The National Museum of Magna Graecia houses the Riace Warriors - 5th century BC
Greek bronzes recovered from the sea in 1972. These stunning sculptures, possibly from
Delphi, epitomize Classical Greek art. The waterfront promenade faces Sicily across the
strait.
What to do there
3 things to do
Only 20 people at a time are allowed into the room with the Riace Bronzes. There is a reason for that limit.
August 16, 1972. Stefano Mariottini - an Italian chemist on a recreational dive off Riace - spotted a hand sticking out of the seafloor 8 meters below the surface. He pulled it. It was a bronze warrior, 460-450 BC. Statue B came up August 21. Statue A on August 23. The most complete Greek bronze statues ever found, cast during the Classical period, lost at sea for 2,400 years. They had silver teeth. Calcite eyes. Copper lips and nipples - different materials so the sculptures would catch light differently on different parts of the face. At Museo Nazionale della Magna Grecia, Reggio Calabria (Piazza De Nava 26, open Tue-Sun 9am-8pm, last entry 7:30pm, FREE first Sunday monthly), time your entry into the bronze room to be among the first of your group of 20. Stand directly in front of Warrior A (left figure) and look at his eyes - the calcite is still present, giving them an unsettling depth that photographs never capture. Then move to his lips: the copper oxidized differently from the bronze body, so they read as almost pink against the green patina.
Backup:If the room is at capacity, the museum's queue moves efficiently. Use the wait to study the archaeological context panels - the discovery photographs from 1972 show the statues exactly as Mariottini found them.
These statues have been restored three separate times. Each restoration revealed something the previous one missed.
After discovery in 1972, the bronzes spent 5 years in Florence for their first restoration. Then 1992-95 for a second restoration. Then 2009-11 for a third. Three separate campaigns by different teams of conservators, each revealing more of what 2,400 years of seawater had preserved and damaged. The 2010 restoration was led by Cosimo Schepis and Paola Donati - their work is what you're seeing today. In the bronze room, look for surface areas where the patination changes subtly - these often mark areas where previous restoration fills meet original bronze. Ask a museum guard if there are any documentation panels about the restoration process. The museum sometimes displays X-ray images taken during restoration showing the interior armature.
Backup:The museum gift shop sells the scholarly restoration catalog, which contains the X-ray imagery. Even browsing it in the shop reveals what the statues look like from the inside.
The strait between Reggio Calabria and Sicily is 3 km wide. Greeks crossed it routinely.
After the bronzes, walk to the Lungomare Falcomatà promenade, directly in front of the museum, facing west toward Sicily. You're looking at Sicily 3 km across the Strait of Messina - on a clear day the detail is startling. The Greeks who made the Riace Warriors crossed this strait constantly. The wines from both sides of it - Calabrian Gaglioppo, Sicilian Nero d'Avola - share ancient Greek roots. Find any wine bar or enoteca on the Lungomare (several options near Piazza De Nava) and order a glass of Calabrian or Sicilian wine while facing Sicily at dusk. The light on the water is the exact view that ancient Greek settlers, Roman traders, and Byzantine monks all saw from this same spot.
Backup:The fish market area (Piazza del Popolo, a short walk north) has casual bars where a glass of local wine costs €3-5. Any Calabrian red - ask for 'vino locale' - works.