Reggio Calabria

Reggio Calabria is on the tip of the Italian boot and it was the capital of the southern region of Calabria until 1970 when it became Catanzaro. It has about 180,000 inhabitants, and faces the sea on the other side of which lies the Sicilian city of Messina. The two cities are closely connected, being 20 minutes apart by ferry.

Founded as Rhegium by Greek settlers in the 8th century BC, the city was devastated by the earthquake and associated tsunami of December 28, 1908.