
Reggio Calabria, also known as Riggiu in Calabrian and Riji in Calabrian Greek, is the largest city in Calabria, southern Italy. The Osci called the city Erythra (meaning "red" in Greek), and the region was inhabited by the Trojans, Oeontrians, Ligures, Ausones, Sicels, Morgeti, and Itali before the arrival of the Ancient Greeks in the 8th century BC. In 743 BC, Greek settlers from Chalcis established the polis of Rhegion, with Iocastus, son of Aeolus, reigning as Rhegion's first king. Under the tyrant Anaxilas (r. 494-476 BC), Rhegion expanded into Sicily by conquering Messina, and Rhegion allied with Athens during the Peloponnesian War. The city was attacked by Dionysius I of Syracuse in 396 BC and 388 BC, and, when the city fell to Syracuse in 387 BC, Dionysius destroyed Rhegion. Dionysius II of Syracuse refounded the city as Phoebeia in 360 BC, but it reverted to its original name in 351 BC. In 282 BC, Rhegion allied with the Roman Republic on the eve of the Pyrrhic War, and it retained its Greek customs and language under Roman rule. During the Fall of the Roman Empire, Reggio was attacked by the Vandals, Lombards, and Goths, and it served as the capital of the Byzantine Duchy of Calabria from 536 to 1060. The Arabs conquered Reggio in 918 and renamed it to Rivah, and citrus and mulberry trees, eggplant recipies, ice cream, water ices, and irrigation techniques were imported to the city by the Emirate of Sicily. In 1060, the Normans conquered Rivah, but traces of its Greek culture persisted until the 17th century. In 1234, King Frederick II established a local fair in Reggio, and it came under Angevin rule in 1266. During the Sicilian Vespers uprising of 1282, Reggio sided with Messina and supported the Aragonese against the Angevins. In 1459, the Aragonese enlarged Reggio's medieval castle, and, during the Renaissance era, Reggio became known for its high-quality silk. The Spanish Habsburgs occupied Reggio from 1504 to 1713, and high Spanish taxes, pestilence, an earthquake in 1562, and Ottoman invasions from 1534 to 1594 caused Reggio's decline. In 1534, Hayreddin Barbarossa captured 800 Reggians and burned the town, and Barbary pirates attacked the town in 1558 and took most of its inhabitants to Tripoli as slaves. In 1783, another earthquake damaged Reggio. Napoleon I captured Reggio in 1806 and made it a duchy and general headquarters, and Reggio became part of the Two Sicilies after Napoleon's fall. Over the next several decades, Reggio became known for its new public gardens and embellished piazzas, but the city was devastated by an earthquake in 1908, killing 25,000 Reggians (27% of the population). The city was also devastated by Allied bombing during World War II, but it recovered after the war. From 1970 to 1971, the city was the site of the Reggio revolt by neo-fascists and the 'Ndrangheta after the regional capital was moved to Catanzaro, and the 'Ndrangheta came to dominate the city during the 1970s and 1980s, an era accompanied by urban decay. By the 21st century, the 'Ndrangheta extorted tribute from every viable shop and business in town and had more power than the city council in awarding licenses to retailers. In 2012, the center-right mayor Demetrio Arena and all 30 city councillors were sacked as a means of combatting political corruption in the city. By 2020, Reggio had a population of 182,455 people.