Calanna and the dominion over the Strait of Messina

At the foot of the Aspromonte National Park lies the village of Calanna, in the province of Reggio Calabria. The origins of the city date back to ancient times: in 1962, in fact, the necropolis of a village was found, whose finds testify to the human presence on the territory already in protohistoric times. The grave goods and objects found in the tombs together with the skeletons are kept in the National Museum of Magna Graecia in Reggio Calabria. To further enhance the site, an archaeological educational center has been created, whose exhibition panels inform readers about the characteristics and history of the various local finds. On the top of the Calanna plateau, since the Norman era, a castle has risen, a popular destination for families who have succeeded each other over the centuries for the domination of the territory. The Castle, in fact, is in an optimal position for the control of the Strait of Messina and the Gallico river. The most important church in the city is that of Santa Maria del Rosario, inside which there are reused columns from the Byzantine and Norman Swabian periods.