MUSEO ARCHEOLOGICO NAZIONALE

The Archaeological Museum of Reggio Calabria is a treasure trove of finds from the time of Magna Grecia (Magna Graecia). Opened to the public in 1954, its rich collections intelligently retrace the entire ancient history of Calabria, from Prehistory. From 2006 to 2016, ten years of work were necessary (by the architect Paolo Desideri) to restore the museum, covering an area of 11,000 ^{square metres}, to provide a space worthy of the splendour of the bronzes of Riace. The recommended tour starts on the second floor and ends on the ground floor

On the second floor, the prehistoric section brings together material from the caves of northern Calabria (especially the Romito cave in Papasidero), as well as from the necropolises of the Neolithic, Bronze and Iron Ages. Some pieces bear witness to contacts with the Aegean and Mycenaean world during the 2nd millennium BC.

The first floor is dedicated to the Magna Grecia with a particularly developed section on the ancient Greek sanctuaries of the Calabrian territory. The original style of the indigenous contribution to the artistic productions of the Greek colonies, known as Italiotes, is remarkable. The remains unearthed at Locri find their place among the main exhibits of the museum; the site has delivered furniture from the necropolises but above all some cult objects from the sanctuary of Persephone, which was one of the most famous in Magna Graecia. Among them are the famous pinakes, those votive terracotta plaques representing scenes from the myth of Persephone and the rites practiced in the sanctuary. Other temple treasures include the terracotta and 37 bronze tablets from the Temple of Zeus in Marafioti and the marble sculptures from the Marasa Sanctuary in Locri.

In the mezzanine, the collections present daily life and funeral customs in the cities of Magna Grecia. A section traces the settlement of the Lucanians and Bruttians in southern Italy from the ^5th and 4th centuries. The section includes gold earrings, glass bowls, and bronze armour found in the tomb of a warrior leader.

The museum's masterpieces are on the ground floor: it is here that the two splendid bronzes of Riace are kept, as well as the two bronze heads of Porticello, including the so-called "philosopher's head", the oldest known Greek portrait. These bronzes are exhibited in a separate room, which can be accessed after a 3-minute passage through a decontamination chamber

Dating from the ^5th century BC, the Riace bronzes are Greek statues of two heroes, which were offered, as was customary at the time, to some sanctuary to celebrate a military victory. The two warriors are naked, bearded men, standing and in a contrapposto posture. Discovered on 16 August 1972 on the Ionian coast, off Riace, these statues, surprisingly well preserved, must have been part of the cargo of a ship (probably Roman) that was shipwrecked there.

Earlier, in 1969, north of the Strait of Messina, in Porticello, a team of underwater divers had spotted the wreck of a Greek ship that had preserved part of its cargo: Greek and Punic amphorae, fragments of statues and the bronze heads of two sculptures.

The basement hosts temporary exhibitions