Reggio Calabria, overlooking the Calabrian shore of the strait of Messina, is one of the oldest cities in Europe: founded in the 8th century BC as the Greek colony Rhegion (from Ruha ake, which in Sumerian-Akkadian means "place of the wind").
The city’s fame in the Greek era is due to the Pythagorean philosophical school founded here in the 5th century BC, and to its later status as an ally of Athens and Rome. In the Middle Ages, it was first an outpost of the Eastern Roman Empire, then a territory subject to Arab raids. In 1060 it became the property of the Normans, and from the 14th century, it was assigned to the Kingdom of Naples.
Reggio Calabria’s monumental highlights include the Aragonese castle, the city's greatest historical symbol along with the Riace bronzes (5th century BC) in the National Museum of Magna Graecia and the Norman Cathedral of the Assumption, remodelled several times and completely rebuilt in after the catastrophic earthquake of 1908. Buildings from this time include the Art Nouveau Villa Genoese Zerbi, and the imposing Palazzo San Giorgio, now the Town Hall, the Francesco Cilea Theatre, Palazzo Barbera, and Palazzo Zani.
The first university in Calabria, the Università degli Studi Mediterranea di Reggio Calabria (UniRc), an "environmental polytechnic" specializing in architecture, landscape, and urban planning, was founded here in 1968.
Fondazione Calabria Film Commission
Cittadella Regione Calabria — Località Germaneto — 88100 Catanzaro
Phone: +39 0961 853836
Email: info@calabriafilmcommission.it
