Reggio di Calabria, commonly known as Reggio Calabria or Reggio, is a city located in southern Italy and the capital of the Province of Reggio Calabria. It is the largest and oldest city in the region and is the second oldest city in Italy overall. The third economic center of mainland Southern Italy, it is well known as a port and university city.
It is called the "city of Bronzes", for the Riace bronzes, testimonials of its Greek origins; the "city of Bergamot", which is exclusively cultivated in the region; as well as the "city of Fatamorgana", an optical phenomenon visible only from the Reggio seaside in Italy. The city has a population of 185,585 spread over 236 km², while the fast-growing urban area numbers 260,000 inhabitants. Another 370,429 people live in the metropolitan area (the 10th metropolitan city of the Italian nation). When, in 1971, Catanzaro has been confirmed capital of Calabria, Reggio became the seat of the Regional Council
Founded in 720 BCE by the Ancient Greeks as Rhegion (meaning "it breaks away"), the settlement was a well established part of Magna Graecia. Later it became a Roman ally and part of the Roman Republic, then metropolis and capital of the possessions of the Byzantine Empire in southern Italy. Reggio emerged as the capital of the Duchy of Calabria for a period until it was incorporated into the Kingdom of Sicily. It was then part of the Kingdom of Naples, later known as Two Sicilies, from 1282 to 1860, until the Italian unification.
Reggio retains a somewhat rural ambience despite its sizable population. Industry in the city revolves primarily around agriculture and the exportation of fruits and tobacco. Also as Reggio is a port city, it has a fishing industry. The beaches of the city have helped make it a popular tourist destination. The municipality of Reggio Calabria contains the frazioni (subdivisions, mainly villages and hamlets) Catona, Gallico, Archi, Pentimele, Gallina, Mosorrofa (Greek: Messorofè), Ortì (Greek: Orthioi), Pellaro (Greek: Pèllaros), Saracinello. |
