Reggio Calabria

Reggio Calabria is a city in Calabria on the toe of Italy. It's a ferry port for the short crossing to Messina in Sicily. It's of great antiquity, being part of the Hellenistic region of Magna Grecia, but there's little of that to see nowadays. The city has suffered repeated earthquakes, and was pulverised by the terrible quake and tsunami of 1908. Then came heavy Allied bombing in the Second World War. After the war the city suffered from economic slump and organised crime: 'Ndrangheta (organized crime) are believed still to exert a strong grip over local authority and businesses.

There are long-held plans to build a bridge from here to Sicily, but preparatory work was cancelled in 2013.



Find tourist info at

By boat
Boats for Messina in Sicily leave from the port of Reggio, and from Villa San Giovanni, 14 km further north. In Messina they land either in the main downtown port, or at the northern terminal 4 km away.



Reggio ferry terminal is at

By train
Long-distance trains from Milan, Rome and Naples call at Villa San Giovanni ferry port 14 km north, then stop at

Train fares from Palermo and Catania on Sicily do not include the ferry trip between Messina and Villa San Giovanni, although the ferry trip will appear on your ticket. You must pay the €2.50 fare at the ferry terminal (Oct 2019).

Regional trains run along the coast from small towns such as Scilla and Tropea to the north, and the airport and Palizzi to the south. These also stop at local stations within Reggio, e.g. Santa Caterina and Lido, which are closer than Centrale for the ferries to Messina.

By plane


Lamezia Terme airport, 130 km north, has budget flights by Ryanair and EasyJet, who don't fly to Reggio.

Get around
Local buses mostly all run to Piazza Garibaldi, in front of Stazione Centrale. The bus company is

See



 * The elegant main promenade is Lungomare Italo Falcomatà, paralleling Corso Vittorio Emanuele. Midway along is the modern Amphitheatre (Arena dello Stretto/Anfiteatro Anassilaos).
 * For city strolling, follow the mostly pedestrianised Corso Garibaldi, which crosses the main squares of piazza Garibaldi, piazza Duomo, piazza Camagna, piazza d'Italia, and piazza de Nava.
 * Palazzo Mazzitelli is an office and retail block on the corner of Via Fata Morgana
 * Piazza del Populo has a market. It's overlooked by the former fascist barracks Casa del Fascio and memorial
 * Palazzo Mazzitelli is an office and retail block on the corner of Via Fata Morgana
 * Piazza del Populo has a market. It's overlooked by the former fascist barracks Casa del Fascio and memorial
 * Palazzo Mazzitelli is an office and retail block on the corner of Via Fata Morgana
 * Piazza del Populo has a market. It's overlooked by the former fascist barracks Casa del Fascio and memorial
 * Palazzo Mazzitelli is an office and retail block on the corner of Via Fata Morgana
 * Piazza del Populo has a market. It's overlooked by the former fascist barracks Casa del Fascio and memorial

Do

 * Ride the ferry across the Straits for the view, even if you don't intend to visit Sicily. You need a conventional car-ferry for this, where you can get out on deck: on the fast-cats you're closed in behind salt-crusted windows. Check also that your return ferry brings you back to your starting point (whether Reggio or Villa San Giovanni) and not to the other one 14 km away.
 * The second Saturday in September sees the religious procession Festa della Madonna della Consolazione. The Madonna's effigy is carried from the Basilica dell'Eremo (Church of the Hermitage) along Corso Garibaldi to the cathedral.
 * Watch a show at


 * Lido Comunale: for €1 you get a day-pass to this northern beach, a changing room, use of showers, etc.
 * Watch football: Reggio's football team is Urbs Reggina 1914 and their home ground is Stadio Oreste Granillo, 1 km S of the main railway station. They've suffered a number of match-fixing and financial scandals. As of 2022, they play in Serie B, the second level of Italian football.

Buy

 * Bergamotto liquor is similar to Limoncello. It's flavoured with the Bergamot Orange, a citrus resembling a lime, cultivated only here. The oil of the orange also flavours Earl Grey Tea.

Go next

 * The main reason anyone comes to Reggio is to cross the straits to Sicily. And so should you. Ferries land there at Messina, which (like Reggio) is just a ferry port with little reason to stay. So either continue south to Taormina, Mount Etna, Catania and Siracusa, or follow the north coast to Milazzo the port for the Aeolian Islands, and further west reach Palermo.
 * Scilla is a charming old fishing port 22 km north of Reggio, looking over the Straits at their narrowest point. Here stands Ruffo Castle, atop a headland with good beaches to either side. Regional trains stop in Scilla.