Riace

Riace is located in an area of interest for tourists. It consists of two settlements: Riace Marina and Riace Borgo, on the overlooking hill. On August 16th 1972, a diver from Rome, on vacation in the area, discovered accidentally the two big bronze warriors, laying on the 7-8 m deep sea bed, about 300 m from the coast. Only few days later, it was realized that the discovery was among the most important archaeological findings of the last decades. The Bronzes, two colossal and intact Attican bronze statues, were exhibited for the first time to the astonished public in 1981 at the National Archaeological Museum of Reggio Calabria. The discovery contributed in a fundamental way to relaunch Calabria tourism. The origin of the name Riace probably derives from the diminutive of the Greek-Byzantine vernacular word Ryaki (little stream). Over time, the name changed a little. It was called Reatinum, Reatino, Reace and, finally, Riace. Originally, the small village was probably a Basilian center that developed when the populations living along the coast were forced to leave their villages and move to Riace in consequence of military raids and bad life conditions.