Reggio Calabria

Reggio di Calabria(Southern Calabrian:Riggiu;Calabrian Greek:Ρήγι,romanized:Rìji), commonly and officially referred to asReggio Calabria, or simplyReggioby its inhabitants, is thelargest cityinCalabriaas well as the seat of the Regional Council of Calabria.It has an estimated population between 150,000 and 200,000 and is thetwenty-first most populous cityinItaly, afterModenaand other Italian cities, and the100th most populated cityinEurope. Reggio Calabria is located near the center of theMediterraneanand is known for its climate, ethnic and cultural diversity. It is the third economic centre of mainlandSouthern Italy. About 560,000 people live in the metropolitan area, recognised in 2015 by Italy as ametropolitan city.
Reggio is located on the "toe" of theItalian Peninsulaand is separated from the island ofSicilyby theStrait of Messina. It is situated on the slopes of theAspromonte, 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 ofMessina, which lies across the strait inSicily, forming a metro city of less than 1 million people.
Reggio is the oldest city in the region, and during ancient times, it was an important and flourishing colony ofMagna Graecia. Reggio has a modern urban system, set up after the catastrophicearthquake of 1908, which destroyed most of the city. Before that seismic event, the region has been subject to several other previous earthquakes.The seismicity is caused by Reggio being on theEurasian Platenear thefaultlinewhere it meets theAfrican Platethat runs through the strait, dividing the two European regions of Calabria andSicilyinto two different tectonic regions.
It is a major economic centre for regional services and transport on the southern shores of the Mediterranean. Reggio, withNaplesandTaranto, is home to one of the most important archaeological museums, the prestigiousNational Archaeological Museum of Magna Græcia, dedicated toAncient Greece(which houses theBronzes of Riace, rare example ofGreek 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 tofootballclubReggina, that previously played in theItalian top flight.
The city centre, consisting primarily ofLibertybuildings, has a linear development along the coast with parallel streets, and the promenade is dotted with raremagnoliasand exoticpalms. Reggio has commonly used popular nicknames: The "city of Bronzes", after the Bronzes of Riace that are testimonials of its Greek origins; the "city ofbergamot", which is exclusively cultivated in the region; and the "city ofFatamorgana", an optical phenomenon visible in Italy only from the Reggio seaside.
During its 3,500-year history Reggio has often been renamed. Each name corresponds with the city's major historical phases:
The toponym of the city might derive from an Italic wordrec(meaning 'king', cognate withLatinrex). Ancient Greek and Roman etymologists derived it from the Greekregnynai(ῥηγνυναι, 'break'), referring to a mythic earthquake in which Sicily was broken off from the Italian mainland.
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 theOsci(sometimes referred to asOpici),Trojans,Oenotrians,Ligures,Ausones,Mamertines,Taureani,Sicels,MorgetesandItali.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 asBruttium), and finally becoming the name of the whole Italian peninsula around the third century BC.Allegedly, the name derives from kingItalus, an Oenotrian king of the region.
AfterCumae, Reggio was one of the first Greek colonies in southern Italy. The colony was settled by the inhabitants ofChalcisin 730 or 743 BCon the site of the older settlement, Erythra (Ερυθρά), meaning 'red'. The legendary founder of the city was King Iocastus, son ofAeolus, 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" (Ῥήγιον).Pseudo-Scylaxalso writes that it was a Greek city.
Rhegion was one of the most important cities inMagna Graecia, reaching great economic and political power during the 5th and 6th centuries BC underAnaxilas, who reigned as tyrant from 494 to 476 BC. Anaxilas conqueredZancle(modernMessina), extending Rhegian control over both shores of the Straits of Messina. He attempted to conquerLocrias 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 regentMicythus. Under his rule, Rhegion founded a colony, Pyxous (modernPolicastro Bussentino) inCampaniain 471 BC.Hieron I of Syracuseorchestrated Micythus' removal from power in 467 BC,after which Anaxilas' sons ruled on their own until they were deposed in 461 BC.During thePeloponnesian War, Rhegion allied withAthens. An Athenian inscription (IGI53) reports a renewal of this alliance in 433 BC.The Athenians supported Rhegion in a war with Locri during the First Sicilian Expedition (427–425 BC).However, when the Athenians launched the much largerSicilian Expeditionof 415–413 BC, Rhegion offered them only limited assistance.
During theThird Sicilian War, Rhegion became hostile toDionysius 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.His son,Dionysius IIrefounded 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 byLeptinesandCallippusin 351 BC.Rhegion then reverted to its original name.
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 thePythagoreanSchool, and also by its well-known poetIbycus, the historianIppys, the musicologist Glaucus, and the sculptorsPythagorasandClearchus.
Rhegion made an alliance with theRoman Republicin 282 BC, shortly before thePyrrhic War. TheLegio 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.Roman forces deposed Decius and restored the city's independence in 271 BC. Thereafter, Rhegium was an important ally of Rome, with the status ofmunicipiumandsocia navalis(naval ally). It retained its Greek customs and language, as well as itsmint.It was a central pivot for both maritime and mainland traffic, reached by the final part of theVia Popilia, which was built in the 2nd century BC and joined the olderVia AppiaatCapua, south of Rome. Close to Rhegion, on the Straits of Messina, was the busy port of Columna Rhegina. Under the EmperorAugustus, the city was renamed Rhegium Juli in honour of the emperor's adoptive fatherJulius Caesarand was the seat of thecorrēctor(governor) of "Regio III Lucania et Bruttii" (the southernmost of the elevenregionesinto which Italy was divided). In AD 61 the apostleSt. Paulpassed through Rhegium on his final voyage towards Rome,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,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.
Numerous occupying armies came to Reggio during the early Middle Ages due to the city's strategic importance.
Invasions by theVandals, theLombardsand theGothsoccurred in the 5th–6th centuries.Then, underByzantinerule, it became a metropolis of the Byzantine possessions in Italy and was also the capital of theDuchy of Calabriaseveral times between 536 and 1060 AD.Following wars between the Lombards and Byzantines in the 6th century, Bruttium was renamed Calabria.
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.
The Arabs occupied Reggio in 918 and held some of its inhabitants to ransom or kept them prisoners as slaves.For brief periods in the 10th–11th centuries the city was ruled by theArabsand, renamedRivàh(or sometimesRŷu), became part of theEmirate of Sicily. During the period of Arab rule various beneficial ideas were introduced into Calabria, such as citrus fruit trees, mulberry trees (used insilkproduction) 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.
In 1005, a Christian fleet coming fromPisasacked the city and massacred all the Saracens to the great jubilation of the local population.In 1060 theNormans, underRobert GuiscardandRoger I of Sicily, captured Reggio but Greek cultural and religious elements persisted until the 17th century. In 1194 Reggio and the whole of southern Italy went to theHohenstaufen, who held it until 1266. In 1234 the town fair was established by decree of KingFrederick II.
From 1266 it was ruled by theAngevins, 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.In 1282, during theSicilian Vespers, Reggio rallied in support ofMessinaand 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 CalabrianGiustizierato. It supported theAragoneseforces against the House of Anjou. In the 14th century it obtained new administrative powers.In 1459, the Aragonese enlarged its medieval castle.
Reggio, throughout the Middle Ages, was first an important centre ofcalligraphyand then ofprintingafter its invention. It boasts the first dated, printed edition of aHebrewtext, aRashicommentary on thePentateuch, printed in 1475 inLa Giudeccaof Reggio,even though scholars consider Rome as the city where Hebrew printing began.The Jewish community of Reggio was also considered to be among the foremost internationally, for the dyeing and the trading ofsilk: 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.
From the early 16th century, the Kingdom of Naples was under theHabsburgsofSpain, 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 theOttomanTurkish invasions suffered by Reggio between 1534 and 1594. In 1534, facing attack by an Ottoman fleet underHayreddin Barbarossa, the townspeople abandoned Reggio. Barbarossa captured eight hundred of those who remained and then burned the town.AfterBarbary piratesattacked Reggio in 1558, they took most of its inhabitants as slaves toTripoli.
In 1714, southern Italy became once more property of the Austrian Habsburgs, who remained until 1734, when they were replaced by theBourbonsof Spain.Reggio was the capital of Calabria Ulteriore Prima from 1759 to 1860. In 1783, a disastrousearthquakedamaged Reggio, all of southern Calabria andMessina.
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.
In 1806,Napoleon Bonapartetook Reggio and made the city aDuchyand General Headquarters. After the former's fall, in 1816, the two ancient Kingdoms of Naples and of Sicily were unified, becoming theKingdom 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 painterEdward Learremarked "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."
On 21 August 1860, during theBattaglia di Piazza Duomo[it;fr;ru](Cathedral Square Battle),Giuseppe Garibaldiconquered theKingdom 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 ofFrancis II.
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-hightsunami. Three waves of 6–12 metres swept away the whole waterfront. The1908 Messina earthquakeremains one of the worst on record in modern western European history.
During the World War II, due to its strategic military position, it suffered a devastating air raid and was used as theinvasion targetby theBritish Eighth Armyin 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 theMoti di Reggio—against the government choice ofCatanzaroas capital of the newly instituted Region of Calabria.The revolt was taken over by youngneofascistsof theItalian Social Movement, backed by the'Ndrangheta, aMafia-type criminal organisation based in Calabria.The Reggio Calabria protests were the expression of malcontent aboutcronyismand 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'ndrine, such as theCondello-Imertiand theDe Stefano-Teganoclans, who were involved in bloody wars against each other during this period.The 'Ndrangheta extorts protection money (pizzo) from every shop and viable business in town and has more power than the city council in awarding licences to retailers.
The spiral of corruption reached its zenith in the early 1990s. The sitting mayor at the time,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.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.
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.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 newelection.According to anti-mafia investigators in 2016, Scopelliti was elected thanks to votes from the 'Ndrangheta.
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 byGiovanbattista Moriin 1784 and byPietro 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.
Although Reggio and Calabria in general were less popular destinations thanSicilyorNaplesfor the first Northern European travellers, several famous names such as the FlemishPieter Bruegel(in c. 1550), the GermanJohann Hermann von Riedesel[it;de;fr](in 1767), the FrenchmenJean Claude Richard de Saint-Non(in 1778) andStendhal(in 1817), the British travellersHenry Swinburne(in c. 1775),Richard Keppel Craven(in c. 1820),Craufurd Tait Ramage(in 1828), the Strutt family andElizabeth Byron(in 1840),Edward Lear(in 1847),Norman Douglas(in 1911),D. H. Lawrence(in c. 1920) andEric Whelpton(in 1950s) and the BelgianJules Destrée(in 1915 and in 1930) visited Reggio.
With an exceptionally high population density, Reggio Calabria was cited as having the leastgreen spacein 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) per cent." The study further reported "Per capita green space provision varied by two orders of magnitude, from 3 to 4 mper person in Cádiz, Fuenlabrada and Almería (Spain) and Reggio di Calabria (Italy) to more than 300 minLiège(Belgium),Oulu(Finland) andValenciennes(France)."Even so, outside of the urban area, the nearby elevated areas have plenty of green space and extensive forests. This includes theAspromonte National Park.
According to theKöppen climate classification, Reggio Calabria possesses a typicalMediterranean climate(Köppen:Csa). Its climate has warmer days and cooler nights thanMessinawhich lies on the other side of the strait. Precipitation is another big difference since Messina receives approximately 300 mm (12 in) more.
The municipality of Reggio is divided into 15 sub-municipalities (circoscrizioni) containing thefrazioni('subdivisions', mainly villages and hamlets) ofCatona, Gallico, Archi, Pentimele, Gallina, Mosorrofa (Greek:Messorofè), Ortì (Greek:Orthioi),Pellaro(Greek: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 andGebbione(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).
Reggio di Calabria istwinnedwith:
Reggio retains a somewhat rural ambience despite its sizable population. Industry in the city revolves primarily around agriculture and export, fruits, tobacco,briarand the precious essence of thebergamotwhich is used in perfume production. Reggio is a port city with a sizeable fishing industry.
The beaches of the city have become a populartourist destination.Tourism is distributed between the Ionian coast (Costa Jonica), the Tyrrhenian coast (the Costa Viola, Purple Coast) and theAspromontemountain behind the city, containing the natural reserve of theAspromonte National Parkwhere, at 1,300–1,950 metres above sea level, there is a panoramic view of theStrait of Messinafrom the snowymount Etnato theAeolian Islands.
The new waterfront, designed by architectZaha Hadid, is located on a narrow strait separatingItalyfromSicily. The museum (13,400 m) 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), comprises two separate elements, placed around a partially covered piazza. It houses offices, gyms, craft laboratories, cinema and flexible auditoria.
The city's mainassociation footballteam isReggina. They play at theStadio Oreste Granilloand are fierce rivals with neighboursMessina, who are just a twenty-five minutes ferry ride apart from each other. Throughout their histories they have clashed in theDerby dello Stretto(Strait of MessinaDerby). There is also a major Calabrian derby withCrotone. There is also a second much smaller teamHinterReggio Calcio.
The members of Parliament representing Reggio Calabria areFederica Dieni(M5S) in theChamberand Marco Siclari (FI) in theSenate.
Reggio is a road junction on the SS18Naples-Reggio and on the SS106 Reggio-Tarantoroads and also on theA2 Salerno-Reggio motorway.
The Tramway of Reggio was operative since 1918 until 1937.Tramway line was 5.3 km long, from Sbarre district (southern suburbs) until Annunziata bridge (northern part of town centre) passing by the whole historical centre.
It has an importantmain central railway station, the largest in Calabria, opened in 1866, with ten smaller stations.
ThePort of Reggiowas enlarged after the 1908 earthquake. It is directly connected to the city ofMessinathrough a ferryboat line system.
Reggio Calabria, served by air from theReggio Calabria Airport(IATA:REG,ICAO:LICR) also known asAeroporto dello StrettoorTito 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.It is currently connected to the airports ofRome FiumicinoandMilan Linate.