The forgotten assembly venue in Reggio Calabria: a hidden remnant of ancient

The Bouleuterion, possibly used for assemblies and rehearsals of performances from the nearby theatre, is a remnant of an ancient Greek building located in Reggio Calabria, Italy. Originally thought to be the remains of the Ekklesiasterion, the building for popular assembly meetings, the Bouleuterion is a fascinating structure of considerable historical significance. Constructed in arenaria and dating back to the end of the 4th or beginning of the 3rd century BC, the Bouleuterion integrated a koilon, with a staircase of approximately 15 orders.

The koilon had a capacity of around 1600 seats, and was divided into 7 Kerkides by six intermediate steps. Today, only remnants of the koilon remain, with only two orders of seats still visible. The Bouleuterion was rediscovered during construction works in 1921, and it is proposed that the building was used for assemblies and possibly some special occasions. According to Plutarch, the assembly meetings at the Bouleuterion were not freely accessible, and the building's location, in the hilly part of the city, was key to the deception used by Timoleon and the Rhegian strategists in 344 BC.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons