The bronzes of Riace are housed in Reggio di Calabria.
Photo credit: L. Tripoli
Reminiscing about my first trip to Italy, I think about my brief, hot stay in Reggio di Calabria one August. I am making my way by train from Sicily back up to Rome to meet a friend, but I have a few days open, so why not stop? I soon learn that a prime attraction in this town is these unusual bronzes, statues of Greek warriors that were discovered in the ocean by someone snorkeling off the coast of Riace in 1972.
A Riace Warrior Accidentally Found: On my 1989 visit to the National Archaeological Museum of Reggio Calabria, the placards were written in Italian only.
Photo credit: L. Tripoli
What I also soon learn is that I’m not so good at reading Italian when an English translation isn’t right next to it. I loved being able to see these B.C.E. sculptures but couldn’t learn enough about them because, at that time, before smartphones and the Internet and e-readers, all of the signs in the museum were in Italian. All I really learned was that they were found in the water, that they are Greek, not Roman, and that no one really knows who they are. So I just gaze.
—Lori Tripoli
Who are the Riace warriors? The bronzes depict Greek warriors and are believed to date from 450 B.C.E.
Photo credit: L. Tripoli