Reggio di Calabria or Reggio, is a city and comune located in Calabria, southern italy, and is the capital of the Province of Reggio Calabria. Reggio di Calabria 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 center of the region. The region is subject to earthquakes and tsunami. It is the largest and oldest city in the region and is the second oldest city in italy overall. The third economic center of mainland Southern italy and is well known as a port and university city. The city has a population of 186,547 spread over 236 km², while the fast-growing urban area numbers 260,000 inhabitants. Another 370,429 people live in the metropolitan area (the 10th metropolitan city of the Italian nation).
Reggio has other commonly used popular nicknames: The "city of Bronzes", for the Riace bronzes which 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 only from the Reggio seaside in italy.
The city was founded in 720 BC[1] by the Ancient Greeks who called it Rhegion (meaning "it breaks away") and was a well established part of Magna Graecia. It became a Roman ally and part of the Roman Republic, then metropolis and capital of the possessions of the Byzantine Empire in southern italy (from 553 to 1071). Reggio emerged as the capital of the Duchy of Calabria for a period until it was incorporated into the Kingdom of Sicily. It was then part of the Kingdom of Naples and from 1282 to −1860 it was known as the Two Sicilies until the Italian unification.

Main sights
The Riace bronzes, that can be seen at the important National Museum of Greater Greece, are some of the main touristic destinations in Reggio. The Lungomare Falcomatà, a seaside promenade located in the downtown, is a crowded swimming destination and main symbol of the summer movida. Tourism in Reggio is distributed between the Ionian coast (Costa Jonica), the Tyrrhenian coast (the Costa Viola, Purple Coast) and the Aspromonte mountain behind the city, which contains the natural reserve of Aspromonte National Park where, at 1,400 metres above the sea level, there is a panoramic view of the Strait of Messina from the snowy mount Etna to the Aeolian Islands.

• The Cathedral of Reggio Calabria is the largest religious building in Calabria.
• The Aragonese Castle, built before 540, is now home to art exhibitions.
• Chiesa degli Ottimati ("Church of the Optimates") constructed in Byzantine-Norman style.
• The walls of the ancient city, one of the few remaining examples of the original Greek walls, are divided into four separate sections. The one at the Falcomatà Seaside dates to the 4th century BC and is attributed to the city's reconstruction by Dionysius II of Syracuse.
• Villa Zerbi is a villa in 14th-century Venetian style. It is the seat of exhibition of the Venice Biennale in southern italy.
• Remains of Roman baths.
• The Pinacoteca Comunale ("Town Art Gallery") houses works by Antonello da Messina (Abraham Served by the Angels and St. Jerome in Penitence), Mattia Preti, Luca Giordano, Giuseppe Benessai and others.
• The church of Saint Gaetano Catanoso (1879–1963) on via Catanoso in the Santo Spirito neighborhood. Canonized by Pope Benedict XVI on 23 October 2005 St. Gaetano is the first saint from Calabria since Saint Francis of Paola (canonized in 1507). St. Gaetano was founder of the Sisters of St. Veronica of the Holy Face. His glass tomb is in the sanctuary as well as museum exhibits. Catanosa was beatified by Pope John Paul II on 4 May 1997.