It is so blazing hot in Italy this August — an anticyclone dubbed Lucifer swept across the country — that you want to lie forever on the magic, wild beaches of Maratea, the so-called “Pearl of the Tyrrhenian Sea.” In this place, nature is a powerful force. The light is clear, and the breathtaking rocky canyons are full of cooling, sparkling waterfalls. One made up of delicate cascades is named Capelli di Venere or “Hair of Venus.”
Sophisticated tourists are back along the Gulf of Policastro, where chic Maratea sits. They enjoy a unique environment in a paradisiac corner of the Basilicata region, the arch and instep of Italy’s boot, where forests, beaches, and volcanic mountains collide to form one of the world’s most seductive landscapes. Here, whichever way you look, there are stunning views.
