Catanzaro and Reggio di Calabria

Hello everyone, sorry for the lack of updates.  I don't really have any excuse, except that I've been feeling lazy.  All this travelling has really worn me out!

I spent two days in Catanzaro and one in Reggio di Calabria and, since I didn't do a whole lot in Reggio, I decided to just do one update for the pair.  My time in Catanzaro was split between the old city (WAY up a hill) and a nearby archaeological park, originally the city of Scolacium (birthplace of the late-antique historian Cassiodorus, who wrote a now lost history of the Goths).  This is what it looks like from the top:

Catanzaro was originally settled by the Greeks (like most of southern Italy), and changed hands a number of times throughout the ages.  But, thanks to earthquakes and the bombings from WWII, a lot has changed.  The city itself was quite nice, but I got the impression that it's rarely visited by tourists.  It has a port nearby and everyone who comes to the area goes for the beaches, rather than the history.  As a result, some churches I'd hoped to get into were closed.  Nevertheless, it was a good time.  I started off by going to the Chiesa di San Giovanni, built over the ruins of an old Norman castle.  Here are a few shots:

The single remaining tower from the castle

Some of the foundations of the fortress, as seen from inside the church.  There were quite a few of these, but the glare from the glass makes it almost impossible to take a decent picture.

Exterior of San Giovanni

I next went to the Chiesetta (little church) di Sant'Omobono, a Byzantine church from the 11th century.  Sadly, this was one of the churches thst appeared to be closed indefinitely.  I went back a couple times at different times of the day to be sure, but it was never open.  Oh well...

I didn't take any more pictures of the city itself, as there wasn't anything particularly remarkable to capture.  The Duomo dates to the 12th century, but was almost entirely destroyed during the war and so nothing remains of its medieval past.

The archaeological park was really excellent.  I was the only person there, and the ruins were on par with areas of Rome (although obviously on a much smaller scale).  It was really nice to not be mobbed by tourists when trying to see things like this:

Byzantine necropolis at the top of a hill

Ruins of an arena (like the coliseum, but smaller)

Another view

The Roman forum, in use until the mid 7th century (when it, along with the rest of the town, was abandoned in favor of a more defensible location)

Amphitheater

This all was really spectacular, and the cherry on top was the remains of a Byzanto-Norman basilica in the park, a bit closer to the water.

As this was in the apse area, I think it was probably the crypt

 The whole park was really excellent, and I wouldn't have even known about it if it weren't for the couple running the B&B I was staying at (incidentally, if you should ever be in Catanzaro, I highly recommend Il Cedro B&B.  Couldn't have been better!)

I next went to Reggio di Calabria.  Another extremely ancient city, it too was ravaged by earthquakes and WWII.  There was a devastating earthquake and tsunami in the early 20th century, killing tens of thousands and leveling the city.  The city itself was very nice (and pretty modern, because it's almost entirely rebuilt in the past century), but there wasn't anything still standing that was of interest to me.  The main reason I went was for the Museo Nazionale, which has a fantastic underwater archaeology collection, including the Riace bronzes (Google them, they're superb!).  Sadly, the museum is closed for renovation.  Luckily the Riace bronzes and a few other pieces were viewable in a different location, but I was hoping to wander in the museum for hours.

In retrospect I would have given myself more time here, which sounds weird since there's not much left.  There are, however, lots and lots of small archaeological sites scattered throughout the city, in addition to an archaeological park.  Everything is fairly spread out though, and I didn't really have time to explore extensively.  I did come across the remains of a private Roman bath, likely a part of a patrician household.

Notice the mosaic "dressing area" (according to the sign) in the middle

I'm currently in Palermo, and I'll be home in just a few days!  Hard to believe a month has almost gone by.  Tomorrow I'll be going to Agrigento (home to the best preserved Greek temples in the world), and on Tuesday I'll be in Cefalu.  Hopefully I'll be updating 3 more times, plus a sum-up once I'm home.  Thanks for reading!