7 Best Sights in Puglia, Basilicata, and Calabria, Italy

Reggio Calabria is home to one of southern Italy's most important archaeological museums. Its prize exhibit, of course, is the two ancient Greek statues known as the Bronzi di Riace, which were discovered by an amateur deep-sea diver off Calabria's Ionian Coast in 1972. After a lengthy but necessary conservation effort, these 5th-century-BC statues of two Greek warriors, thought to be the work of either Pheidias or Polykleitos, now take pride of place in their special temperature-controlled room, complete with earthquake-resistant bases. 

Wannabe restauranteur Luciano Faggiano excavated fascinating discoveries when he bought this building and investigated the blocked toilet back in the year 2000. After initially finding a false floor that led to a Messapian tomb, more digging with the help of family and friends unearthed incredible artifacts including Roman devotional bottles, ancient vases, a ring with Christian symbols, and dusty frescoes. With encouragement and help from the Lecce government and university, an atmospheric homespun museum was born that allows visitors to explore the layers of history beneath the site's seemingly mundane masonry and toilet cisterns. The sprawling roof terrace affords wonderful views over the city. 

Constructed to house the treasures found at the Sanctuary of Hera Lacinia, as well as many antiquities recovered from the surrounding seabed, the museum is situated in the heart of the old city of Crotone, close to the seafront castle. The most precious part of the collection is the so-called Treasure of Hera, with the goddess's finely wrought gold diadem and belt pendant. You can also see the rare 5th-century-BC bronze askos (container for oil) in the form of a mermaid, illegally exported to the United States and subsequently recovered by the Italian government from the Getty Museum in California.

Opened in 2019 and housed in the Beata Vergine degli Angeli convent, next to the church of SS. Sacramento, there's a small municipal museum with Greco-Roman artifacts excavated in the area here, plus temporary art shows (Warhol and Banksy in recent years). Multimedia displays bring to life handsome amphorae, Roman bathhouse bronze statuary, and finds from the necropolis at nearby Villa di Santa Maria di Merino.

Situated between the archbishop's palace and the Duomo, the museum contains paintings, silverware, vestments, and other precious objects collected by the archbishops of Cosenza over centuries. Look for the filigreed silver cup known as "the Pope," the 15th-century "Torquemada" chalice, and paintings by Luca Giordano, Andrea Vaccaro, and Giuseppe Pascaletti. The heart of the museum contains La Stauroteca, emblem of Cosenza and the city's greatest treasure: a unique reliquary cross dating back to the 13th century.

Named after local 19th-century medical doctor Domenico Ridola, who investigated archaeological sites in the surrounding area, this seat of the MNM highlights his excavations of the remains of Paleolithic and Neolithic settlements, as well as a richly endowed 4th-century-BC tomb. Ridola's finds are on view in the museum, which is housed in the former monastery of Santa Chiara. The collection includes an extensive selection of prehistoric and classical artifacts, notably Bronze Age implements and beautifully decorated red-figure pottery from Magna Graecia.

The house where Carlo Levi, the author of Christ Stopped at Eboli, lived in Aliano now contains two museums: the Museo Carlo Levi, which includes some of the paintings Levi did during his 1930s exile, and the Museo della Civiltà Contadina (Museum of Peasant Traditions), which documents peasant life of the past. Guided tours (call ahead for seasonal times and to reserve a place) include visits to both museums and discuss Levi's life under Fascism as well as the old farm implements.

If you have the time, visit the Aliano Cemetery to see Levi's tomb and/or hike the Calanchi Mountains along one of five trails.