MUSEO E PARCO ARCHEOLOGICO NAZIONALE DI LOCRI

Founded by Greek settlers between 744 and 670 BC, Locri Epizefiri was a rival of Crotone, triumphing in the middle of the 6th century. With the support of the tyrants of Syracuse, it became a major centre with original institutions. One thinks of the matriarchy, the sacred prostitution and the laws of Zaleucos, who was the first legislator of Magna Grecia. With the Roman conquest, the colony began its decline and was later destroyed by the Saracens in the seventh century.

Museum. Located at the entrance to the site, it houses the archaeological material found on the site (although the most prestigious pieces can be seen in the Reggio Calabria Museum): terracotta votive tablets (^5th century B.C.), necropolis furniture, Greek and Roman inscriptions, etc.

Archaeological site. Adjacent to the museum, the vast archaeological park of Locri Epizefiri is located near the sacred area of Marasà. Near the road, there are the remains of an Ionic temple dating from 480 BC, a section of the enclosure and remains of dwellings. Towards the interior, other interesting testimonies are visible, such as the remains of a Greek theatre on the hillside; those of a Doric temple, also called Casa Marafioti and the place of the discovery of bronze tablets which, by their number, represent the greatest heritage of their kind concerning ancient Greece; and finally, those of a temple of Athena and the sanctuary of Persephone.