Reggio Calabria is a city rich in history. Its foundation dates back to 734 BC by the Greek Chalcidian. Since then, the city has always been resurrected on the same site, even after the disastrous earthquake of 1908 that utterly destroyed it. However, it was following this event that the vestiges of classical Reggio and of its rich history emerged. From there, the foundation of the Magna Grecia Museum soon after contributed to the culture and beauty of the Reggio area. Today, Reggio is a cultural city and not only thanks to its museum, but also the Pinacoteca Civica ("Civic Art Gallery"), the Castello Argonese (“Argonese Castle”), the Teatro Comunale (“Community Theatre”) and the Museo del Bergamotto (“Bergamot Museum”).
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Piazza del Carmine, a meeting place
The place’s ancient name was Largo San Filippo: here, there was a small church inside of which there was a painting of San Filippo d’Argirò, from which it most likely got its name. On the side of the Piazza that faces towards the Duomo, one of the four gates of the walls of Reggio Calabria, named Po [...]
Piazza del Popolo, a long historical journey
Located in the northern part of the city, between the populous neighbourhoods of Santa Lucia and Tremulini, Piazza del Popolo has a trapezoid-shaped plant. During the war, it was the square where fascist meetings took place. The area currently hosts the most important people’s market in the city eve [...]
Piazza De Nava
Piazza De Nava is named after the Reggio Minister of the Kingdom of Italy, Giuseppe De Nava, who promoted the reconstruction of Reggio Calabria after the 1908 earthquake. It is a gateway to the city's historic centre, featuring Corso Garibaldi and its magnificent frame for the main facade of t [...]
Piazza Duomo
The earthquake of 1908, together with the interventions outlined by the 1911 town Master Plan that rectified and squared crossings of 419 blocks across the city, determined the current layout of the square in an area shifted further south than the previous location. The old Cathedral, which was not [...]
Piazza Italia
Piazza Vittorio Emanuele II is the square’s real name, but everyone in Reggio knows it as Piazza Italia due to the monument to Italy that stand in the centre and for 140 years has characterized its popular name. It is the most important square in Reggio Calabria, at the political-administrative hear [...]
Saint Augustine Square
Officially named Carlo Mezzacapo Square, the Reggio inhabitants call it Saint Augustine because of the church of the same name that overlooks it. The Square is dedicated to a hero of the Risorgimento, Carlo Mezzacapo, brother of Luigi, to whom the former military barracks adjacent to the square is n [...]