed forest (broadleaf conifers and Mediterranean macchia) with stands of Aleppo pine, Italian stone pine, cluster pine, «saligna» acacia, pubescent oak, English oak, ash, alder, white poplar, lentiscus, prickly juniper and leadbush glasswort. The protected forestry Nature Reserve of Metaponto covering some 240 ha occupies part of the coastal area, and in the north the biogenetic Nature Reserve of Marinella Stornara, of 45 ha . In any case, the whole Ionian belt of Basilicata, Italy starting from the sea has been declared a zone of considerable public interest. Another element that is characteristic of the landscape is the presence of traces of boggy and marshy tracts, the residue of larger areas reclaimed in past decades by the Land Reform which has reshaped and regularised the Metaponto plainland.

The rivers and the mountains of Basilicata - more info

BASILICATA , Italy |Coast |Tyrrhenian |Ionian |info