Reggio di Calabria

Port in Calabria, southern Italy, on the Strait of Messina; population (2001) 180,400. Farm machinery, furniture, perfume, olive oil, and fruit preserves are produced. It was founded by the Greeks in about 720 BC.

The town came into the hands of the Romans in 281 BC. Later it was taken in turn by the Goths, Arabs, and Normans. It was destroyed by earthquakes in 1783 and 1908 (when 35,000 people died), and on each occasion was rebuilt. Ferries cross from Reggio di Calabria to Messina in Sicily.