'The most beautiful kilometre in Italy' facing Etna
Along the shore of the Strait of Messina, in the heart of Reggio Calabria, the Lungomare Falcomatà is one of the most beautiful seafront promenades in Italy, often described with a phrase attributed to the poet Gabriele D'Annunzio as "the most beautiful kilometre in Italy". Named after Italo Falcomatà, the mayor who in the 1990s promoted its renovation, it runs for about two kilometres along the sea, on two levels: an upper avenue lined with Art Nouveau palaces, villas, tropical gardens with exotic plants, centuries-old magnolias and ficus trees, and a lower walkway right by the water. The view is unique: across the Strait, the coast of Sicily, with the city of Messina, and behind it the snowy cone of Mount Etna, which on clear days seems close enough to touch.
On summer days, the promenade is sometimes the scene of the "Fata Morgana", a rare optical phenomenon in which, due to particular conditions of light and temperature, the Sicilian coast appears magnified and seems to float above the water, with its houses reflected in the sky, a mirage that has fascinated observers since antiquity. Along the promenade there are also archaeological remains, such as stretches of the Greek walls of ancient Rhegion and Roman baths, the Arena dello Stretto, an open-air theatre on the sea, and modern installations, such as the large "Opera" by the artist Edoardo Tresoldi, a forest of white columns facing the Strait. In the evening, the lungomare becomes the favourite place for the passeggiata of the inhabitants, with ice cream in hand.
Tip: walk the lungomare at sunset, when the light colours Sicily and Etna; try the bergamot ice cream, a speciality of Reggio.
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