Every design for Reggio Calabria

Reggio Calabria is the oldest city in Calabria: as Rhegion it was a flourishing colony of Magna Graecia, and it has changed its name many times since. It sits on the toe of the Italian peninsula, on the slopes of the Aspromonte, with Sicily and the city of Messina just across the strait. The earthquake of 1908 destroyed most of it, and what rose afterwards is a modern city of Liberty buildings laid out in streets that run parallel to the shore.

The Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Reggio Calabria is the city's pride: it holds the Bronzes of Riace, rare Greek bronze sculptures that have become the symbol of Reggio, the City of Bronzes. Along the promenade, lined with magnolias and exotic palms, the Arena dello Stretto and the Monumento all'Italia look out over the water, and on the right day the Fatamorgana, a mirage seen in Italy only from this seafront, floats above the strait. The bergamot that grows along the coast gives the city another of its names.

For anyone who grew up in Reggio, the map holds the walk along the promenade, the Aspromonte behind and the lights of Messina across the water, the view you knew before you knew your own address.