Riace Explained

Riace
Official Name:Comune di Riace
Pushpin Map:Italy Calabria#Italy
Coordinates:38.4181°N 16.4811°W
Region:Calabria
Metropolitan City:Reggio Calabria (RC)
Mayor:Antonio Trifoli
Area Total Km2:16.24
Population Footnotes:[1]
Population Total:2,343
Population As Of:30 November 2016
Population Demonym:Riacesi
Elevation M:300
Saint:Saints Cosmas and Damian
Postal Code:89040
Area Code:0964

Riace (Calabrian: Sicilian: Riàci) is a comune (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Reggio Calabria in the Italian region of Calabria, located about 50km (30miles) south of Catanzaro and about 80km (50miles) northeast of Reggio Calabria. Riace borders the municipalities of Camini and Stignano.

Art

Riace is notable as the place where the Bronzi di Riace (Riace bronzes), bronze statues of warriors, were found in the sea in 1972. These Ancient Greek sculptures can be seen in the Museo Nazionale della Magna Grecia (National Museum of Magna Graecia, i.e. the colonies of Greater Greece) in Reggio Calabria.

Migration policy

Riace attracted international attention through its policies on migrants under mayor Domenico Lucano during the European migrant crisis.[2] As of January 2011, about 450 refugees from 20 countries had settled there among the 1,800 inhabitants, revitalising the village and preventing the closure of the village school.[3] [4] Lucano was ranked third in the 2010 World Mayor competition;[5] the winner was the mayor of Mexico City, which at the time had about nine million inhabitants.[6] [7] He was also listed at number 40 by Fortune as one of the world's greatest leaders in 2016.[4] [8]

In the first-instance trial in September 2021, Lucano was sentenced to 13 years in prison for abetting illegal immigration.[9] On appeal in October 2023, the judges dropped charges against him,[10] ruling that his migration management model was not criminal.[11] Lucano said a never-ending nightmare was finally over.[12] With all charges dropped from the Locri investigation that began in 2018,[13] [14]

Lucano was chosen as an independent candidate for the Greens and Left Alliance in the 2024 European Parliament election in Italy;[15] he was elected a member of the European Parliament and was also again elected mayor of Riace.[16] In Riace, "most of [the migrants] have moved on and mostly only elderly villagers remain."[17]

See also

Notes and References

  1. All demographics and other statistics from the Italian statistical institute (Istat)
  2. 3 April 2016 . Hari Sreenivasan . Hari . Sreenivasan.
  3. Web site: Ash . Lucy . 10 January 2011 . Italian mayor saves his village by welcoming refugees . 22 May 2024 . BBC News.
  4. NPR Morning Edition . 12 April 2016 . radio . English . NPR . 22 May 2024 . Sylvia . Poggioli.
  5. Web site: Marrazzo . Donata . 11 October 2023 . Ecco chi è Mimmo Lucano, per tutti Mimì Capatosta . 22 May 2024 . Il Sole 24 Ore . it.
  6. Web site: Vom Hove . Tann . 7 December 2010 . World Mayor: The 2010 results . 22 May 2024 . World Mayor.
  7. Web site: 2016 . Domenico Lucano . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20230110185907/https://fortune.com/ranking/worlds-greatest-leaders/domenico-lucano-40/ . 10 January 2023 . 22 May 2024 . Fortune.
  8. Web site: Riace: The Italian village abandoned by locals, adopted by migrants. 26 September 2016. BBC News. 25 September 2016.
  9. Web site: Tondo . Lorenzo . 30 September 2021 . Pro-refugee Italian mayor sentenced to 13 years for abetting illegal migration . 22 May 2024 . The Guardian.
  10. Web site: Munster . Ben . 21 May 2024 . Divided by migration, this tiny Italian community turned into a ghost town . 22 May 2024 . Politico.
  11. Web site: Ripolo . Mariateresa . 12 April 2024 . La 'mission' di Mimmo Lucano era 'alimentare una economia della speranza' e 'aiutare gli ultimi' . 12 June 2024 . Corriere della Calabria . it.
  12. Web site: 13 October 2023 . Charges dropped against Riace ex-mayor 'Mimmo' . 22 May 2024 . InfoMigrants.
  13. Web site: Ripolo . Mariateresa . 10 June 2024 . La doppia sfida di Mimmo Lucano: valanga di voti alle Europee, ora fari puntati sulle comunali a Riace . 12 June 2024 . Corriere della Calabria . it.
  14. Web site: 10 June 2024 . Il ritorno di Mimmo Lucano: eletto sindaco di Riace e all'Europarlamento . 12 June 2024 . Quotidiano Nazionale . it.
  15. Web site: Munster . Ben . 21 May 2024 . Divided by migration, this tiny Italian community turned into a ghost town . 22 May 2024 . Politico.
  16. Web site: Candito . Alessia . 11 June 2024 . La doppia vittoria di Mimmo Lucano, trionfa alle Europee e torna sindaco a Riace: 'Salvini pensava fosse tutto finito? Si sbagliava' . 12 June 2024 . La Repubblica . it.
  17. News: Burgen . Stephen . ‘I was shot in the leg back home’: the refugees reviving rural Spain . 20 June 2024 . The Guardian . 20 Jun 2024.

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