What is Riace known for?

Two Greek bronze warriors found on the seabed off Riace Marina in 1972, among the finest classical bronzes ever recovered. Refugee resettlement under mayor Domenico Lucano: 450 refugees from 20 countries among 1,800 residents, reopening the village school. September pilgrimage to the patron healers, the village's central religious event for centuries.

Riace is a comune in the province of Reggio di Calabria, Calabria region of Italy, about 124 kilometers from Reggio Calabria.

Calabria · Reggio di Calabria

Riace

A 300-meter borgo on the Locride hills, famous for the 1972 bronzes pulled from its sea and the refugee resettlement project that doubled its population.

124 km / 77 mi

Nearest hub (Reggio Calabria)

1,694

Population

Apr–Oct

Best time to visit

Recognised as

Comuni Virtuosi

Why come

Riace sitson the Serre foothills above the Ionian, in the Metropolitan City of Reggio Calabria, with the small frazione of Riace Marina at sea level two kilometers below. Two stories collide here. In August 1972, a snorkeller off Riace Marina found two life-size Greek warriors lying on the seabed at eight meters depth: the Bronzi di Riace, two of the finest surviving Greek bronzes, now in the Museo Nazionale della Magna Grecia in Reggio Calabria. Three decades later, under mayor Domenico Lucano, Riace became the centre of one of Europe's most-studied refugee resettlement experiments: by 2011 around 450 refugees from twenty countries were living among 1,800 residents, the village school reopened, and abandoned houses were converted to host families. The project was prosecuted, then partially vindicated; Lucano was re-elected mayor and elected to the European Parliament in 2024.

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Gallery

6 photos · scroll →

Known for

Borgo Superiore
Hilltop historic centre at 300 meters, the older settlement among the Serre hills, with stone houses and the Lucano-era refugee project still visible in the alleys.
Riace Marina
Coastal frazione two kilometers downhill at sea level, near the spot where the Bronzi were found in 1972.
Santuario dei Santi Cosma e Damiano
Sanctuary dedicated to the patron healers, focus of the September pilgrimage that has run for centuries in the Locride.
Chiesa di San Nicola di Bari
Parish church in the centro storico, the main religious anchor of the upper village.
Murales del paese accogliente
Wall paintings celebrating the multi-ethnic resettlement project, painted on houses around the centro storico.

When to visit

Best months · Apr–Oct

Best
Hot or crowded
Quiet
Mostly closed

April through October works at 300 meters in the Locride. Spring is green and the hills smell of broom; September brings the Santi Cosma e Damiano pilgrimage and milder afternoons; October closes the season with olive harvest. July and August are hot, with temperatures pushing into the mid-thirties, and the upper borgo empties between two and six in the afternoon. November through March is quiet. The frazione of Riace Marina has a longer beach season but limited services in winter. Most visitors come for a day, drive up from the coast, walk the murals and the centro storico, then continue to Locri or to the museum in Reggio that holds the bronzes.