REGGIO DI CALABRIA , the provincial capital, was one of the first ancient Greek settlements on the Italian mainland, and today, with a population of over 180,000, is the town in the region that shows most evidence of urban decline - an untidy mix of heavy industry, slum housing, and pot-holed streets. Traces of elegance survive, not least in the superb seafront that faces Messina across the Straits, while its main street, Corso Garibaldi, stretching for two kilometres across the centre of town, has one of the most animated passeggiatas in Calabria. But the absence of any buildings of historical note testifies to the violence of the earthquakes that have repeatedly devastated the area, the most recent - and most destructive - of which flattened the city in 1908.
Much of Reggio's air of shabby neglect has its roots in deep-seated social problems, specifically the stranglehold that the Calabrian Mafia, or 'ndrangheta , continues to have on the town. Locally this phenomenon is referred to as the piovra , or octopus, whose tentacles penetrate all aspects of the city's life ( tangente , or protection money, is tacitly understood to be paid by all shopkeepers and business people in most parts of Reggio), while the town is periodically convulsed by bloody faide (feuds) between rival families over control of the drugs trade.
Closely linked to the 'ndrangheta' s the city is the high rate of unemployment in the province (20-30 percent), which has provoked a general attitude of scepticism and indifference towards any attempt to improve the situation. Occasional outbursts of media interest, or the election of reforming councils, rarely make a lot of difference: politicians of all persuasions are held to be intrinsically corrupt, and clientelismo , the complicated network of political favours and obligations, is - like the 'ndrangheta itself - too entrenched.
Most visitors to Reggio, however, will see little of the seamier side of the political scene here, let alone Mafia violence. There are few, in any case, who choose to spend much time in the city, which is not exactly bulging with unmissable attractions. It does possess, however, the Museo Nazionale at the Lido end of Corso Garibaldi (daily except first and third Mon of the month 9am-7pm, May-Sept also open until 11pm on Sat; L8000/C4.13), which holds the most important collection of archeological finds in Calabria. Most of the items inside date from the Hellenic period, with examples from all the major Greek sites in Calabria, including the famous pinakes or carved tablets from the sanctuary of Persephone at Locri. The most renowned exhibits in the museum are the Bronzi di Riace : two bronze statues dragged out of the Ionian Sea in 1972 near the village of Riace. They are shapely examples of the highest period of Greek art (fifth century BC), attributed to Phidias or followers of his school, and especially prized because there are so few finds from this period in such a good state of repair. Around them are detailed explanations of the recovery and cleaning-up of the statues that preceded their tour around the country, when they caused a minor sensation. Now they seem almost forgotten in the well-lit basement they share with another prize exhibit - a philosopher's head from the fourth century BC. Upstairs, in contrast, you can see examples of Byzantine and Renaissance art, including work by Antonello da Messina.
Other sights in the city can be quickly encompassed. Off Corso Garibaldi, the duomo , rebuilt after the earthquake of 1908, resembles an ice cream confection and contains little of interest. The remains of the castello aragonese on Piazza Castello, make a pleasant backdrop for summer festivities. The lungomare seaside esplanade is mostly ruined by road and rail, but has some sections where there's more space and a view. As you gaze over the Straits of Messina, you probably won't catch sight of the semi-mythical phenomenon known as the Fata Morgana , which appears as a shimmering, magical city of turrets and towers - quite unlike the city of Messina. The legend is said to be connected with Arthurian myths brought south by the Normans, but some locals swear they have witnessed it, suggesting it may be a meteorological pheonomenon - best conditions are apparently an absolute stillness of the air and water.
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