Arena dello Stretto, Open-air theatre on Lungomare Falcomatà, Reggio Calabria, Italy

The Arena dello Stretto, now named Anfiteatro Ciccio Franco, is a modern open-air theatre built in imitation of ancient Greek theatres on the Falcomatà seafront in Reggio Calabria, on the spot once occupied by the Molo di Porto Salvo before the 1908 earthquake. It has a semicircular tier of steps facing the Strait of Messina, flanked by two wide ramps that let visitors with disabilities reach the lower arena. At its centre, on a pontoon, stands the marble monument to Vittorio Emanuele III with Antonio Bonfiglio's bronze Athena Promachos.

The theatre stands on the Falcomatà seafront where the Molo di Porto Salvo stood before the 1908 earthquake. The marble monument to Vittorio Emanuele III, designed by Camillo Autore, was inaugurated there in May 1932 on the spot where the king first set foot on national soil as sovereign, after learning of the assassination of his father Umberto I on 31 July 1900. During the 2001 seafront redevelopment the monument, with Antonio Bonfiglio's bronze Athena Promachos, was moved onto the pontoon at the centre of the theatre. The venue was renamed Anfiteatro Ciccio Franco in 2006.

The theatre hosts the Reggio Calabria Filmfest, the POP MUSIC FESTIVAL for emerging national bands since 2011, and the art academy's summer solstice festivities. It also stages the rowing race I Tesori del Mediterraneo, contested in boats modelled on Roman cargo ships, and the vintage-motorcycle charity ride The Distinguished Gentleman's Ride.

The theatre sits on the Falcomatà seafront, on the spot where the Molo di Porto Salvo stood before the 1908 earthquake. Two wide ramps on either side of the semicircular steps lead down to the lower arena, so visitors with reduced mobility can reach it without using the seating. The monument with the Athena statue stands on the central pontoon.

The bronze Athena Promachos by Messina sculptor Antonio Bonfiglio crowns the Cippo Marmoreo, a monument to Victor Emmanuel III inaugurated in May 1932 where the king first set foot on national soil as sovereign on 31 July 1900. Mayor Italo Falcomatà had it turned from the sea toward the city in 2001.