Piazza Italia is one of the most important squares in Reggio Calabria, located in the historic center of the city. Its official name is Piazza Vittorio Emanuele II, but it is commonly known by its popular name because of the Monument to Italy standing at its center. The square is the political and administrative heart of Reggio Calabria. Around it stand some of the most important institutional buildings of the city, including Palazzo San Giorgio, the seat of the Municipality, and Palazzo Corrado Alvaro, the seat of the Metropolitan City of Reggio Calabria. Piazza Italia has a square-shaped plan and opens on its southeastern side toward Corso Giuseppe Garibaldi, the main central street of Reggio Calabria. The square follows the urban layout of the historic center and is positioned obliquely in relation to the cardinal points. This location makes Piazza Italia one of the most central and accessible public spaces in Reggio Calabria. It stands close to major civic, cultural, and commercial points of interest, including Teatro Francesco Cilea, Corso Garibaldi, and other institutional buildings connected to local administration. Short History of Piazza Italia The Ancient Name – Tocco Piccolo Before receiving its modern name, Piazza Italia was known Read more [...]
All SEE in Reggio Calabria
Reggio Calabria is best known for Lungomare Falcomatà, the waterfront traditionally described as “the most beautiful kilometer in Italy”. Other major landmarks include the Aragonese Castle, distinguished by its two circular towers, and the Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta, which dominates Piazza Duomo.
The National Archaeological Museum of Reggio Calabria is one of the city’s principal cultural attractions. It is internationally famous for the Riace Bronzes, two masterpieces of fifth-century BC Greek sculpture. Its collections document Calabria from prehistory through the Roman period, including important archaeological discoveries connected with the ancient Greek cities of Magna Graecia.
Piazza Duomo
Piazza Duomo is one of the main squares in Reggio Calabria, located in the historic center of the city. It opens in front of the Cathedral Basilica of Maria Santissima Assunta in Cielo, but its importance is not limited to the religious building placed on one side. The square is part of the central urban fabric of Reggio Calabria and lies close to Corso Giuseppe Garibaldi, the city’s main pedestrian and commercial street. Its position makes it easy to include in a walking itinerary through the historic center, together with Piazza Italia and the waterfront area. Piazza Duomo has an almost square plan and belongs to the modern layout created after the 1908 Messina-Reggio earthquake. The present arrangement of the square reflects the post-earthquake reconstruction of Reggio Calabria, when the city center was reorganized with wider and more regular streets. Before the modern reconstruction, the square was located slightly further north and had a different orientation. Its current position and alignment are connected to the new urban plan prepared after the earthquake, which reshaped much of central Reggio Calabria during the early 20th century. Short History of Piazza Duomo The Old Name – Tocco Grande The old name of Read more [...]
Lungomare Falcomatà
Lungomare Falcomatà, built along the seafront of Reggio Calabria, is the most famous street of the city and one of the most famous in Italy. Lungomare is dedicated to the mayor Italo Falcomatà, protagonist and inspirer of the Primavera di Reggio (Spring of Reggio), the rebirth of the city from the 1990s. The waterfront of Reggio is about 1.7 kilometers long, from Piazza Indipendenza to Piazza Garibaldi, consisting of four segments: Falcomatà, Matteotti, Corso Vittorio Emanuele III and Viale Genoese Zerbi. The entire area is generally identified as Via Marina. The seafront of the city is rich in palm trees and varied plant species. The avenue is adorned with buildings dating back to the last reconstruction of the city, after the 1908 earthquake. The street is also enriched by elements that indirectly trace the history of the city, such as numerous commemorative monuments, a monumental fountain and some archaeological sites testifying about the Greek-Roman era. Between the sea and the promenade stands the Arena dello Stretto (Arena of the Strait), a typically Greek-style theater that hosts cultural events especially during the summer months. On the pier of Porto Salvo, in front of the arena, stands the monument of Vittorio Emanuele Read more [...]
Castello Aragonese
The Castello Aragonese is an ancient fortification located in the homonymous Piazza Castello, in Reggio Calabria. Together with the Riace Bronzes, it is considered one of the main historical symbols of the city. SHORT HISTORY Under Emperor Justinian I, during the war between the Goths and the Byzantines, Belisarius entered Reggio to free it from the barbarians and found the city devoid of fortifications, so the general immediately ordered the restoration of the city walls. As a consequence, a castle was built around the 6th century. In 1059, the fortress passed from the Byzantines to the Normans, and in 1266 to Charles I of Anjou. Since the Normans, who established the court there, the castle was modified and enlarged several times. A substantial part of the work took place during the reign of Frederick II of Swabia, when the imperial authority built a state defense system for the Kingdom of Sicily. The Swabian part of the castle, a building with a square plan, with four corner towers, also of square shape, remained standing until after the earthquake of 1908. The castle was restored in 1327, after the repeated wars between the Angevins and the Aragonese, then fortified in 1381 Read more [...]
Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta (Reggio Calabria Cathedral)
The Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta stands on the southeastern side of Piazza Duomo, in the historic center of Reggio Calabria. Officially dedicated to Maria Santissima Assunta in Cielo, it is the metropolitan cathedral of the Archdiocese of Reggio Calabria-Bova and the principal Roman Catholic church in the city. The Reggio Calabria Cathedral seen today is mainly a twentieth-century building, erected after the catastrophic earthquake of 1908. Its architecture, however, preserves the memory of a much older episcopal church repeatedly reconstructed after invasions, fires, wars, structural failures, and some of the most destructive earthquakes recorded in southern Italy. With an interior measuring approximately 94 meters long, 22 meters wide, and 21 meters high, the Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta is the largest sacred building in Calabria. The church combines a reinforced-concrete structure with Neo-Romanesque forms, Gothic references, modern artworks, and important elements recovered from earlier cathedrals. Short History of the Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta (Reggio Calabria Cathedral) Byzantine Reggio and the Norman Cathedral The early history of Christianity in Reggio predates the present Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta by many centuries. Acts 28:13 records the arrival of Saint Paul at Rhegium during his journey toward Rome. Local ecclesiastical Read more [...]
