The two Greek warriors at the Museum of Magna Graecia
On 16 August 1972, a Roman diver on holiday, Stefano Mariottini, swimming about 200 metres off the beach of Riace Marina, on the Ionian coast of Calabria, saw an arm emerging from the sand at a depth of about eight metres. It was the beginning of one of the most extraordinary archaeological discoveries of the twentieth century: two life-size bronze statues of Greek warriors, about two metres tall, dating from the fifth century BC, the golden age of Greek art, of which very few original bronzes have survived, since most were melted down. How they ended up in the sea is still a mystery, perhaps lost in a shipwreck while being transported to Rome.
After a long restoration in Florence, the Riace Bronzes were exhibited for the first time in 1981, attracting huge crowds, and since then they have become a symbol of Calabria. They are kept in the Museo Archeologico Nazionale della Magna Grecia in Reggio Calabria, in a special room with controlled climate, on anti-seismic bases. The two warriors, called Statue A, "the young man", and Statue B, "the old man", are naked, with powerful, perfectly modelled bodies, curly beards and hair, eyes of ivory and glass paste, lips and nipples of copper, and silver teeth, an incredible realism that seems to make them breathe. Who made them and whom they represent is still debated by scholars. The museum also preserves many other treasures of Magna Graecia, including the pinakes of Locri and the "Head of the Philosopher".
Tip: visitors pass through a filter room before entering the Bronzes' hall; allow time for the rest of the museum, one of the most important in Italy.
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