Reggio di Calabria

(rĕd`jō dē kälä`brēä), city (1991 pop. 177,580), capital of Reggio di Calabria prov., Calabria, extreme S Italy, on the Strait of Messina opposite Sicily. An impoverished area, it is a beach resort and an important agricultural market for fruits and tobacco. Bergamot essence (used in perfume) is produced there. Known as RhegiumRhegium
, ancient city, S Italy, on the Strait of Messina. It is the modern Reggio di Calabria. Founded (c.720 B.C.) as a colony of Chalcis, many Messenians later settled there. It was powerful until its defeat and destruction (386 B.C.) by Dionysius the Elder of Syracuse.
..... Click the link for more information. in ancient times, the city became (12th cent.) part of the kingdom of Sicily and later (13th cent.) of Naples. Its strategic position has resulted in numerous foreign invasions and incursions. The city has also suffered many earthquakes—the worst came in 1783 and 1908. In 1970–71 there was considerable unrest in the city when the capital of Calabria was shifted from Reggio to Catanzaro. The National Museum in Reggio has rich collections of ancient art.

Reggio di Calabria

a city and port in southern Italy, at the southernmost tip of the Apennine Peninsula, along the Strait of Messina. Reggio di Calabria is the capital of the province of the same name in Calabria. Population, 165,800 (1971). A transportation hub, the city is connected by a train ferry with Sicily (the city of Messina). It has food- and lumber-processing industries. There also are enterprises for the construction of railroad cars and for the extraction of citrus essences and aromatic oils. Reggio di Calabria has a fishing industry. The city has a geophysical observatory. Earthquakes are frequent. After the devastating earthquake of 1908 the city was rebuilt on a rectilinear pattern. Ruins of ancient Greek temples and dwellings have been preserved (dating primarily from the fourth century B.C.). In Reggio di Calabria is located the National Museum (1920’s, architect M. Piacentini), which specializes in prehistoric and ancient Greek and Roman art.