Reggio Calabria: the Riace Bronzes

A scuba diver discovered their first contours by chance in 1972: since then the Riace Bronzes have become Reggio Calabria's symbol and its main tourist draw.

The center and waterfront, which house the famous Riace Bronzes, are comfortably explored on foot.

At the National Museum of Magna Grecia, the two Bronzes of Riace are preserved, Greek statues from the fifth century BC considered among the greatest masterpieces of ancient bronze sculpture.

Exiting the museum, one walks along the Falcomatà Waterfront, defined by poet Gabriele D'Annunzio as 'the most beautiful kilometre in Italy'.

Continuing, one reaches the remains of the Aragonese Castle, a medieval fortress in the heart of the modern city, today surrounded by 19th-century buildings and streets.

Towards evening, from the waterfront one observes the Sicilian coast across the Strait of Messina, at the narrowest point of separation between the two shores, just three kilometres of water.

The Riace Bronzes, likely part of a broader sculptural group never recovered, remain a more unique than rare case of original Greek bronzes surviving almost intact to this day.

On days with particular atmospheric conditions, the Strait of Messina can generate the optical phenomenon of Fata Morgana, a mirage that distorts the profile of the Sicilian coast.