7% Tax Towns in Basilicata

Basilicata is the easiest region to summarize: everywhere qualifies except the two cities. 129 of 131 comuni are eligible; only Potenza (about 64,000 residents) and Matera (about 60,000) are out. The April 2026 cap increase changed nothing here: the largest eligible town, coastal Policoro, has about 17,700 residents and already qualified under the old rules.

For a small region, the geography covers a lot. Maratea (about 4,600) is the whole of Basilicata's Tyrrhenian coast, a cliff-backed stretch often compared to the Amalfi Coast, with a station on the Naples–Reggio rail line. On the Ionian side, Policoro, Scanzano Jonico, and Nova Siri sit behind long sandy beaches on an agricultural plain, and Bernalda (about 11,900) looks over the Metaponto plain and its Greek ruins. Inland, Castelmezzano (about 700) and Pietrapertosa (about 850) face each other across the rock towers of the Dolomiti Lucane, while Venosa (about 10,700), Horace's hometown, anchors the Vulture district, the Aglianico wine country it shares with Melfi (about 17,000) and Rionero in Vulture.

Matera deserves a specific note: the city itself is over the cap, but eligible towns sit close by. Montescaglioso (about 9,200) is roughly 20 minutes away, and Bernalda and Pisticci (about 16,600) are within about 40. Any of them lets you live inside the regime with the Sassi (and Matera's hospital) within easy reach.

The practicalities are honest rather than glamorous. Basilicata has no commercial airport: Bari serves the Matera and Vulture side, Naples serves the west and Maratea, each roughly one to two hours by road depending on the town. The regional hospitals are in Potenza and Matera. You will need a car, and you will need some Italian. In exchange, this is one of the cheapest, calmest places to retire in western Europe. See how the region lays out on the 7% tax towns map.