Reggio Calabria, Calabria Region, Italy

🇮🇹 Reggio di Calabria, usually referred to as Reggio Calabria, or simply Reggio by its inhabitants, is the largest city in Calabria and the twenty-first most populous city in Italy, after Modena, and the 100th most populated city in Europe. Reggio Calabria is located in the exact centre of the Mediterranean and is known for its climate, ethnic and cultural diversity. It is the third economic centre of mainland Southern Italy. The metropolitan area is recognised by Italian Republic as a metropolitan city. 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 larger metro city.

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 earthquake of 1908, which destroyed most of the city. Before that seismic event, the region has been subject to several other previous earthquakes.

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 prestigious National Archaeological Museum of Magna Græcia, dedicated to Ancient Greece (which houses the Bronzes of Riace, rare example of 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 football club Reggina, that previously played in the Italian top flight.

The city centre, consisting primarily of Liberty buildings, has a linear development along the coast with parallel streets, and the promenade is dotted with rare magnolias and exotic palms. 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", which is exclusively cultivated in the region; and the "city of Fatamorgana", an optical phenomenon visible in Italy only from the Reggio seaside.

Economy Reggio retains a somewhat rural ambience despite its sizable population. Industry in the city revolves primarily around agriculture and export, fruits, tobacco, briar and the precious essence of the 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., even if the sea is often polluted by untreated sewers. 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.

Education • 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: 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. • 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".