Hotel Santavenere in Maratea, Italy, has launched a tasty new package designed to introduce an authentic taste of Basilicata just in time for its re-opening on 24 April 2024.
This Spring, travellers are invited to discover Basilicata’s food and wine culture with Hotel Santavenere’s ‘Dine Around’ offer—a special culinary journey available from 24 April until 6 June.
What does the package include? Three nights in a Superior Double Room on a half-board basis. The half-board entitles guests to dine each evening in any of the hotel’s three restaurants—Gli Ulivi, Le Laterne, and Il Carrubo—or at local restaurants in the town of Maratea, which the Hotel Santavenere team has handpicked.
Hotel Santavenere is inviting its guests to discover these restaurants, which enhance Lucanian food and wine culture and have the capability to put Maratea on the map. Restaurants include i Sapori Di Marianna, Lanterna Rossa, and La Cambusa, to name only a few.
Hotel Santavenere aspires to show travellers the hidden gem that is Maratea—a small Italian town with a panoramic position on one of the most inspiring expanses along the Gulf of Policastro.
The town is often left out of popular travel itineraries, such as those involving the Amalfi Coast, which is only two and a half hours away by car, or Rome, which is just three hours away by train.
In Maratea, guests can discover a piece of Italy that still feels exclusive. The destination has exceptional features that make it ready to assert itself on both the national and international scene: breathtaking landscapes, wild nature, a clear sea with a thousand shades, a coastline full of inlets and caves to discover, and finally – an authentic “Italian Summer” atmosphere – including incredible food, of course.
Below, we take a look at some of the local restaurants included in the ‘Dine Around’ package.
I Sapori Di Marianna
Marianna approached the kitchen as a child. At the age of just twelve, she enjoyed cooking for friends and family, and before too long, she started working in a well-known restaurant in the town of Maratea. It was there that she learnt the Lucanian tradition and all its facets. In 2006, Marianna opened her own restaurant – I Sapori Di Marianna – in the historic town of Maratea, which prides itself on its zero km cuisine inspired by Maratea and the surrounding region.
Lanterna Rossa
Overlooking the port of Maratea, Lanterna Rossa is located on the charming terrace of an ancient fishermen’s house, which leads out towards the boats and the breadth of the sea. The owner of Lanterna Rossa, Dario Amaro, is a young Lucianian chef who brings his international experience to the small town of Maratea. With an open kitchen concept with fresh local ingredients and produce grown in the kitchen garden, Dario Amaro says dishes are born like stories, with the suggestions of seasons and places linked by a common thread.
La Cambusa
In the 1950s, Rosa and Pietro, a husband-and-wife duo, decided to open a small restaurant. They wanted to introduce local seafood cuisine to the first tourists who timidly set out to discover a still unexplored Maratea. Pietro, coming from a family of fishermen, procures fresh fish every morning, and Rosa transfers her passion into the recipes that she uses to enhance her husband’s work.
Thus, a combination of quality and tradition was born, which, over the years, became the basis of their success. It is from this story that La Cambusa was born. The objective is to act as a connecting thread between the past and the present—a concept that finds space on the menu thanks to the symbiotic presence of traditional recipes alongside more innovative ones. This is an experience that covers more than fifty years of local culinary history.
Dining at Hotel Santavenere
At Hotel Santavenere, diners have a choice of three restaurants: Le Laterne, which offers traditional Italian cuisine with a modern twist; Gli Ulivi, which directly translates to ‘an oasis of peace surrounded by olive trees’; and Il Carrubo, which is located on the Santavenere beach club, an elegant terrace overlooking the sea just a stone’s throw from the pier.
La Laterne
Le Laterne offers tasting menus carefully designed by the hotel’s chefs to take diners on a journey through local flavours and taste innovation. The menu is packed with historical dishes that have been revived and revisited to truly celebrate the dolce vita of the past and present.
Gli Ulivi
Being surrounded by the olive and lemon trees of the hotel’s garden, the unmistakable scent of warm Mediterranean Sea air and a gentle ocean breeze promise guests an unforgettable al fresco dining experience.
Il Carrubo
Il Carrubo, open daily for lunch and for dinner at weekends, is the hotel’s seafront restaurant where diners can taste the catch of the day, choosing it directly from the counter and specifying their preferred cooking method. Il Carrubo offers the typical flavours of the sea whilst promising a romantic sunset dining spot. Visit Il Carrubo on a Friday to try the restaurant’s ‘Italian Friday’ – a celebration of Maratea – where guests can discover the traditions of the region through local flavours and music.
Foodie Experiences in Maratea
For guests who would like to immerse themselves in local gastronomy, even more so, Hotel Santavenere can organise cooking classes with its resident Chef, who will reveal the secrets of a local recipe. Guests can also embrace the local culture with the hotel’s organised fishing experience or food tour. For guests who want to go one step further, the hotel is also able to host a cocktail class so guests can learn the art of classic Italian cocktails. Hugo Spritz, anyone?
Prices start from €289 (approx. £247) for a Superior Double Room on a half-board basis. The’ Dine Around’ package requires a minimum stay of 3 nights.
The nearest international airport is Naples (approx. 2 hours 30 mins by car), and the nearest train station is Maratea (less than 5 minutes by car). For further information, please visit https://www.santavenere.it.