Spiaggia d'i Vranne

Vranne sits under a cliff on the stretch of coast between the Port of Maratea and the village of Marina di Maratea, split roughly in half by a small cluster of rocks. It's reachable only by boat, kayak, or canoe, which has kept it free of any development. In 2016, it was voted the most beautiful beach in Italy in Legambiente's "La più bella sei tu" competition, based on public votes cross-checked against a panel of experts.

Vranne is one of the more unusual entries on Maratea's long list of beaches, precisely because it has no infrastructure at all. Two narrow strips of dark, fine sand sit beneath a rock cliff, divided by a small outcrop, with the Grotta di Giorgio opening onto the sea at the beach's southern tip. Its 2016 Legambiente award as Italy's most beautiful beach reflects a wilder kind of appeal than most developed lidi: the setting, water clarity, and untouched character rather than facilities or convenience. The seabed here supports a substantial meadow of Posidonia oceanica, the seagrass that's often used as a marker of good water quality along Mediterranean coasts, since it doesn't tolerate pollution well. That, combined with the total lack of development, is presumably part of what made the beach stand out in the 2016 judging. Being sea-access only has kept Vranne genuinely quiet compared with most of Maratea's other well-known beaches, but it also means a visit here depends entirely on having, or hiring, a boat, and on current conditions and access rules, which is the piece I'd want confirmed before recommending it without caveats.

Other beaches in Liguria are shown on the map — tap a pin to open its page.