Practical Information for visiting Reggio Calabria

Reggio is safe for visitors, and the region's reputation does not describe the experience of being here.

Organised crime in Calabria is real and is a serious matter of Italian public life. It has no bearing on visitors, who are not involved in it and are not targets; conflating it with personal safety on a trip is simply inaccurate.

What does apply is ordinary city care. Petty theft occurs around the stations, the port and crowded areas; do not leave anything visible in a parked car.

The strait has powerful tidal currents and is heavily trafficked by ferries. Do not swim across channels or far out from shore.

In the Aspromonte, roads are narrow and winding, phone coverage fails, and the fiumare can flood fast.

This is a seismically active zone; the risk to any individual visit is negligible but it explains the building stock.

Emergency services are reachable on 112.

No vaccinations or special precautions are needed; standards are those of Italy generally.

Summer heat and humidity off the strait are the main discomfort, and the scirocco can push temperatures well past comfort for days at a time.

The city is flat and walkable, which makes it easier than most Italian destinations for anyone with limited mobility; the museum is fully accessible.

Raw swordfish and other raw seafood are eaten here and carry the usual risks.

Mosquitoes are a nuisance in the warmer months.

Pharmacies are plentiful with a posted out-of-hours rota.

The Grande Ospedale Metropolitano is the main hospital, with a full emergency department serving the province.

EHIC and GHIC cards are accepted; travel insurance remains worthwhile.

The single emergency number across Italy is 112, reaching police, ambulance and fire, generally with English-speaking operators.

Other numbers still in use: 113 police, 118 medical, 115 fire.

The Grande Ospedale Metropolitano Bianchi-Melacrino-Morelli is the main hospital and emergency department for the province.

There is no foreign consulate in Reggio. The nearest consular representation is in Naples, and embassies are in Rome.

Report thefts to the Carabinieri or Polizia di Stato for the report an insurer will require; there is a police presence at the port and the stations.

At sea, the Capitaneria di Porto is reached through 112, and matters here: the strait is busy and its currents are genuinely dangerous to anyone in the water.