Museum and Archaeological Park of Locri
The Museum and Archaeological Park of Locri occupies the site of Locri Epizephyrii, one of the most important Greek colonial cities of Magna Graecia, founded on the Ionian coast of Calabria in the 7th century BC. The park preserves the remains of temples, a theatre, civic buildings, and extensive necropoleis across a broad archaeological landscape, while the adjacent museum houses the finest objects recovered from excavations — including the celebrated pinakes, votive terracotta tablets dedicated to Persephone, which are among the most significant artefacts of ancient southern Italy.
At a glance
- Type
- Archaeological museum and open-air park
- Period
- 7th century BC – late antique; museum opened 20th century
- Style
- Ancient Greek colonial (Magna Graecia)
- Location
- Locri, Reggio Calabria province, Calabria (38.2101° N, 16.2405° E)
Overview
Locri Epizephyrii was founded around 680 BC by colonists from Locris in central Greece, making it one of the earliest Greek settlements in the western Mediterranean. At its peak the city covered some 230 hectares and was protected by a circuit wall several kilometres long, fragments of which are still visible in the landscape. The site and its museum together constitute one of the most complete windows into the civic, religious, and artistic life of Magna Graecia available to visitors today.
History
The city flourished from the 7th to the 3rd century BC, reaching its greatest prosperity during the 5th and 4th centuries when it minted its own coinage and maintained diplomatic relations with Syracuse and the Greek mainland. Locri was known in antiquity for its early written law code, attributed to Zaleucus (c. 663 BC), reputedly the first written legal code in the Western world. After a period of Roman domination the city gradually declined and was abandoned during the early medieval period, leaving its ruins largely undisturbed until modern excavations began in the 19th century.
What you see
The archaeological park contains the remains of the Doric temple of Marasà, the theatre, the ionic sanctuary of Casa Marafioti, and vast necropoleis with tombs spanning several centuries of use. The museum’s standout holdings are the pinakes — small terracotta relief tablets depicting mythological scenes associated with the cult of Persephone and Kore — numbering in the thousands and representing the largest single corpus of this type of votive object from the ancient world. Sculpture, bronze vessels, coins, and everyday ceramics round out the collection.
Cultural significance
Locri Epizephyrii holds a special place in the history of Western civilization as the reputed birthplace of written law, and its archaeological remains offer unparalleled evidence for the religious practices, artistic production, and urban planning of a Greek colonial city in Italy. The pinakes in particular have transformed scholarly understanding of the Persephone cult and votive religion across the ancient Mediterranean.
Practical information
- Address
- Contrada Marasà, 89044 Locri RC, Italy
- Opening hours
- Check official website or contact the Soprintendenza Archeologia directly
- Admission
- Check official website for current prices
- Coordinates
- 38.2101° N, 16.2405° E
Getting there
Locri is served by its own railway station on the Reggio Calabria–Taranto Ionian line, making it accessible by regional train from Reggio Calabria (approx. 1 hour) and from the north. By car, take the SS106 Ionica coastal road or exit the A2 motorway at Locri. The archaeological park entrance is a short distance from the town centre.