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Reggio Calabria, amidst gardens of Bergamot trees and the splendid scenario offered by the Straits of Messina.
Antique Rhegion, destroyed more than once by devastating earthquakes (1783 and 1908), was rebuilt around the antique historic centre, stretching out along the coast.
The splendid “Italo Falcomatà” seafront, described as “the most beautiful kilometre in Italy”, has a wonderful view of the Straits of Messina. The Via Marina is full of many different species of plants, of which many are tropical, of varying dimension and shape. Along the seafront you will find the remains of a Greek wall and Roman baths. The Art Nouveau buildings along the Viale Vittorio Emanuele are of great interest.
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| The National Magna Graecia Museum, one of the most important in Italy, offers documentation of the Greek colonisation in Calabria. The exhibition is laid out on four floors: on the ground floor are the Locri and prehistoric halls; on the first floor the Rhegion, Matauros, Medma, Kaulon and Krimissa halls, as well as the section regarding numismatics. On the second floor there is a valuable picture gallery. In the basement there is the underwater archaeology section where the famous Riace Bronze statues are displayed, together with masterpieces from the V century BC and the philosopher’s head.
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On the Corso Garibaldi, the main thoroughfare of the city lined with shops, you will find the Cilea Theatre, the Communal Park and the Cathedral. Rebuilt in 1928, after the earthquake of 1908, the façade of the Cathedral is characterised by four perforated turrets surmounted by a dome. At the top of the steps leading to the entrance are the statues of Saint Paul and Saint Stephen of Nicea sculpted by F. Jerace. The main doorways are made of bronze. Inside there is the Baroque Chapel of Sacrament, an imposing pulpit and the trunk of a column, which, according to popular belief, could be ascribed to the prodigious one of Saint Paul.
|  |  | In the historic centre, overlooking the square of the Aragonese Castle, there is a beautiful Church of the Optimates that presents analogies to the Byzantine temples. Rebuilt in the 1930’s, the temple, in Arab-Norman style, is composed of one nave and two aisles. Part of the mosaic pavement came from the Norman basilica in Terreti, which was destroyed. The altar-piece, portraying the Annunciation, is the work of Ciampelli.
The church of the Greek Catholic and the Small Museum of Saint Paul are also worth seeing. |
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