Reggio Calabria

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Panorama of Reggio Calabria from Piazza Rotonda (Gentile Concessione)
Comune di Reggio Calabria
Coat of arms of Comune di Reggio Calabria
Municipal coat of arms
Country Flag of Italy Italy
Region Calabria
Province Reggio Calabria (RC)
Mayor Giuseppe Scopelliti (since June 1, 2002)
Area 236 km² (91 sq mi)
Population (as of January 2006)
 - Total 184,504
 - Density 782/km² (2,025/sq mi)
Time zone CET, UTC+1
Coordinates 38°06′41″N, 15°39′43″E
Gentilic Reggini (Calabrian: riggitani)
Dialing code 0965
Postal code 89100
Frazioni Catona, Gallico, Archi, Gallina, Mosorrofa, Ortì, Pellaro
Patron Saint George
 - Day 23 April


Location of Reggio Calabria in Italy
Website: www.reggiocal.it

Reggio Calabria (officially Reggio di Calabria, Rìggiu in Calabrian dialect, Righi in Greek-Calabrian), is the largest and the oldest city in Calabria, Italy, dating back to the 8th century BC (see history below). Located on the toe of the Italian boot, it's the capital of the province of Reggio Calabria and the headquarters of the Regional Council of Calabria. The city proper has about 200,000 inhabitants, but the population of the urban area is more.

Main face of the Cathedral of Reggio Calabria.
Main face of the Cathedral of Reggio Calabria.

Contents

Reggio di Calabria is located on the boot toe of Italy, across from the island of Sicily. It is situated at the base of the Aspromonte, the long, craggy mountain range that runs up through the center of the region. The area has been subjected to several earthquakes and tsunami waves, over the centuries.

Founded as Rhegion by Greek settlers in the 8th century BC, the city was devastated by several major earthquakes and associated tsunami. During the Roman Empire it was called Rhegium Julium as a noble Roman city. Later Reggio di Calabria became a Byzantine city, and in the 12th century, it became part of the Kingdom of Sicily, and then in the 13th century, it became part of the Kingdom of Naples.

Reggio Calabria is known as the location of the first dated Hebrew book, a Rashi commentary on the Pentateuch, printed in 1475; [1] however, scholars consider Rome as the city where Hebrew printing began.

For Reggio di Calabria, the worst earthquakes came in 1783 and on December 28, 1908. The latter quake was the most devastating. Some 80 percent of all buildings in Reggio collapsed and many thousands were killed. Damage was even worse in Messina across the straits. That quake remains the worst on record in modern western European history. It took Reggio a generation to fully recover.

Reggio Calabria is the hometown of the late Italian fashion designer, Gianni Versace and his sister Donatella Versace.

  1. ^ "The Books of the People of the Book - Hebraic Collections" (Hebrew book with date), Library of Congress, Washington, D.C., 2003-11-06, webpage: LibraryCongress-Hebraic.


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