View source for Reggio Calabria

{{short description|City in Calabria, Italy}}
{{redirect|Rhegion|the town of ancient Thrace|Rhegion (Thrace)}}
{{for-multi|the former province|Province of Reggio Calabria|the current metropolitan city|Metropolitan City of Reggio Calabria}}
{{More citations needed|date=November 2021}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2025}}
{{Infobox Italian comune
| name                  = Reggio Calabria
| native_name           = {{nativename|scn|Riggiu}}<br/>{{lang|el|Ρήγι}}/{{nativename|el|Rìji|sc=Latn}}
| official_name         = Città di Reggio Calabria
| motto                 = 
| image_skyline         = {{multiple image
|perrow = 1/2/2/3
|border = infobox
|total_width = 299
| image1 = Reggio Calabria-Gallico Marina,.jpg
| image2 = Reggio calabria monumento all'italia.jpg
| image3 = Reggio Calabra lungomare.jpg
| image4 = Duomo di Reggio Calabria 03.jpg
| image5 = Reggio Calabria Castello Aragonese.jpg
|image6 = Reggio calabria piazza garibaldi.jpg
|image7 = Arena dello stretto a Reggio Calabria - Statua a Athena Promachos 2.jpg
|image8 = Reggio Calabria-Terme romane.jpg
}}
| image_caption         = '''Clockwise from top''': Aerial view, Lungomare Falcomatà, [[Aragonese Castle (Reggio Calabria)|Castello Aragonese]], the historical Roman baths of Reggio Calabria, Monument to Victory in {{ill|Arena dello stretto|it|Arena dello Stretto}}, [[Giuseppe Garibaldi]] square and the [[Reggio di Calabria Centrale railway station|Centrale railway station]], [[Reggio Calabria Cathedral]], statue in {{ill|Piazza italia|it|Piazza Italia (Reggio Calabria)}}
| image_flag            = Flag of Reggio Calabria.svg
| image_shield          = Reggio Calabria-Stemma.svg
| nickname              = the city of [[Fata Morgana (mirage)|Fata Morgana]]
| pushpin_map           = Italy Calabria#Italy#Europe
| coordinates           = {{coord|38|06|41|N|15|39|43|E|display=inline,title}}
| coordinates_footnotes = 
| region                = [[Calabria]]
| metropolitan_city    = [[Metropolitan City of Reggio Calabria|Reggio Calabria]] (RC)
| established_title     = 
| established_date      = 743 [[BC]]<ref name="Spanò1857">{{cite book |last=Spanò Bolani |first=Domenico |title=Storia di Reggio da' Tempi Primitivi sino all'anno di Cristo 1797 |publisher=Stamperia e Cartiere del Fibreno |location=Napoli |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=H6IBAAAAQAAJ |year=1857}}</ref><br> on a more ancient [[Ausonian]]-Italic settlement (15th century BC)<ref name="Spanò1857"/>
| mayor                 = [[Giuseppe Falcomatà]]
| mayor_party           = [[Democratic Party (Italy)|PD]]
| area_total_km2        = 240
| elevation_m           = 
| population_as_of      = 2025
| population_total      = 168572
|population_footnotes=<ref name="population">{{cite web|title=Monthly Demographic Balance|url=https://demo.istat.it/app/?l=en&a=2025&i=D7B|publisher=[[Italian National Institute of Statistics|ISTAT]]}}</ref>| population_demonym    = Reggino
| telephone             = 
| postalcode            = 
| postal_code           = 89100<small> (generic)</small><br><small>from </small> 89121<small> to </small>89135
| area_code             = 0039 0965
| istat                 = 080063
| website               = {{URL|https://www.reggiocal.it| reggiocal.it}}
}}

'''Reggio di Calabria'''{{efn|Pronunciation: {{IPAc-en|ˈ|r|ɛ|dʒ|i|oʊ|_|d|iː|_|k|ə|ˈ|l|æ|b|r|i|ə}}, {{IPAc-en|USalso|ˈ|r|ɛ|dʒ|(|i|)|oʊ|_|d|iː|_|k|ɑː|ˈ|l|ɑː|b|r|i|ə}};<ref>{{Cite American Heritage Dictionary|Reggio di Calabria|access-date=9 February 2019}}</ref><ref>[https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/us/Reggio+di+Calabria "Reggio di Calabria"]{{dead link|date=September 2022|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}} (US) and {{Cite dictionary |url=http://www.lexico.com/definition/Reggio+di+Calabria |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220826192111/https://www.dictionary.com/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=26 August 2022 |title=Reggio di Calabria |dictionary=[[Lexico]] UK English Dictionary |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite Merriam-Webster|Reggio|access-date=9 February 2019}}</ref> {{IPA|it|ˈreddʒo di kaˈlaːbrja, ˈrɛddʒo -|lang|It-Reggio Calabria.ogg}}.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dizionario.rai.it/poplemma.aspx?lid=19739&r=18463|title=Dizionario d'ortografia e di pronunzia|access-date=23 March 2014|archive-date=6 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210606074918/http://www.dizionario.rai.it/poplemma.aspx?lid=19739&r=18463|url-status=dead}}</ref>}} ({{langx|scn|label=[[Central-Southern Calabrian|Southern Calabrian]]|Riggiu}}; {{langx|el|label=[[Calabrian Greek]]|Ρήγι|Rìji}}), commonly and officially referred to as '''Reggio Calabria''', or simply '''Reggio''' by its inhabitants, is the [[List of cities in Italy|largest city]] in [[Calabria]] as well as the seat of the [[Metropolitan City of Reggio Calabria]].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.consiglioregionale.calabria.it/portale | title=Consiglio regionale della Calabria }}</ref> As of 2025, it has 168,572 inhabitants and is the [[List of cities in Italy|twenty-first most populous city]] in [[Italy]], after [[Modena]] and other Italian cities. Reggio Calabria is located near the center of the [[Mediterranean]] and is known for its climate, ethnic and cultural diversity. It is the third economic centre of mainland [[Southern Italy]]. About 511,935 people live in its metropolitan city.<ref name="population" />{{Historical populations|1861|54807|1871|62613|1881|68178|1901|77761|1911|76320|1921|98221|1931|109443|1936|119804|1951|140734|1961|153380|1971|165822|1981|173486|1991|177580|2001|180353|2011|180817|2021|172479|type=|footnote=Source: [[Istituto Nazionale di Statistica|ISTAT]]}}Reggio is located on the "toe" of the [[Italian Peninsula]] and is separated from the island of [[Sicily]] by the [[Strait of Messina]]. It is situated on the slopes of the [[Aspromonte]], a long, craggy mountain range that runs up through the centre of the region.

As a major functional pole in the region, it has strong historical, cultural and economic ties with the city of [[Messina]], which lies across the strait in [[Sicily]], forming a metro city of less than 1 million people.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.strill.it/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=174146|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130917225033/http://www.strill.it/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=174146|url-status=dead|archive-date=17 September 2013|title=Area dello Stretto: Messina rilancia|access-date=26 March 2015}}</ref>

Reggio is the oldest city in the region, and during ancient times, it was an important and flourishing colony of [[Magna Graecia]]. Reggio has a modern urban system, set up after the catastrophic [[1908 Messina earthquake|earthquake of 1908]], which destroyed most of the city. Before that seismic event, the region had been subject to several other previous earthquakes.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.protezionecivile-imbersago.com/rischio-sismico.html|title=L'Italia è un paese ad alto rischio sismico - Protezione Civile Imbersago|first=Massimo|last=Corno}}</ref> The seismicity is caused by Reggio being on the [[Eurasian Plate]] near the [[faultline]] where it meets the [[African Plate]] that runs through the strait, dividing the two European regions of Calabria and [[Sicily]] into two different tectonic regions.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://phys.org/news/2017-01-southern-italy-earthquake-hazard-due.html|title=Southern Italy: Earthquake hazard due to active plate boundary|publisher=Phys.org|date=24 January 2017|accessdate=5 September 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://finestrainformativa.com/biblioteca/articolo/read/85227-what-caused-the-messina-earthquake|title=What caused the Messina earthquake?|publisher=Finestra Informativa|date=26 January 2022|accessdate=5 September 2022}}</ref>

It is a major economic centre for regional services and transport on the southern shores of the Mediterranean. Reggio, with [[Naples]] and [[Taranto]], is home to one of the most important archaeological museums, the [[Museo Nazionale della Magna Grecia|National Archaeological Museum of Magna Græcia]], dedicated to [[Ancient Greece]] (which houses the [[Riace bronzes|Bronzes of Riace]], rare example of [[Greek sculpture|Greek bronze sculpture]], which became one of the symbols of the city). Reggio is the seat, since 1907, of the Archeological Superintendence of Bruttium and Lucania. The city is home to [[Association football|football]] club [[Reggina 1914|Reggina]], that previously played in the [[Serie A|Italian top flight]].

The city centre, consisting primarily of [[Art Nouveau#Stile Liberty in Italy|Liberty]] buildings, has a linear development along the coast with parallel streets, and the promenade is dotted with rare [[magnolias]] and exotic [[palm (plant)|palm]]s. Reggio has commonly used popular nicknames: The "City of Bronzes", after the Bronzes of Riace that are testimonials of its Greek origins; the "City of [[Bergamot orange|bergamot]]", which is exclusively cultivated in the region; and the "City of [[Fata Morgana (mirage)|Fatamorgana]]", an optical phenomenon visible in Italy only from the Reggio seaside.{{citation needed|date=February 2022}}

==Etymology==
During its 3,500-year history Reggio has often been renamed. Each name corresponds with the city's major historical phases:

*{{Lang|grc-latn|Erythra}} ([[Greek language|Greek]] for 'red'), allegedly the name of the pre-Greek settlement.
*{{Lang|grc-latn|Rhegion}} ({{Lang|grc|Ῥήγιον}}), the Greek city from the 8th to the 3rd centuries BC.
*{{Lang|grc-latn|Phoibeia}} (after [[Apollo]]), a short period under [[Dionysius II of Syracuse]], in the 4th century BC.
*{{Lang|la|Regium}} or {{Lang|la|Rhegium}}, its first Latin name, during the 3rd and 2nd centuries BC.
*{{Lang|la|Rhegium Julii}} ({{Lang|la|Reggio Giulia}}), during the Roman Imperial period.
*{{Lang|ar-latn|Riyyu}}, Arabic name under the short domination by [[Emirate of Sicily]], between 10th and 11th centuries.
*{{Lang|mis|Rìsa}}<!-- Old Norman -->, under the [[Normans]], between the 11th and 12th centuries.
*{{Lang|ca|Regols}}, Catalan name under the [[Crown of Aragon]], in the late 13th century.
*{{Lang|it|Reggio}} or {{Lang|it|Regio}}, usual Italian name in the Middle and Modern age.
*{{Lang|it|Reggio di Calàbria}}, post [[Italian Unification]] (to be distinguished from {{Lang|it|Reggio di Lombardia}} or {{Lang|it|di Modena}} – located in northern Italy – which was renamed {{Lang|it|Reggio nell'Emilia}}).

The toponym of the city might derive from an Italic word {{Lang|itc|rec}} (meaning 'king', cognate with [[Latin]] {{Lang|la|rex}}). Ancient Greek and Roman etymologists derived it from the Greek {{Transliteration|grc|regnynai}} ({{Lang|grc|ῥηγνυναι}}, 'break'), referring to a mythic earthquake in which Sicily was broken off from the Italian mainland.<ref name="ReferenceA">Alessandro Gioffrè d'Ambra and others ''Reggio Centro del Mediterraneo - un excursus storico di 3500 anni'', Club UNESCO 'Re Italo', Provincia di Reggio, Tipografia Enotria, Reggio di Calabria, May 2014</ref>

==History==
{{see also|Timeline of Reggio Calabria}}

===Ancient times===
The history of the area before the arrival of the Greeks in the eighth century BC is not reliably known. Mythical accounts record a series of different peoples in the region, including the [[Osci]] (sometimes referred to as ''Opici''), [[Troy|Trojans]], [[Oenotrians]], [[Ligures]], [[Ausones]], [[Mamertines]], Taureani, [[Sicels]], [[Morgetes]] and [[Ancient peoples of Italy|Itali]].<ref name="books.google.it">Domenico Spanò Bolani, ''Storia di Reggio – da' tempi primitivi sino all'anno 1797'' • Stamperia e Cartiere del Fibreno, Naples, 1857 [https://books.google.com/books?id=H6IBAAAAQAAJ]</ref> They also claim that the land around Reggio was first known as Saturnia, or Neptunia. The term 'Italia' initially referred to the area around Reggio itself, before expanding to cover present-day southern Calabria (later known as [[Bruttium]]), and finally becoming the name of the whole Italian peninsula around the third century BC.<ref name="books.google.it"/> Allegedly, the name derives from king [[Italus]], an Oenotrian king of the region.<ref>''Lessico Universale Italiano'' XI, "Italo", Enciclopedia Italiana Treccani, Roma, 1973.<!-- ISBN/ISSN needed --></ref>

After [[Cumae]], Reggio was one of the first Greek colonies in southern Italy. The colony was settled by the inhabitants of [[Chalcis]] in 730 or 743 BC<ref name="books.google.it"/> on the site of the older settlement, Erythra ({{Lang|grc|Ερυθρά}}), meaning 'red'. The legendary founder of the city was King Iocastus, son of [[Aeolus]], who was later said to be buried on the Punta Calamizzi promontory (called "Pallantion") and appeared on the city's coinage. The colony retained the name of "Rhegion" ({{Lang|grc|Ῥήγιον}}).<ref name="books.google.it"/> [[Pseudo-Scylax]] also writes that it was a Greek city.<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.hs-augsburg.de/~harsch/graeca/Chronologia/S_ante06/Skylax/sky_p001.html| title = Pseudo Scylax, Periplous, §12}}</ref>

Rhegion was one of the most important cities in [[Magna Graecia]], reaching great economic and political power during the 5th and 6th centuries BC under [[Anaxilas]], who reigned as tyrant from 494 to 476 BC. Anaxilas conquered [[Zancle]] (modern [[Messina]]), extending Rhegian control over both shores of the Straits of Messina. He attempted to conquer [[Locri]] as well in 477 BC but was rebuffed. When he died in 476 BC, his two sons were too young to rule, so power was held by their regent [[Micythus]]. Under his rule, Rhegion founded a colony, Pyxous (modern [[Policastro Bussentino]]) in [[Campania]] in 471 BC.<ref>[[Herodotus]] 7.170; [[Diodorus Siculus]] 11.52, 11.59.14.</ref> [[Hieron I of Syracuse]] orchestrated Micythus' removal from power in 467 BC,<ref>[[Diodorus Siculus]] 11.66.1-3</ref> after which Anaxilas' sons ruled on their own until they were deposed in 461 BC.<ref>[[Diodorus Siculus]] 11.76.5; [[Justin (historian)|Justin]] 4.3.1-3</ref> During the [[Peloponnesian War]], Rhegion allied with [[Athens]]. An Athenian inscription (''[[Inscriptiones Graecae|IG]]'' I<sup>3</sup> 53) reports a renewal of this alliance in 433 BC.<ref>[https://www.atticinscriptions.com/inscription/IGI3/53 Translation and commentary] on ''Attic Inscriptions Online''.</ref> The Athenians supported Rhegion in a war with Locri during the First Sicilian Expedition (427–425 BC).<ref>[[Thucydides]] 4.1.1-3</ref> However, when the Athenians launched the much larger [[Sicilian Expedition]] of 415–413 BC, Rhegion offered them only limited assistance.

During the [[Third Sicilian War]], Rhegion became hostile to [[Dionysius I of Syracuse]]. He attacked the city for the first time in 396 BC, but he was rebuffed. Dionysius destroyed the Rhegian navy in 389 BC, besieged the city again in 388 BC and, when it finally fell in 387 BC, destroyed it.<ref>[[Polybius]] 1.6.1, Diodorus Siculus 14.56.1-2, 108-111, 114-117</ref> His son, [[Dionysius II of Syracuse|Dionysius II]] refounded the city as 'Phoebeia' in the 360s BC. When he was expelled from Syracuse in 356 BC, he retained control of Phoebeia, but it was captured by Syracusan forces led by [[Leptines II|Leptines]] and [[Callippus of Syracuse|Callippus]] in 351 BC.<ref>[[Diodorus Siculus]] 16.45.9</ref> Rhegion then reverted to its original name.<ref name="books.google.it"/>

Throughout classical antiquity Rhegion remained an important maritime and commercial city as well as a cultural centre, as is demonstrated by the presence of academies of art, philosophy, and science, such as the [[Pythagoreanism|Pythagorean]] School, and also by its well-known poet [[Ibycus]], the historian [[:it:Ippi di Reggio|Ippys]], the musicologist Glaucus, and the sculptors [[Pythagoras of Rhegium|Pythagoras]] and [[Clearchus of Rhegium|Clearchus]].<ref name="ReferenceA"/>

Rhegion made an alliance with the [[Roman Republic]] in 282 BC, shortly before the [[Pyrrhic War]]. The {{ill|Legio Campana|de}}, under the command of Decius Vibellus, was installed as a garrison but subsequently launched a violent coup and seized control of the city.<ref>[[Dionysius of Halicarnassus]] 20.4. cf. [[Polybius]] 1.7.6-7, [[Diodorus Siculus]] 22.1.2-3</ref> Roman forces deposed Decius and restored the city's independence in 271 BC. Thereafter, Rhegium was an important ally of Rome, with the status of {{Lang|la|[[municipium]]}} and ''socia navalis'' (naval ally). It retained its Greek customs and language, as well as its [[mint (coin)|mint]].<ref name="ReferenceA"/> It was a central pivot for both maritime and mainland traffic, reached by the final part of the [[Via Popilia]], which was built in the 2nd century BC and joined the older [[Via Appia]] at [[Capua]], south of Rome. Close to Rhegion, on the Straits of Messina, was the busy port of Columna Rhegina. Under the Emperor [[Augustus]], the city was renamed Rhegium Juli in honour of the emperor's adoptive father [[Julius Caesar]] and was the seat of the {{Lang|la|[[corrector|corrēctor]]}} (governor) of "Regio III [[Lucania et Bruttii]]" (the southernmost of the eleven [[Roman Italy#Augustan organization|regiones]] into which Italy was divided). In AD 61 the apostle [[St. Paul]] passed through Rhegium on his final voyage towards Rome,<ref>[[Book of Acts|Acts]] 28.13</ref> converting the first local Christians and, according to tradition, laying the foundations of the Christianization of Bruttium.

Rhegium boasted in imperial times nine thermal baths,<ref>De Gregorio, Lucia. "Le Terme Romane di Reggio Calabria. La ricerca archeologica tra il 1881 e il 1924", ''Calabria Sconosciuta'' n. 139/140– Azienda Grafica Biroccio, Reggio di Calabria (July–December 2013).</ref> one of which is still visible today on the sea-front. Due to its seismic activity, the area was often damaged by earthquakes, such as in 91 BC, AD 17, 305 and 374.<ref>AAVV "Reggio di Calabria" in "L'Italia - Basilicata e Calabria", Touring Club Italiano, La Repubblica, Pioltello, 2005</ref>

===Middle Ages===
[[File:Reggio Calabria Incisione Regno di Napoli.jpg|thumb|left|Reggio in a medieval engraving.]]
Numerous occupying armies came to Reggio during the early Middle Ages due to the city's strategic importance.

Invasions by the [[Vandals]], the [[Lombards]] and the [[Goths]] occurred in the 5th–6th centuries.{{citation needed|date=January 2023}} Then, under [[Byzantine]] rule, it became a metropolis of the Byzantine possessions in Italy and was also the capital of the [[List of Counts and Dukes of Apulia and Calabria|Duchy of Calabria]] several times between 536 and 1060 AD.{{citation needed|date=October 2022}} Following wars between the Lombards and Byzantines in the 6th century, Bruttium was renamed Calabria.{{citation needed|date=October 2022}}

As a Byzantine centre of culture, certain monks there undertook scribal work, carrying out the transcription of ancient classical works. Until the 15th century, Reggio was one of the most important Greek-rite Bishoprics in Italy—even today Greek words are used and are recognisable in local speech and Byzantine terms can be found in local liturgy, in religious icons and even in local recipes. During this period, constant migrations of Greeks fleeing the Slavic invasion of Peloponnese, further strengthened the Hellenic element of the city.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Slavs and nomadic populations in Greece|url=https://www2.rgzm.de/foreigners/cfm/themen/309/309_uk.cfm?Language=uk|access-date=19 June 2021|website=www2.rgzm.de|archive-date=24 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210624201538/https://www2.rgzm.de/foreigners/cfm/themen/309/309_uk.cfm?Language=uk|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The Arabs occupied Reggio in 918 and held some of its inhabitants to ransom or kept them prisoners as slaves.<ref>''Western Europe on the Eve of the Crusades'', Sidney Painter, ''A History of the Crusades'', Vol. I, ed. Kenneth M. Setton and Marshall W. Baldwin, (University of Wisconsin Press, 1969), p. 50.<!-- ISBN needed --></ref> For brief periods in the 10th–11th centuries the city was ruled by the [[Arabs]] and, renamed {{Lang|ar-latn|Rivàh}} (or sometimes {{Lang|ar-latn|Rŷu}}), became part of the [[Emirate of Sicily]]. During the period of Arab rule various beneficial ideas were introduced into Calabria, such as citrus fruit trees, mulberry trees (used in [[silk]] production) and several ways of cooking local vegetables such as aubergines. The Arabs introduced water ices and ice cream and also greatly improved agricultural and hydraulic techniques for irrigation.<ref name="ReferenceA" />

In 1005, a Christian fleet coming from [[Republic of Pisa|Pisa]] sacked the city and massacred all the Saracens to the great jubilation of the local population.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Campagnano |first=Gabriele |date=1 June 2017 |title=Pisa e gli Arabi: il Mito di Kinzica (1005) |url=https://zweilawyer.com/2017/06/01/pisa-e-gli-arabi-il-mito-di-kinzica-1005/ |access-date=28 October 2022 |website=Zhistorica |language=it-IT}}</ref>

In 1060, the [[Normans]] seized it permanently from the [[Eastern Roman Empire]], gradually bringing it into the Latin cultural sphere under [[Papal]] influence, which sought to extend its power over the entire peninsula.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Stuppello |first=Francesco |title=Normanni: storia della Calabria degli Uomini del Nord |url=https://www.calabriaportal.com/popoli-della-calabria/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.calabriaportal.com%2Fpopoli-della-calabria%2F4641-normanni.html |access-date=6 October 2025 |website=www.calabriaportal.com |language=it-it}}</ref>

In 1122, hostilities arose between [[Roger II of Sicily|Roger II]], [[County of Sicily|Count of Sicily]], and his cousin [[William II, Duke of Apulia|William II]], the new Duke of Calabria, culminating in a conflict that was resolved only through the intervention of [[Pope Callixtus II]]. In 1121, the Pope succeeded in reconciling the two rivals by securing an agreement whereby the Count of Sicily would provide his cousin with a cavalry squadron to suppress the revolt led by Giordano, Count of [[Ariano Irpino|Ariano]]. In exchange, William renounced his possessions in Sicily and Calabria. Roger II, already [[Prince of Salerno]], then travelled to Reggio, where he was recognized as Duke of Calabria and Apulia, Count of Sicily, and sovereign over [[Amalfi]] and [[Gaeta]], parts of Naples, as well as [[Taranto]], [[Capua]], and the [[Abruzzo|Abruzzi]]. When Roger II was crowned King of Sicily in 1131, he transferred his seat from Reggio to Palermo, although Reggio remained the capital of the Justiciarate of Calabria.<ref>{{Cite web |title=RUGGERO II, re di Sicilia - Enciclopedia |url=https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/ruggero-ii-re-di-sicilia_(Dizionario-Biografico)/ |access-date=6 October 2025 |website=Treccani |language=it}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Maria Cantarella |first=Glauco |title=Ruggero II. Il conquistatore normanno che fondò il Regno di Sicilia |publisher=Salerno Editrice |year=2020 |isbn=8869735273}}</ref> In 1234 the town fair was established by decree of King [[Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor|Frederick II]].<ref name="ReferenceB" /> Following Norman rule, the city experienced the alternating dominion of the [[Angevin Sicily|Angevin]] and the [[Crown of Aragon|Aragonese]], yet it consistently remained the capital and principal center of the Calabrian territories.<ref>{{Cite web |date=12 February 2025 |title=Angioini e aragonesi nell&#039;Italia meridionale |url=https://sapere.virgilio.it/scuola/superiori/letteratura-storia-filosofia/storia-del-trecento/angioini-aragonesi-italia-meridionale |access-date=6 October 2025 |website=sapere.virgilio.it |language=it}}</ref>

From 1266 it was ruled by the [[Capetian House of Anjou|Angevins]], under whom life in Calabria deteriorated because of their tendency to accumulate wealth in their capital, Naples, leaving Calabria in the power of local barons.<ref name="ReferenceB">Mario Caligiuri, ''Breve Storia della Calabria''. Newton & Compton, Rome, 1996</ref> In 1282, during the [[Sicilian Vespers]], Reggio rallied in support of [[Messina]] and the other oriental Sicily cities because of the shared history, commercial and cultural interests. From 1147 to 1443 and again from 1465 to 1582, Reggio was the capital of the Calabrian ''Giustizierato''. It supported the [[Crown of Aragon|Aragonese]] forces against the House of Anjou. In the 14th century it obtained new administrative powers.<ref name="ReferenceB"/> In 1459, the Aragonese enlarged its medieval castle.{{citation needed|date=April 2022}}

Reggio, throughout the Middle Ages, was first an important centre of [[calligraphy]] and then of [[printing]] after its invention. It boasts the first dated, printed edition of a [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]] text, a [[Rashi]] commentary on the [[Pentateuch]], printed in 1475 in [[La Giudecca]] of Reggio,<ref>[https://www.loc.gov/rr/amed/guide/hs-books.html "The Books of the People of the Book – Hebraic Collections"], Library of Congress, Washington, DC; accessed 26 March 2015.</ref> even though scholars consider Rome as the city where Hebrew printing began.{{citation needed|date=April 2014}} The Jewish community of Reggio was also considered to be among the foremost internationally, for the dyeing and the trading of [[silk]]: silk woven in Reggio was esteemed and bought by the Spaniards, the Genoese, the Dutch, the English and the Venetians, as it was recognised as the best silk in the Kingdom of Naples.<ref name="ReferenceA"/>

===Early modern period===
From the early 16th century, the Kingdom of Naples was under the [[Habsburgs]] of [[Spain]], who put Reggio under a viceroy from 1504 to 1713. The 16th and 17th centuries were an age of decay due to high Spanish taxes, pestilence, the 1562 earthquake, and the [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] Turkish invasions suffered by Reggio between 1534 and 1594. In 1534, facing attack by an Ottoman fleet under [[Hayreddin Barbarossa]], the townspeople abandoned Reggio. Barbarossa captured eight hundred of those who remained and then burned the town.<ref>Roger Crowley, Empires of the Sea, faber and faber 2008 p.58</ref> After [[Barbary pirates]] attacked Reggio in 1558, they took most of its inhabitants as slaves to [[Tripoli, Libya|Tripoli]].<ref>Jamil M. Abun-Nasr. [https://books.google.com/books?id=jdlKbZ46YYkC&pg=PA191 ''A history of the Maghrib in the Islamic period''], pg. 191.<!-- ISBN needed --></ref>

In 1714, southern Italy became once more property of the Austrian Habsburgs, who remained until 1734, when they were replaced by the [[Bourbons]] of Spain.{{citation needed|date=January 2023}} Reggio was the capital of Calabria Ulteriore Prima from 1759 to 1860. In 1783, a disastrous [[1783 Calabrian earthquakes|earthquake]] damaged Reggio, all of southern Calabria and [[Messina]].

The precious citrus fruit, [[Bergamot orange]], had been cultivated and used in the Reggio area since the 15th century. By 1750 it was being grown intensively in the Rada Giunchi area of Reggio and was the first plantation of its kind in the world.<ref name="ReferenceA"/>
[[File:Henry Jaeckel Castello Aragonese di Reggio Calabria.jpg|thumb|Reggio Calabria in 1853]]
In 1806, [[Napoleon Bonaparte]] took Reggio and made the city a [[Duchy]] and General Headquarters. After the former's fall, in 1816, the two ancient Kingdoms of Naples and of Sicily were unified, becoming the [[Kingdom of the Two Sicilies]].

During the course of the 19th century new public gardens were laid out, the piazzas (or squares) were embellished and cafés and a theatre were opened. On the newly opened sea promenade a Civic Museum was inaugurated. In fact, some 60 years after the devastation caused by the 1783 earthquake, the English traveller and painter [[Edward Lear]] remarked "Reggio is indeed one vast garden, and doubtless one of the loveliest spots to be seen on earth. A half-ruined castle, beautiful in colour and picturesque in form, overlooks all the long city, the wide straits, and snow-topped Mongibello beyond."<ref>Edward Lear, ''Journals of a landscape painter in Southern Calabria'', R. Bentley, London, 1852</ref>

===Late modern and contemporary===
[[File:Reggio terremoto via marina fontana nuova.jpg|thumb|right|Effects of the [[1908 Messina earthquake|1908 earthquake]].]]
[[File:Reggio calabria corso garibaldi anni 20.jpg|thumb|right|Reggio di Calabria in 1920.]]
On 21 August 1860, during the ''{{Ill|Battaglia di Piazza Duomo|it|4=fr|5=Bataille de Reggio|6=ru|7=Взятие Реджо-ди-Калабрия}}'' (Cathedral Square Battle), [[Giuseppe Garibaldi]] conquered the [[Kingdom of the Two Sicilies]]. Bruno Antonio Rossi (the mayor of Reggio after the historian Domenico Spanò Bolani, who helped the citizenship during the previous turbulent years) was the first in the kingdom to proclaim the new Garibaldi Dictatorship and the end of the rule of [[Francis II of the Two Sicilies|Francis II]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://yearning.com/regional/europe/italy/calabria/?cat=provinces/reggio_calabria|title=Yearning.com regional - Find anything anywhere. What Are You Yearning for?|website=yearning.com|access-date=3 May 2019|archive-date=14 August 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220814202805/http://yearning.com/regional/europe/italy/calabria/?cat=provinces/reggio_calabria|url-status=dead}}</ref>

On 28 December 1908, at 5:21 am, the town was hit by a heavy earthquake and shook violently for 31 seconds. Damage was even worse in Messina across the Straits. It is estimated that 25,000 people perished in Reggio and 65,000 in Messina. Reggio lost 27% of its inhabitants and Messina lost 42%. Ten minutes after the catastrophic earthquake, those who tried to escape by running towards the open spaces of the coast were engulfed by a 10-metre-high [[tsunami]]. Three waves of 6–12 metres swept away the whole waterfront. The [[1908 Messina earthquake]] remains one of the worst on record in modern western European history.<ref>[http://www.calabrialiving.com/1908earthquake.htm Reggio Calabria commemorates its 1908 earthquake victims], on Calabria Living</ref><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20091012174932/http://www.seismosoc.org/publications/SRL/SRL_80/srl_80-2_hs.html The 28 December 1908 Messina Straits Earthquake (Mw 7.1): A Great Earthquake throughout a Century of Seismology], Historical Seismologist, March/April 2009.</ref>

During the World War II, due to its strategic military position, it suffered a devastating air raid and was used as the [[Operation Baytown|invasion target]] by the [[Eighth Army (United Kingdom)|British Eighth Army]] in 1943, which led to the city's capture. After the war Reggio recovered considerably. During 1970–71 the city was the scene of a popular uprising—known as the [[Reggio riots|Moti di Reggio]]—against the government choice of [[Catanzaro]] as capital of the newly instituted Region of Calabria.<ref name="partridge50">Partridge, [https://books.google.com/books?id=I-5OR8tDkEIC&dq=1970+revolt+reggio+calabria&pg=PA50 ''Italian politics today''], p. 50.<!-- ISBN, publishing info needed --></ref> The revolt was taken over by young [[neofascism|neofascists]] of the [[Italian Social Movement]], backed by the [['Ndrangheta]], a [[Mafia]]-type criminal organisation based in Calabria.<ref name="paoli198">Paoli, ''Mafia Brotherhoods'', p. 198.<!-- ISBN, publishing info needed --></ref><ref name="ind040296">[https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/town-the-mafia-shut-down-1317203.html Town the mafia shut down], ''The Independent'', 4 February 1996.</ref> The Reggio Calabria protests were the expression of malcontent about [[cronyism]] and the lack of industrial planning. In the 1970s and 1980s, Reggio went through twenty years of increasing organized crime by the 'Ndrangheta as well as urban decay. The town is home to several {{Lang|it|[['ndrine]]}}, such as the [[Pasquale Condello|Condello]]-[[Antonio Imerti|Imerti]] and the [[De Stefano 'ndrina|De Stefano]]-[[Giovanni Tegano|Tegano]] clans, who were involved in bloody wars against each other during this period.<ref name="obs240208">[https://www.theguardian.com/world/2008/feb/24/internationalcrime.italy Godfather's arrest fuels fear of bloody conflict], ''The Observer'', 24 February 2008.</ref> The 'Ndrangheta extorts protection money ([[Pizzo (extortion)|''pizzo'']]) from every shop and viable business in town and has more power than the city council in awarding licences to retailers.<ref name=ind040296/>

The spiral of corruption reached its zenith in the early 1990s. The sitting mayor at the time, {{Ill|Agatino Licandro|it}}, made a confession reporting "suitcases coming into city hall stuffed with money but going out empty". As a result of the nationwide corruption scandals most of the city council was arrested.<ref name="ind040296"/> Since the early 1990s, the so-called "Primavera di Reggio" (Reggio Spring)—a spontaneous movement of people and government institutions—encouraged city recovery and a renewed and stronger identity. The symbol of the Reggio Spring is the Lungomare Falcomatà, the sea-side boulevard named after Italo Falcomatà, the centre-left mayor who initiated the recovery of the town.<ref>[http://www.corrieredellacalabria.it/stories/politica/2205_dieci_anni_senza_italo_il_sindaco_della_primavera_di_reggio_calabria/ Dieci anni senza Italo, il sindaco della primavera di Reggio Calabria] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140116102742/http://www.corrieredellacalabria.it/stories/politica/2205_dieci_anni_senza_italo_il_sindaco_della_primavera_di_reggio_calabria/ |date=16 January 2014 }}, Corriere della Calabria, 11 December 2011.</ref>

On 9 October 2012, the Italian government decided to dissolve the city council of Reggio Calabria for infiltration by the 'Ndrangheta. The move came after some councillors were suspected of having ties to the powerful crime syndicate, under the 10-year centre-right rule of Giuseppe Scopelliti, mayor from 2002 to 2010.<ref name="rep230912">[http://www.repubblica.it/politica/2012/09/23/news/sprechi_e_mafia_caos_pdl_in_calabria-43080292 Sprechi e mafia in Calabria], repubblica.it, 23 September 2012.</ref> His successor, the centre-right mayor Demetrio Arena and all 30 city councillors, were sacked to prevent any "mafia contagion" in the local government. It was the first time that the entire government of a provincial capital had been dismissed over suspected links to organized crime. Three commissioners ran the city for 18 months until a new [[Reggio Calabria municipal election, 2014|election]].<ref name="bbc091012">[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-19886631 Italy sacks Reggio Calabria council over 'mafia ties'], BBC News, 9 October 2012.</ref><ref name="rep091212">[http://www.repubblica.it/cronaca/2012/10/09/news/scioglimento-44197399/ Il Viminale scioglie per mafia il comune di Reggio Calabria], Repubblica.it, 9 October 2012.</ref> According to anti-mafia investigators in 2016, Scopelliti was elected thanks to votes from the 'Ndrangheta.<ref name="ansa150716">[http://www.ansa.it/english/news/2016/07/15/secret-ndrangheta-cupola-picked-men-for-parliament-3_3e4f267e-a038-452d-8f54-8594702f4201.html Secret 'Ndrangheta cupola 'picked men for parliament'], Ansa, 15 July 2016</ref>

===Earthquakes in history===
{{main|List of earthquakes in Italy}}
Reggio has been destroyed by earthquakes several times over the centuries, such as in 91 BC, after which the city was reconstructed by order of the Emperor Augustus, followed by another in the year 17 AD; yet another one in 305 AD, and again another in 374. In 1562 one destroyed the natural, medieval port of the city and brought about the submersion of the Calamizzi promontory, known in ancient times as the Pallantiòn, where, we are told, the first Greek settlers, the Calcidesi, had set foot. The particularly devastating of 1783 and that of 1908, which was the worst natural calamity to take place in Europe in human memory, both profoundly altered the urban aspect of the city, due to the successive re-building which gave the present-day layout of straight, intersecting roads, planned by Giovanbattista Mori in 1784 and by {{Ill|Pietro de Nava|it}} in 1911. But some town-planning policies at the time were decided upon with no respect for the architectural history of Reggio, as is shown by the demolition of the remaining Norman part of the Castle, following the last big earthquake in 1923.<ref>Giuseppe Caruso, "Il Castello Aragonese di Reggio Calabria" · Caruso Edizioni, Reggio di C, 2016</ref>

===European travellers who visited Reggio===
Although Reggio and Calabria in general were less popular destinations than [[Sicily]] or [[Naples]] for the first Northern European travellers, several famous names such as the Flemish [[Pieter Bruegel the Elder|Pieter Bruegel]] (in c. 1550), the German {{Ill|Johann Hermann von Riedesel|it|4=de|5=Johann Hermann Riedesel zu Eisenbach|6=fr}} (in 1767), the Frenchmen [[Jean-Claude Richard|Jean Claude Richard de Saint-Non]] (in 1778) and [[Stendhal]] (in 1817), the British travellers [[Henry Swinburne]] (in c. 1775), [[Richard Keppel Craven]] (in c. 1820), [[Craufurd Tait Ramage]] (in 1828), the Strutt family and [[Elizabeth Byron]] (in 1840), [[Edward Lear]] (in 1847), [[Norman Douglas]] (in 1911), [[D. H. Lawrence]] (in c. 1920) and [[Eric Whelpton]] (in 1950s) and the Belgian [[Jules Destrée]] (in 1915 and in 1930) visited Reggio.<ref>AA VV (attualmente a cura di: Carmelina Sicari, Gaetanina Sicari Ruffo, Luciana Polimeni, Sara Polimeni, Cettina Nostro, Antonio Maria Leone; fondata da Giuseppe Polimeni) ''Calabria Sconosciuta'' · case editrici varie, redazione in Reggio di Calabria, 1978~2013</ref>

==Geography==
With an exceptionally high population density, Reggio Calabria was cited as having the least [[Open space reserve|green space]] in a study of 386 European cities. The study reported that green space coverage varied markedly, averaging 18.6 per cent and "ranging from 1.9 (Reggio di Calabria, Italy) to 46 ([[Ferrol, Spain|Ferrol]], Spain) per cent." The study further reported "Per capita green space provision varied by two orders of magnitude, from 3 to 4 m<sup>2</sup> per person in Cádiz, Fuenlabrada and Almería (Spain) and Reggio di Calabria (Italy) to more than 300 m<sup>2</sup> in [[Liège]] ([[Belgium]]), [[Oulu]] ([[Finland]]) and [[Valenciennes]] ([[France]])."<ref name="green_space_study">{{cite journal | pmc=2679924 | year=2009 | last1=Fuller | first1=R. A. | last2=Gaston | first2=K. J. | title=The scaling of green space coverage in European cities | journal=Biology Letters | volume=5 | issue=3 | pages=352–355 | doi=10.1098/rsbl.2009.0010 | pmid=19324636 }}</ref> Even so, outside of the urban area, the nearby elevated areas have plenty of green space and extensive forests. This includes the [[Aspromonte National Park]].

===Climate===
According to the [[Köppen climate classification]], Reggio Calabria possesses a typical [[Mediterranean climate]] ([[Köppen climate classification|Köppen]]: ''Csa''). Its climate has warmer days and cooler nights than [[Messina]] which lies on the other side of the strait. Precipitation is another big difference since Messina receives approximately {{convert|300|mm|0|abbr=on}} more.
{{Weather box
|metric first=yes
|single line=yes
|location=Reggio Calabria (1991–2020)
<!-- Record high temperatures -->
<!-- Note that record temperatures should be used sparingly in main city articles, and should only be used when the data period is of the greatest length possible. -->
|Jan record high C=24.6
|Feb record high C=25.2
|Mar record high C=27.0
|Apr record high C=30.4
|May record high C=35.2
|Jun record high C=42.0
|Jul record high C=44.2
|Aug record high C=42.4
|Sep record high C=37.6
|Oct record high C=34.4
|Nov record high C=29.9
|Dec record high C=26.0
|Jan high C = 14.9
|Feb high C = 15.1
|Mar high C = 16.9
|Apr high C = 19.4
|May high C = 23.5
|Jun high C = 27.8
|Jul high C = 30.8
|Aug high C = 31.1
|Sep high C = 27.4
|Oct high C = 23.9
|Nov high C = 19.8
|Dec high C = 16.2
| year high C = 
|Jan mean C = 11.8
|Feb mean C = 11.7
|Mar mean C = 13.3
|Apr mean C = 15.6
|May mean C = 19.3
|Jun mean C = 23.5
|Jul mean C = 26.3
|Aug mean C = 26.7
|Sep mean C = 23.2
|Oct mean C = 20.0
|Nov mean C = 16.3
|Dec mean C = 13.1
| year mean C = 
|Jan low C = 8.6
|Feb low C = 8.4
|Mar low C = 9.8
|Apr low C = 11.8
|May low C = 15.2
|Jun low C = 19.1
|Jul low C = 21.8
|Aug low C = 22.2
|Sep low C = 19.1
|Oct low C = 16.1
|Nov low C = 12.8
|Dec low C = 10.0
| year low C = 
<!-- Record low temperatures -->
<!-- Note that record temperatures should be used sparingly in main city articles, and should only be used when the data period is of the greatest length possible. -->
|Jan record low C=1.0
|Feb record low C=0.0
|Mar record low C=0.0
|Apr record low C=4.6
|May record low C=7.8
|Jun record low C=10.8
|Jul record low C=14.6
|Aug record low C=14.4
|Sep record low C=11.2
|Oct record low C=6.6
|Nov record low C=4.4
|Dec record low C=2.6
<!-- Total precipitation, this should include rain and snow. -->
|precipitation colour=green <!-- Enter "green" for green precipitation colours, "none" for no colours, remove this line for blue colouring. -->
<!-- IMPORTANT: use mm or cm but NOT both! -->
|Jan precipitation mm=69.6
|Feb precipitation mm=61.5
|Mar precipitation mm=50.7
|Apr precipitation mm=40.4
|May precipitation mm=19.8
|Jun precipitation mm=10.9
|Jul precipitation mm=7.0
|Aug precipitation mm=11.9
|Sep precipitation mm=47.5
|Oct precipitation mm=72.5
|Nov precipitation mm=81.7
|Dec precipitation mm=73.3
<!-- Average daily % humidity -->
<!-- If entering the average daily % humidity, then the humidex table should be used. As of December 2009, few if any countries other than Canada use the Humidex. -->
|humidity colour= <!-- Enter "green" for green humidity colors, "pastel" for pastel humidity colours, "none" for no colours, remove this line for blue coloring. -->
|Jan humidity=
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|precip days colour= <!-- Enter "green" for green colors, "pastel" for pastel colours, "none" for no colours, remove this line for blue coloring. Affects rain and snow days as well -->
|Jan precipitation days=9.3
|Feb precipitation days=9.1
|Mar precipitation days=7.5
|Apr precipitation days=6.6
|May precipitation days=2.8
|Jun precipitation days=1.5
|Jul precipitation days=1.3
|Aug precipitation days=1.9
|Sep precipitation days=4.4
|Oct precipitation days=7.0
|Nov precipitation days=8.7
|Dec precipitation days=8.3
<!-- Average monthly sunshine hours, monthly totals are preferred, and will produce colors, but percentages are accepted. Use either the monthly or daily sunshine (depending on the source) but not both. -->
|Jan sun=
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|source 1 = Istituto Superiore per la Protezione e la Ricerca Ambientale<ref name = ISPRA>{{cite web
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230917192649/https://valori-climatici-normali.isprambiente.it/
| archive-date = 17 September 2023
| url = https://valori-climatici-normali.isprambiente.it/
| title = Valori climatici normali in Italia
| publisher=Istituto Superiore per la Protezione e la Ricerca Ambientale
| access-date = 26 November 2024}}</ref>
|source 2= [[Servizio Meteorologico]] (precipitation 1971–2000)<ref name=seme1>{{cite web |url=http://clima.meteoam.it/AtlanteClim2/pdf/%28422%29Reggio%20Calabria.pdf |title=Reggio Calabria (RC) 21 m. s.l.m. (a.s.l.) |publisher=Servizio Meteorologico |access-date=7 September 2013}}</ref>
}}

==Administrative division and city government==
The municipality of Reggio is divided into 15 sub-municipalities ({{Lang|it|circoscrizioni}}) containing the ''[[frazione|frazioni]]'' ('subdivisions', mainly villages and hamlets) of [[Catona]], Gallico, Archi, Pentimele, Gallina, Mosorrofa ({{langx|el|Messorofè}}), Ortì ({{langx|el|Orthioi}}), [[Pellaro]] ({{langx|el|Pèllaros}}) and Saracinello. They are: Centro Storico (1st); Pineta Zerbi, Tremulini and Eremo (2nd); Santa Caterina, San Brunello and Vito (3rd); Trabochetto, Condera and Spirito Santo (4th); Rione Ferrovieri, Stadio and Gebbione (5th); Sbarre (6th); San Giorgio, Modena, Scido and San Sperato (7th); Catona, Salice, Rosalì and Villa San Giuseppe (8th); Gallico and Sambatello (9th); Archi (10th); Ortì, Podàrgoni and Terreti (11th); Cannavò, Mosorrofa and Cataforio (12th); Ravagnese, San Gregorio, Croce Valanidi and Trunca (13th); Gallina (14th); Pellaro and Bocale (15th).

==Twin towns==
Reggio di Calabria is [[Twin towns and sister cities|twinned]] with:
*{{flagicon|GRE}} [[Patras]], Greece
*{{flagicon|GRE}} [[Athens]], Greece, since 2003
*{{flagicon|GRE}} [[Egaleo]], Greece, since 2004
*{{flagicon|ITA}} [[Cesana Torinese]], Italy, since 2006
*{{flagicon|USA}} [[San Diego]], United States, since 1973
*{{flagicon|ITA}} [[Montesilvano]], Italy, since 2009<ref>{{cite news|url=http://peppecaridi2.wordpress.com/tag/reggio-montesilvano-gemellaggio/|title=Patto di amicizia tra Reggio e Montesilvano|access-date=9 August 2012|archive-date=15 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160315145220/https://peppecaridi2.wordpress.com/tag/reggio-montesilvano-gemellaggio/|url-status=dead}}</ref>
*{{flagicon|AUS}} [[Fairfield City]], [[Australia]]<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.fairfieldcity.nsw.gov.au/default.asp?iDocId=10480&iSubCatID=3351&iNavCatID=3323 |title=Sister cities of Fairfield City |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110312073916/http://www.fairfieldcity.nsw.gov.au/default.asp?iDocID=10480&iNavCatID=3323&iSubCatID=3351 |archive-date=12 March 2011 }}</ref>

==Economy==
[[File:Beach of Reggio Calabria.jpg|right|800px|thumb|View on the Strait of Messina by the beach of Reggio Calabria]]
Reggio retains a somewhat rural ambience despite its sizable population. Industry in the city revolves primarily around agriculture and export, fruits, tobacco, [[briar wood|briar]] and the precious essence of the [[bergamot orange|bergamot]] which is used in perfume production. Reggio is a port city with a sizeable fishing industry.

The beaches of the city have become a popular [[tourist destination]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.questia.com/library/encyclopedia/reggio_di_calabria.jsp|publisher=|title=Reggio di Calabria|date=8 January 2008|access-date=10 September 2017|archive-date=5 June 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110605113800/http://www.questia.com/library/encyclopedia/reggio_di_calabria.jsp|url-status=dead}}</ref> Tourism is distributed between the Ionian coast (Costa Jonica), the Tyrrhenian coast (the Costa Viola, Purple Coast) and the [[Aspromonte]] mountain behind the city, containing the natural reserve of the [[Aspromonte National Park]] where, at 1,300–1,950 metres above sea level, there is a panoramic view of the [[Strait of Messina]] from the snowy [[Mount Etna]] to the [[Aeolian Islands]].
[[File:Bathing establishments along the beach.jpg|thumb|right|Bathing establishments along the beach]]
[[File:Monumento a Vittorio Emanuele II.jpg|thumb|right|Monument to [[Victor Emmanuel III]]]]

==Main sights==
[[File:Castello Reggio Calabria.jpg|thumb|180px|Castle]] [[File:Duomo Reggio Calabria.jpg|thumb|180px|Cathedral]]
[[File:Reggio Calabria Teatro Cilea facciata.jpg|thumb|180px|Cilea Theatre]]
[[File:Reggio Calabria-tapis roulant di via Giudecca.jpg|thumb|180px|Giudecca Street]]
[[File:Villa Zerbi.jpg|thumb|180px|Villa Genoese-Zerbi]]

===Castles, churches and cathedrals===
* The Castle, originally built before 540 AD and enlarged by the [[Italo-Normans|Normans]] and later by the [[Crown of Aragon|Aragonese]] in 1459,<ref>Giuseppe CARUSO, ''Il Castello Aragonese di Reggio Calabria'' - Caruso edizioni, Reggio di C, 2016</ref> partially torn in the late 19th century and in 1923, is now{{when|date=July 2023}} home to art exhibitions.
* The Cathedral of Reggio, re-built after the [[1908 Messina earthquake]].
* The Church of Saint [[Gaetano Catanoso]], in the Spirito Santo neighborhood. It houses the namesake saint's glass tomb, in the sanctuary as well as museum exhibits.
* The Church of the Optimates constructed in [[Byzantine architecture|Byzantine]]-[[Norman architecture|Norman]] style, containing medieval artistic items of interest.

=== Museums, palaces and theatres ===
* The [[Museo Nazionale della Magna Grecia]] (National Archaeological Museum of Magna Grecia), dedicated to [[Ancient Greece]], heir of the previous City Museum (created in 1819); its building was built in 1932 with project of [[Marcello Piacentini]] under the auspices of Archæological Superintendent Edoardo Galli.
* The Villa Genoese-Zerbi is a modern villa in 14th century [[Venetian style]] ([[Neo-Gothic]]). It is the seat of exhibition of the [[Venice Biennale]] in southern Italy.
* The Palazzo Nesci is a mansion in [[Neoclassical architecture|Neoclassical]] style; it is one of the few 19th-century buildings survived to the [[1908 Messina earthquake|1908 earthquake]].
* The Pinacoteca Comunale ("Town Art Gallery") houses works by [[Antonello da Messina]] (''[[Abraham Served by the Angels]]'' and ''[[St. Jerome in Penitence (Antonello da Messina)|St. Jerome in Penitence]]''), [[Mattia Preti]], [[Luca Giordano]], Giuseppe Benessai and others.
* The Piccolo Museo San Paolo, a museum with a collection of medieval [[Byzantine art|Byzantine]] and [[Russian art|Russian]] artistic items.

===Archaeological sites and natural sites===
{{Unreferenced section|date=April 2017}}
* Soprintendenza alle Antichità della Calabria, established in 1907 as Archeological Superintendence of Bruttium and Lucania.
* The [[Riace bronzes]], that can be seen at the important [[Museo Nazionale della Magna Grecia|National Museum of Greater Greece]], are some of the main touristic destinations in Reggio.
* The Lungomare Falcomatà, a seaside promenade located in the downtown, is a swimming destination and main symbol of the summer [[movida]]; it was defined by Nando Martellini, quoting the poet [[Gabriele D'Annunzio]], as "the most beautiful kilometre of Italy".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.zoomsud.it/cronaca/10428-e-martellini-sbotto-e-il-piu-bel-chilometro-ditalia-dannunzio-mai-messo-piede-a-reggio.html|title=E Nando Martellini lanciò il più bel chilometro d'Italia. D'annunzio? Mai messo piede a Reggio|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130518003715/http://www.zoomsud.it/cronaca/10428-e-martellini-sbotto-e-il-piu-bel-chilometro-ditalia-dannunzio-mai-messo-piede-a-reggio.html|archive-date=18 May 2013}}</ref>
* The botanic gardens facing the sea.
* The walls of the ancient city, one of the few remaining examples of the original Greek walls, are divided into four separate sections. The one at the Falcomatà Seaside dates to the 5th–4th century BC and is attributed to the city's reconstruction by [[Dionysius II of Syracuse]].
* The remains of [[ancient Roman|Roman]] baths, along the sea promenade.
* The archaeological excavations of Piazza Italia, which was the central square of Reggio since Greater Greece age until today.
* The archaeological site of Griso Laboccetta, an ancient Greek and Roman sacred area.
* The archaeological excavations nearby Church San Giorgio al Corso.
* Other sites of archæological interest in the upper-eastern part of the city, such as a Greek mansion, a necropolis, or some ancient Greek walls and Byzantine items of interest nearby Reggio Campi street.

===New waterfront: Museum and Performing Arts Centre===
The new waterfront, designed by architect [[Zaha Hadid]], is located on a narrow strait separating Italy from [[Sicily]]. The museum (13,400 m<sup>2</sup>) draws inspiration from the organic form of the starfish, utilizing a radial symmetry to coordinate communication and circulation between different program elements: exhibition spaces, restoration facilities, archive, aquarium and library. A second, multifunctional building (8,000 m<sup>2</sup>), comprises two separate elements, placed around a partially covered piazza. It houses offices, gyms, craft laboratories, cinema and flexible auditoria.<ref>{{cite book|url=http://www.archiportale.com/news/2009/02/architettura/a-londra-la-firma-per-il-waterfront-di-reggio-calabria_13993_3.html|title=A Londra la firma per il waterfront di Reggio Calabria|publisher=archiportale.com|access-date=26 March 2015}}</ref>

==Culture==
===Literature and theatre===
[[File:Arena dello Stretto.jpg|center|800px|thumb|Arena dello Stretto, hosts musical and theatrical events.]]
*Teatro Comunale "Francesco Cilea": Municipal Theatre, firstly inaugurated in 1818 as ''Real Teatro Borbonio'', it was rebuilt in a different place after the [[1908 Messina earthquake|1908 earthquake]].
*Politeama "Siracusa": multi-purpose theatre inaugurated in 1922 inside a Liberty style building.
*Biblioteca Comunale "Pietro De Nava": the Municipal Library was inaugurated in 1818 as ''Regia Biblioteca Ferdinandiana'' and set in its present-day building in 1928, after the last earthquake. {{Citation needed|date=March 2017}}

===Sport===
The city's main [[association football]] team is [[Urbs Reggina 1914|Reggina]]. They play at the [[Stadio Oreste Granillo]] and are fierce rivals with neighbours [[A.C.R. Messina|Messina]], who are just a twenty-five minutes ferry ride apart from each other. Throughout their histories they have clashed in the ''[[Derby dello Stretto]]'' ([[Strait of Messina]] Derby). There is also a major Calabrian derby with [[F.C. Crotone|Crotone]]. There is also a second much smaller team [[HinterReggio Calcio]].

==Politics==
The members of Parliament representing Reggio Calabria are [[Federica Dieni]] ([[Five Star Movement|M5S]]) in the [[Chamber of Deputies (Italy)|Chamber]] and Marco Siclari ([[Forza Italia (2013)|FI]]) in the [[Senate of the Republic (Italy)|Senate]].

==Education==
*[[Mediterranea University of Reggio Calabria|Università "Mediterranea"]]: established in 1968, it is the first Calabrian university.
*Università per Stranieri "Dante Alighieri": it is one of the three Italian Universities for Foreigners; created in 1984 it includes several Linguistic and Philology courses.
*[[Accademia di Belle Arti di Reggio Calabria|Accademia di Belle Arti]]: the Academy of Fine Arts, established in 1967 is the most long-standing of its kind in Calabria and the third one in Southern Italy.
*Conservatorio Musicale "[[Francesco Cilea]]": founded in 1927, the most ancient Conservatory of Music in Calabria, was then dedicated to the musician from [[Palmi, Calabria|Palmi]].
*State High School "Thomas Gulli", (''Liceo statale Tommaso Gulli'') established in 1911 as ''Girls Private School''.
*Liceo Classico "[[Tommaso Campanella]]", established in 1814 as ''Real Collegio'' under [[Joachim Murat]] government; poet [[Diego Vitrioli]], from Reggio, attended this college.
*Liceo Scientifico "Leonardo da Vinci", founded in the 1920s, under [[Fascism]].
*Liceo Scientifico "Alessandro Volta".
*Istituto Tecnico-Industriale "Panella-Vallauri".

==Notable people==
{{See also|Category:People from Reggio Calabria}}
* Learchus (end of 15th century BC), sculptor
* Iokastos (beginning of 13th century BC), probably king of Reggio
* [[Clearchus of Rhegium|Clearchus]] (7th–6th century BC), sculptor
* [[Ibycus]] (6th century BC), poet
* [[Theagenes of Rhegium]] (6th century BC), literary critic
* [[Pythagoras of Rhegium|Pythagoras]] (6th–5th century BC), sculptor born in [[Samos]]
* Lycus of Rhegium, also known as Boutheras, was a historian who wrote a history of Libya and Sicily. Father of [[Lycophron]].<ref>{{cite web| url = https://topostext.org/work/240#la.814| title = Suda, la.814}}</ref>
* Elicaon or Helicaon (Ἑλικάων) of Rhegium, a Pythagorean philosopher<ref>[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0104%3Aalphabetic+letter%3DE%3Aentry+group%3D3%3Aentry%3Delicaon-bio-1 A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, Elicaon]</ref>
* [[Proclus of Rhegium]] (1st–2nd century AD), physician
* [[Pope Agatho|Agatho]] (7th century AD), pope born in [[Sicily]]
* [[Barlaam of Seminara]] (1290–1348), Byzantine thinker 
* [[Tommaso Campanella]] (1568–1639), philosopher, theologian, astrologer, writer and poet born in [[Stilo]]
* [[Raffaele Piria]] (1814–1865), chemist born in [[Scilla, Calabria|Scilla]]
* [[Domenico Spanò Bolani]] (1815–1890), politician, historian and author
* [[Francesco Cilea]] (1866–1950), musician and composer born in [[Palmi, Calabria|Palmi]]
* [[Gaetano Catanoso]] (1879–1963), saint, priest born in [[Roghudi|Choriò]]
* [[Umberto Boccioni]] (1882–1916), painter/sculptor
* [[Domingo Periconi]] (1883–1940), painter
* [[Goffredo Zehender]] (1901–1958), Grand Prix driver
* [[Tito Minniti]] (1909–1935), pilot
* [[Leopoldo Trieste]] (1917–2003), actor and movie director
* [[Diego Carpitella]] (1924–1990), ethno-musicologist
* [[Nik Spatari]] (1929–2020), painter, sculptor, architect and art scholar born in [[Mammola]]
* [[Luigi Malice]] (born 1937), painter and sculptor born in [[Naples]]
* [[Marina Ripa di Meana]] (1941–2018), writer, actress, director, stylist and activist born Maria Elide Punturieri
* [[Italo Falcomatà]] (1943–2001), politician and university teacher
* [[Mino Reitano]] (1944–2009), singer born in [[Fiumara]]
* [[Santo Versace]] (born 1944), fashion designer and politician
* [[Mia Martini]] (1947–1995), singer born in [[Bagnara Calabra]]
* [[Gianni Versace]] (1946–1997), fashion designer
* [[Antonio Strati]] (born 1949), organisational theorist, artist and university teacher 
* [[Loredana Bertè]] (born 1950), singer born in [[Bagnara Calabra]]
* [[Nicola Calipari]] (1953–2005), mayor general and military intelligence officer
* [[Nuccio Schepis]] (born 1955), sculptor and art restorer
* [[Donatella Versace]] (born 1955), fashion designer
* [[Marco Minniti]] (born 1956), politician and former Minister of the Interior in Italy
* [[Giuseppe Filianoti]] (born 1974), operatic tenor
* [[Michele Morrone]] (born 1990), actor, fashion designer, model, singer, songwriter
* [[Mimmo Candito]] (1941–2018), journalist, reporter, writer
* [[Paul N. Luvera Sr.]] (1898–1990), Washington State Senator

==Transport==
===Highway===
Reggio is a road junction on the SS18 [[Naples]]–Reggio and on the SS106 Reggio–[[Taranto]] roads and also on the [[Autostrada A2 (Italy)|A2 Salerno–Reggio motorway]].

===Tramway===
The Tramway of Reggio was operative since 1918 until 1937.{{Citation needed|date=March 2017}} Tramway line was 5.3&nbsp;km long, from Sbarre district (southern suburbs) until Annunziata bridge (northern part of town centre) passing by the whole historical centre.

===Railway===
It has an important [[Reggio Calabria Centrale railway station|main central railway station]], the largest in Calabria, opened in 1866, with ten smaller stations.

===Port===
The [[Port of Reggio]] was enlarged after the 1908 earthquake. It is directly connected to the city of [[Messina]] through a ferryboat line system.

===Airport===
[[File:Pista Aeroporto Reggio Calabria.jpg|right|300px|thumb|View on Reggio Calabria Airport]]
Reggio Calabria, served by air from the [[Reggio Calabria Airport]] ([[IATA]]: '''REG''', [[ICAO]]: '''LICR''') also known as ''Aeroporto dello Stretto'' or ''Tito Minniti Airport'', is located a few kilometres south of Reggio. The airport has been at the center of polemics about its financial loss, risking to be closed.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.corrieredellacalabria.it/regione/reggio-calabria/item/197475-i-25-milioni-bipartisan-con-polemica-per-laeroporto-dello-stretto/ |title=I 25 milioni bipartisan (con polemica) per l'aeroporto dello Stretto |website=Corriere della Calabria |language=it |date=8 August 2019 |access-date=25 March 2020 |archive-date=25 March 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200325164123/https://www.corrieredellacalabria.it/regione/reggio-calabria/item/197475-i-25-milioni-bipartisan-con-polemica-per-laeroporto-dello-stretto/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> It is currently connected to the airports of [[Rome Fiumicino]] and [[Milan-Linate|Milan Linate]].

==See also==
{{Portal|Italy|European Union|Cities}}
{{colbegin}}
* [[Black-figure pottery]]
* [[Fatti di Reggio]]
* [[List of mayors of Reggio Calabria]]
* [[Museo della ndrangheta]]
* [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Reggio Calabria-Bova|Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Reggio-Bova]]
* [[Urbs Reggina 1914]]
* [[Chiesa di Gesù e Maria, Reggio Calabria]]
* [[Chiesa degli Ottimati]]
{{colend}}

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}
*Paoli, Letizia (2003). ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=qX5NfHTWzS0C Mafia Brotherhoods: Organized Crime, Italian Style]'', New York: [[Oxford University Press]]; {{ISBN|0-19-515724-9}} ([http://www.organized-crime.de/revpao01mafiandrangheta.htm Organized-crime.de], Review by Klaus Von Lampe) ([https://web.archive.org/web/20071026131902/https://www.ccja-acjp.ca/en/cjcr/cjcr68.html CCKA-ACJP.ca], Review by Alexandra V. Orlova)
*Partridge, Hilary (1998). ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=I-5OR8tDkEIC Italian politics today]'', Manchester: [[Manchester University Press]]; {{ISBN|0-7190-4944-X}}

==Bibliography==
{{See also|Timeline of Reggio Calabria#Bibliography|l1=Bibliography of the history of Reggio Calabria}}

==External links==
{{Wikivoyage|Reggio di Calabria}}
{{Commons|Reggio Calabria}}
* {{Official website|http://www.reggiocal.it}}
* [http://turismo.reggiocal.it Official tourist site] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220625220823/http://turismo.reggiocal.it/ |date=25 June 2022 }}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060506094628/http://www.unirc.it/english/ The City of Reggio di Calabria]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20041102010151/http://turismo.provincia.rc.it/ Province of Reggio di Calabria]

{{Magna Graecia}}
{{Province of Reggio Calabria}}
{{Cities in Italy}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Reggio Calabria| ]]
[[Category:Cities and towns in Calabria]]
[[Category:Populated coastal places in Italy]]
[[Category:Euboean colonies of Magna Graecia]]
[[Category:Cumaean colonies]]
[[Category:Populated places established in the 8th century BC]]
[[Category:Mediterranean port cities and towns in Italy]]
[[Category:Roman sites in Calabria]]