Fodor's Expert Review Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Reggio Calabria

Though it's located across the Strait in Reggio Calabria, this fantastic museum delves into the shared archeological and geological history of these sister regions and is worth a visit. You'll find incredible examples of fossils from the Paleolithic and Mesolithic periods (including the fossilized bones of a Neanderthal child), tools from the Bronze Age, insight into the military organization of the Iron Age, and details of Greek settlements on both sides of the Strait. Don't miss the bronze Riace warriors, a pair of impressive statues that were cast about 460 BC and found in the sea in 1972. To get there, take a 30-minute hydrofoil from the Messina port (€6.50 round-trip,  www.blujetlines.it).