The Basilica dell Eremo stands above Reggio Calabria on the slopes behind the city, a Marian sanctuary with a strong local following. Its position is half the reason to go: from the heights you get a wider sense of the Strait of Messina and the city stretched along the water.
Inside, the basilica is more devotional than monumental, but that is useful in Reggio, where many sights are fragments of a repeatedly rebuilt city. Come for the view, the quiet, and a glimpse of religious life away from the waterfront promenade.