Vittoria Maras, KONTAKT CJO

WHAT ARE THEY?

The Riace bronzes are two statues made in bronze 2 meters high. They were discovered in 1972 at the bottom of the Ionio Sea along the Riace beach by Stefano Mariottini in a submarine.

WHERE IS RIACE?

Riace is a town in the Metropolitan City of Reggio Calabria, situated in the region of Calabria, Italy. Calabria is a region in the South of Italy. The borders of Riace consist of Ionio Sea in the East, Basilicata, and Campania region in the North, Tirreno Sea in the West, and the Strait of Messina (Sicily) in the South. Riace has a population of 2.345 inhabitants. The name “Riace” is derived from the Greek word “Ryaki” meaning “small river”.

RESTORATION

After the discovery, the bronzes needed some restoration. So from 1975 to 2013 in Florence and Catanzaro, archaeologists worked on restoring the statues to clean and maintain them. This resulted in a weight loss for the figures as they weighed 400 kg before and now weigh about 160 kg after all the cleaning.

WHO ARE THEY?

They represent two warriors. One is called “the Young” and the other “The Old”. They date back to the Vth century A.C. Warriors were made in Argo, in the Peloponnese, in Greece.

WHERE CAN YOU VISIT THEM?

You can visit them in the Archeological Museum of Reggio Calabria since 2013. 2022 was the 50th anniversary of the discovery of the statues.

 

 

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