The Bouleuterion of Reggio Calabria is what remains of a public building from the Greek era, identified as the seat of the city's assemblies or as a small theatre for musical performances, in the heart of the city's historic centre.
What to see
Of the building, constructed from carefully squared sandstone blocks between the late 4th and early 3rd century BC, only a stretch of the koilon survives today, the semicircular tiered seating that opened westward with a view of the sea, set against a hill of the ancient city of Rhegion; the ruin came to light in 1921, during building works that uncovered the remains several metres underground, and was attributed by the archaeologist Paolo Orsi to the 4th century BC. The tiered seating, which could hold up to sixteen hundred spectators across its many rows, enclosed a semicircular orchestra roughly twenty-two metres across.
Scholars disagree on the building's identification: while it was originally interpreted as an Odeon, a small theatre for musical and poetic contests, the prevailing theory today is that it was the Bouleuterion or Ekklesiasterion, the seat of the popular assembly; according to some historians, it may have been here that in 344 BC the famous assembly took place that was convened by Timoleon and the Rhegian generals, who according to ancient sources shut the building's doors to confuse the Carthaginians and let the Corinthian fleet sail away unnoticed.
Visiting
The remains lie in the basement of a building owned by the Archaeological Superintendency of Calabria; visits, where possible, should be arranged in advance with the relevant authority.
Our editors' tip
Looking at the few surviving sandstone blocks, try to picture the urgency of Timoleon's flight to the sea recounted by Plutarch: few archaeological sites in Reggio hold such a vivid story tied to such a modest stone.
