Tue – Sun
9 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Last admission 7:30 p.m.
A journey through time into the origins of Reggio Calabria, the ancient Rhegion, and its extraordinary treasures.
Founded by the Chalcidians, the city became an important cultural and commercial center.
Through archaeological finds and material evidence, the Museum preserves the city’s history up to the Roman era, featuring masterpieces such as the marble Kouros and the terracotta slab from the sacred area of Griso Laboccetta.
The first settlements in the Reggio Calabria area date back to the Iron Age, as evidenced by the necropolises of Ronzo di Calanna.
Rhegion, founded by the Chalcidians, became a commercial hub between East and West thanks to its strategic location.
Contacts with Etruria are evident in the discovery of bucchero ware. The city soon began producing black- and red-figure ceramics, and as early as the 6th century BCE, it started minting coins, including those featuring a frontal lion’s head.
Particularly unique are the small terracotta spheres with inscriptions, used in political ballots.
Local productions, along with finds from sacred areas and necropolises, illustrate the vibrant daily, religious, and economic life of ancient Rhegion.
With Romanization, Reggio became Regium Iulii.
Inscriptions from the 2nd century BCE reflect the coexistence of Greek and Latin and the city’s new civic organization.
The city continued to play a central role in maritime trade between East and West.
African Red Slip ware, widespread across Mediterranean markets between the 2nd and 3rd centuries CE, points to economic changes.
Lead anchor stocks and amphorae complete the picture of port life and commercial activity in Roman Reggio.
The Riace Bronzes, discovered in 1972, are among the most extraordinary examples of 5th-century BCE Greek sculpture.
They depict warriors or heroes, with refined anatomical details, and were made in Greece using the lost-wax casting technique.
The treasures from the Porticello shipwreck, discovered in 1969, tell the story of a ship that sank between the 5th and 4th centuries BCE, carrying a precious cargo: pottery, amphorae, inkwells, and fragments of bronze statues.
Among them are the Head of Basel and the Head of the Philosopher — the latter a rare and fascinating example of ancient portraiture.
