Calabria · Reggio 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.
Picked by Peter Benei
Letter to come
Why Riace is on our list
It holds Comuni Virtuosi.
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Visiting
- Best time
- Apr–Oct
- By car
- 4 h 59 min from Salerno
- Population
- 1,787
- J13°
- F14°
- M15°
- A17°
- M22°
- J28°
- J31°
- A31°
- S27°
- O23°
- N18°
- D15°
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
Daytime air temperature, averages for 2020–2024. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.
Why come
Riace sits on 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 center 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.
How to get there
From Lamezia Terme (SUF), about 1 h 42 min by car.
Naples (NAP) is about 5 h 43 min away.
By car from the center of Salerno 4 h 59 min, Bari 5 h 41 min or Naples 5 h 43 min.
Every town within reach of Lamezia Terme airport.
First time driving in Italy? Read our complete manual.
What to see
Borgo Superiore
Hilltop historic center 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.
Living here
Could you live here?
Riace is at the end of the road.
- A village of 1,787. The nearest town of 5,000 people, Caulonia, is 26 min away: past our 15-minute rule, which makes this the end of the road.
- Catanzaro, a city of 83,313, is 1 h 20 min by car. Further than our 30 to 60 minutes, a long way for the hospital visit or the monthly shopping.
The rules come from our series Where to Move in Italy, written from the places we have lived: Part 1, The End of the Road · Part 2, The Small Town · Part 3, The City · Part 4, The Postcard · Part 5, The Other Half. The towns we would pick are in Part 6, The Best Towns.
- Population 1,787, down 11.8% since 2015 (Italy's emptying towns)
- Nearest city Catanzaro, 1 h 20 min drive
- Nearest national health service hospital Serra San Bruno, 21 km as the crow flies · how healthcare works in Italy
- Homes in the center: €445 to €660 per m² to buy, €1.40 to €2.00 per m² a month to rent
All the numbers Common questions, designations, lists and sources.
More about living here
- In-between
- Pharmacy in town
- High school within a 30-minute drive
- Full fibre reaches 99% of homes
- Primary school in the comune
- Earthquake zone 1, Italy's highest hazard
- Lamezia Terme airport (SUF), 1 h 42 min drive, the nearest with scheduled flights
- Regional capital Catanzaro, 1 h 20 min drive
If you are moving here
Who lives here
9% of residents are foreign citizens, most often from Nigeria, Morocco and Romania, against 9% across Italy. There are 195 people over 65 for every 100 children under 15, against 216 across Italy. 61% of homes have no resident, holiday homes and empty ones counted together, against 27% across Italy. Reggio Calabria province ranks 107th of 107 in Il Sole 24 Ore's quality of life ranking for 2025.
Health and schools
The nearest emergency room is in Serra San Bruno, 21 km as the crow flies. The nearest major one is in Catanzaro, 54 km away. The nearest IB school is Gonzaga International School Palermo, 275 km as the crow flies. The nearest school listed as international is International School of Brindisi, 274 km away.
Information, not medical advice. Confirm with a professional.
Taxes
A home that is not your main one pays 1.06% a year in property tax at the 2025 rate, charged on the cadastral value rather than the price. A main home pays none unless it is in a luxury category. The town adds 0.8% to your income tax. 7% pensioner tax: this town qualifies, for someone with a foreign pension who has lived abroad for five years: 7% on foreign income, for ten years.
Information, not tax advice. Confirm with a professional.
What it costs
The average household in Calabria spends about €1,620 a month, €590 of it on food, against about €2,170 across Italy. A family of three pays about €398 a year for water, on the Calabria average. In Reggio Calabria, the provincial capital, in September 2026, an espresso cost €1.20, a meal in a pizzeria €9.47 and a man's haircut €14.73.
Climate and risk
It is in climate zone C, on a scale from A, the warmest, to F, the coldest, and heating may run from November 15 to March 31, up to 10 hours a day, unless the mayor changes it. 33% of residents live in a zone the national maps rate high for floods, 34% in a high or medium one. 2% live in a zone rated high or very high for landslides.
These shares cover the whole comune, not any one street. Check an address on IdroGEO.
Moving from abroad? Which visa you need. Sources: ISTAT, the Ministry of Health, ISPRA, the Finance Ministry, the Ministry of Enterprise, Poste Italiane, the comuni, the IB, International Schools Database, Il Sole 24 Ore, Cittadinanzattiva.
Known for
BRONZI DI RIACE
Two Greek bronze warriors found on the seabed off Riace Marina in 1972, among the finest classical bronzes ever recovered.
RIACE MODEL
Refugee resettlement under mayor Domenico Lucano: 450 refugees from 20 countries among 1,800 residents, reopening the village school.
SS. COSMA E DAMIANO
September pilgrimage to the patron healers, the village's central religious event for centuries.
Common questions
- What is Riace known for?
- Riace is 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.
- Where is Riace?
- Riace is a comune in the province of Reggio Calabria, in Calabria, at 300 meters above sea level.
- What is the nearest airport to Riace?
- The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Lamezia Terme (SUF), about 1 h 42 min by car.
- How long is the drive from Salerno to Riace?
- About 4 h 59 min by car.
- When is the best time to visit Riace?
- Best in Apr–Oct. July is the warmest month, averaging 31 degrees, and November the wettest, with about 13 rain days.
- Which other towns are like Riace?
- Santa Severina, San Benedetto Ullano and Taverna.
- How many people live in Riace?
- 1,787 residents, by ISTAT's count on 1 January 2025.
- Is Riace a good place to live?
- By the rules in our Where to Move in Italy series, Riace is at the end of the road: the nearest town of 5,000 people, Caulonia, is 26 min away. The nearest city, Catanzaro, is 1 h 20 min away by car. The nearest national health service hospital is in Serra San Bruno, 21 km as the crow flies. Full fibre reaches 99% of homes.
Tags & data designations · numbers · sources
Recognized as
Landscape
The numbers
- Elevation: 300 m
- Population: 1,787
- Surface area: 16.24 km²
These figures were compiled from public directories: ISTAT, OpenStreetMap and Wikidata, and from the official listings of the guides named on this page. Town details change; verify with official sources before you travel.
Similar
Towns like Riace
What all six share with Riace: inland, away from the coast · under 3,000 people · hill towns
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