Hi
How far is the train station in Reggio, Calabria after getting off the ferry from Sicily?
Thank you!

Hi!
If you take the hydrofoil, you will arrive in reggio calabria. The closest station is reggio calabria santa caterina at about 5 minutes from the port but from there only local trains leaves.
The station of reggio calabria lido is at 15 minutes foot from the port and there are some intercity trains.
The station of reggio calabria centrale is at about 30-35 minutes foot but you can also take a local train from s caterina to reggio c. Centrale.
If you take the ferry, you will arrive in villa san giovanni, not reggio calabria.
Villa san giovanni has a station with local, intercity and high speed trains.
This station is about 5-10 minutes foot from the ferry port.

Thank you francesco_marchi_148 this is very helpful!

francesco_marchi_148

It is great to see a local expert here. Some day, I hope to be able to explore Reggio Calabria, as all four of my grandparents came from the area.

My Father's father came from Gallico. I would love to be able to track down my ancestors, but I have practically no documentation and my parents and their siblings are gone.

This thread is very timely for me.

Maybe you can answer a question for me, francesco_marchi.

I would like to take a day trip to Reggio Calabria from Taormina.
If I take the bus to Messina, will that leave me close to the hydrofoil to RC? If not, what's the best way to get to the hydrofoil?

Also, once in Reggio Calabria, what is the best way to get to the town center? TIA.

Hi panecott!
The bus from Taormina ends at Messina central station that is at about 500 metres from the hydrofoil, you can walk to the port.
Two years ago i did the same day trip but from reggio calabria to taormina.
The best way to go to reggio calabria centre is to walk becouse the public transport is not very frequent and the centre is close to the port.
You can walk along the seafront to the city centre.
Remember only that during saturdays and holidays hydrofoils are very reduced.

Rs899 if you have names and dates of birth, maybe you can search in public archives, i know they have a lot of documentation about births, maggiages adoptions... since 1800.
Reggio calabria is a nice city but the around area is beautyfull to visit and i found very friendly people.

Maybe you have some relatives in reggio calabria

Mille grazie, francesco. This is very helpful.

My next question was going to be if the walk to the town center is easy but you have already answered that!

Also, would it be possible to get outside the city to the countryside or a beach area on a day trip, just to have a look? I have read that Calabria is very beautiful and would like to see a little more than the city, if possible, but I can't stay overnight on this trip.

One more thing, and this is about Sicily if you know. Would you know how to find a particular grave? I know the name, the town and the date of death. Would there be an office in the cemetery where I can inquire? Or is that something that is found in municipal records? I have tried looking online with no luck, as these records do not appear to be public. Thank you, again.

Panecott

We did a heritage search online and found my husband's families town. We continued to search and found family in Cosoleto. A small beautiful town about an hour from Reggio.

Our last trip we stayed beach front in Ricadi. Very beautiful! Maybe you could rent a car and visit a town along the coast for the day.

Thanks, Joy.

What particular site did you use for your search? I actually took a "free trial" on Ancestry.com and found it to be pretty useless. Most of their records from Italy did not go beyond 1920.

I would like to see Calabria b/c I've heard that it's very beautiful. But if I tried to do that on this trip, I'd have to take a detour from Sicily and then go back to Sicily, which would be a bit inconvenient, but certainly not impossible. I'm still planning.

If you know the cemetery, i think the best thi gs is go there and ask to the guardian. Maybe some informations are also at the municipal office but i don't know if you need an appointment.
For your day trip you can visit scilla; it's a beautyful town at 35 minutes by train from reggio and the station after villa san giovanni, where you can take the ferry to return to messina.
Scilla has a wonderful beach, a typical hystorical centre built on a rock and a fisherman's quarter called the south's little venice, there are a lot of small restaurants famous for fish.
You can explore scilla without a car, i loved that town. Calabria os beautyful, the problem is that there is a very bad public transportation so it is not easy explore the region without a car.

This is a bit off topic....but, Francesco...do you know the towns of Montauro, Martone? Gioisa Ionica? I've been wanting to visit for years. Thanks.

Mille grazie ancora, francesco!

Scilla sounds like a lovely place, just the type I would enjoy seeing.

I will check the schedules and come back to you if I have more questions.

Thank you again.

Scilla sounds beautiful! We loved our stay in Calabria and are looking forward to visiting again.

panecott
Our family had passports so the search was easy. Once we arrived the small municipal office was open and they were very helpful with showing us our families home.

FWIW, DH and I took a train from Siracusa to Sorrento. The train got on the ferry also. Very cool.

TDudette, I've taken that ferry/train in the opposite direction, from the mainland to Sicily. It was cool.

I read some years ago that there was talk about building a bridge from the mainland to Messina, but I guess nothing came of that.

Calabria62 i'm sorry i dont't know these towns.
I think they are typical calabrian villages, nice to visit, expecially during local festivals

The town of pentedattilo is a wonderful town to visit during a calabria tour.
I think the bridge will be never built, it has no sense now.

Panecott if you need other informations, ask!