40.108° N, 15.223° E
Complete guide
Spiaggia di Marina di Pisciotta: beach guide
What the beach is like
The beach of Marina di Pisciotta lies in the municipality of Pisciotta, in the province of Salerno, on the Tyrrhenian Sea (mar Tirreno). The beach corresponds to the bathing water with the code IT015065096003. In the official profile of the Campania Region (Regione Campania), this bathing water is called Marina di Pisciotta - Acquabianca. The profile describes the beach as sandy and rocky. It also speaks of a high coast, with a shoreline that is partly rocky and partly pebbly. The area consists mainly of semi-natural environments, with a port area to the south of the stretch.
The italia.it portal, on the other hand, writes that in the Marina hamlet the beach is made of white pebbles.
The village of Marina di Pisciotta, a hamlet of the municipality, is 0.5 km south-east of the beach as the crow flies. The village of Pisciotta is 1 km to the east as the crow flies. The village stands on a hill above the coastline of Cilento, with its port and marina.
Getting there
From the old village of Pisciotta, where some medieval buildings can still be seen, you reach the Marina hamlet by a long flight of steps. Pisciotta lies on national road 447, between Ascea and Palinuro. The village of Ascea is 4.9 km north-west of the beach as the crow flies. Vallo della Lucania is 14 km to the north as the crow flies. Agropoli is 32.8 km to the north-west as the crow flies, and Sapri 34.8 km to the east as the crow flies.
If you walk down from the village, it is wise to carry a light load and wear comfortable shoes.
When to go
The beach faces south-west. With the southerly (ostro), the south-westerly (libeccio) and the westerly (ponente), the wind blows from the sea and the beach is exposed to waves. With the tramontana, the north-easterly (grecale) and the easterly (levante), the wind blows from land and the beach is sheltered. The scirocco and the mistral (maestrale), by contrast, hit it from the side. This is an indication based on the orientation of the coast, not a forecast.
In the 2024 season the municipality arranged a sea rescue service on the free beaches from 15 July to 10 September. The 2024 specifications provided for the service between the hours of 10 and 18, every day in August and at weekends in July and September. According to the municipal regulation, rental activities on the beach may take place in the period from 1 June to 30 September.
Seabed and sea
According to EEA data for the 2025 season, the water quality is excellent. The regional profile, updated and reviewed in 2026, gives the excellent class for the years 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025. In 2026 the FEE Blue Flag (Bandiera Blu) list for Pisciotta includes a stretch that takes in Pietracciaio and Marina Acquabianca.
The profile also lists possible causes of pollution. On the east side it points to the area at the root of the port's outer breakwater. Also on the east side, it mentions possible breaks in the underwater outfall pipe that leads from the treatment plant in the San Macario area. That plant treats urban wastewater with a biological activated-sludge system and discharges through the underwater outfall pipe.
Facilities and free beach
In 2024 Acquabianca was among the municipality's free beaches covered by the sea surveillance and rescue service. Among the other free beaches on the list were Pietracciaio, Ficaiola, Gabella and Torraca. In 2024 the specifications provided for a rescue jet ski with a folding stretcher and at least two staff always present. Every day the contractor had to check that the white or red flag was flying on each free beach, according to sea conditions. The specifications committed the municipality to guarantee a defibrillator and a berth in the port of Marina di Pisciotta for the jet ski platform. The specifications also required cooperation with the municipal administration to keep the Blue Flag.
For the rental of umbrellas and deckchairs, the municipal regulation divides the coastline into zones, and the Acquabianca - Ficaiola beach forms zone B. Each zone has 3 rental permits. Anyone renting out equipment must keep the stretch of beach where they work clear and remove the equipment as soon as the beachgoer leaves it.
Rules and protected areas
Pisciotta lies within the Cilento, Vallo di Diano and Alburni National Park (Parco Nazionale del Cilento, Vallo di Diano e Alburni). The municipal regulation allows itinerant trading on the beach only on foot or with small hand-drawn carts. Trading is not allowed in the 5 m strip measured from the shoreline. Vendors may not use megaphones or loudspeakers, nor shout or press goods insistently on people. In 2024 the rescue service included periodic patrols by jet ski, and in any case after every storm surge, to check that the white and red buoys off the free beaches were in place.
Nearby
The beach of Pietracciaio is 2.2 km to the north-west as the crow flies. The beach of Armo is 1.8 km to the south-east as the crow flies. The Fiumicello beach, a pebble beach, is 3.1 km to the north-west as the crow flies. The hamlet of Rodio is 2.9 km to the north-east as the crow flies. For those who prefer fine sand there is the beach of the Saline di Palinuro, in the Gabella area. In the contrada Valle di Marco, in Caprioli, you can see what remains of the Cenotaph of Palinurus (Cenotafio di Palinuro), built by the local people in honour of Aeneas's helmsman.
For walkers, italia.it points to the Castelluccio path, a rather demanding route of more than 10 km that climbs above 700 metres, with a view over the Palinuro headland. Easier, according to the same portal, is the old route linking Rodio to San Mauro la Bruca, known as the path of the Knights of Malta (sentiero dei Cavalieri di Malta), 5 km long through Mediterranean scrub, streams and wooden bridges.
Pisciotta dates from the Middle Ages and is laid out as a medieval village on the hill. The name of Pisciotta appears in the Catalogus Baronum of 1144. Until the abolition of feudalism in 1806, Pisciotta belonged to the Caracciolo, Sanseverino and Pappacoda families. Wikipedia gives the municipality 2,408 inhabitants.
Sources
- Wikipedia (en) — Pisciotta
- Wikipedia (it) — Pisciotta
- Wikivoyage (en) — Pisciotta
- FEE Italia — Bandiera Blu 2026, elenco spiagge
- OpenStreetMap
- EEA — Bathing water quality 2025 (IT015065096003)
- QualeSpiaggia — open data spiagge (CC BY 4.0)
- Pisciotta - Italia.it
- Comune di Pisciotta — Capitolato per il servizio di vigilanza e salvataggio a mare, stagione balneare 2024
- Comune di Pisciotta — Regolamento per lo svolgimento di attività ex art. 68 Cod. Nav.
- Regione Campania / ARPAC — Profilo dell'acqua di balneazione Marina di Pisciotta - Acquabianca