The Province of Reggio Calabria () was a province in the Calabria region of Italy. It was the southernmost province in mainland Italy and is separated from the island of Sicily by the Strait of Messina. The capital was the city of Reggio. It was effectively replaced by the Metropolitan City of Reggio Calabria in 2017. Geography The province of Reggio Calabria was located at the extreme southern tip of mainland Italy. To the west lies the Tyrrhenian Sea and to the south and southeast lies the Ionian Sea. The land borders are short; to the northeast lies the province of Catanzaro and to the northwest, the province of Vibo Valentia. Across the Strait of Messina, some to the southwest, lies the island of Sicily. The province can be divided into three types of terrain. Near the west it is mountainous, with the Aspromonte massif being formed of overlapping terraces of gneiss and mica schists. The highest point is and this area is part of the Aspromonte National Park. From the mountains flow many, often seasonal, creeks and rivers, the largest being the Amendolea and the Calopinace. The lower hills are terraced for the cultivation of citrus fruits, olives and vines, and the higher parts are wooded, with chestnuts, beeches, holm oaks, pines, Sicilian firs and Mediterranean maquis shrubland. The southern part of the province has a coastal plain and to the east of the mountainous area, there is a plateau that extends from the Tyrrhenian Sea to the Ionian Sea, the distance from Rosarno to Punta Stilo being about . History The present-day southern part of Calabria was the place where the name "Italy" was first used, some 3500 years ago. The Ancient Greeks built a town "Rhegion" at the site of present-day Reggio, a strategic site beside the Strait of Messina. The town's Museo Nazionale houses two bronze statues, the Riace bronzes, recovered from the sea at Riace some to the east. By the third century BC, the Greeks were conquered by tribes from the north, including a branch of the Samnites called the Bruttii. They established their sovereignty over present day Calabria and founded new cities, including their own capital "Consentia", now known as Cosenza. After their victory in the Pyrrhic War (280–275 BC), Rome occupied Calabria, and it remained under their control until the fifth century AD. The whole region of present-day Reggio province has been