Where eternal poetry meets the sea breeze, and marble sings of passion and memory

A Monument to Love and Legacy: Ibycus and the Spirit of Reggio Calabria

On the sun-drenched Lungomare Falcomatà, where the Ionian Sea kisses the city’s edge, a marble stele rises in solemn tribute to one of Magna Graecia’s most passionate voices—Ibycus, the poet of love. This evocative monument, sculpted by Michele Guerrisi, immortalizes a man who turned down power for poetry and whose verses still echo through time.

Born in Reggio Calabria in the 6th century BCE to a noble family, Ibycus chose to forgo political leadership in favor of a life of lyrical exploration. Traveling from Sicily to the court of Polycrates in Samos, he became a central figure among ancient lyricists, joining the ranks of Sappho and Homer in the Alexandrian canon. Renowned for his burning verses on love—so much so that Cicero called him “the most inflamed with love in all of Magna Graecia”—Ibycus remains a symbol of Reggio’s poetic soul.

The stele, carved with the image of a muse playing a lyre, reflects Ibycus’ contributions to art and music. He is credited with inventing the sambuca, a triangular lyre whose melodies once accompanied his impassioned recitals. His poetry, powerful and tender, survives in fragments—yet its intensity remains timeless.

Legend surrounds his death: murdered by thieves, Ibycus allegedly invoked a flock of cranes as witnesses. When one of his killers later mocked, “Look, the avengers of Ibycus!”, justice found them. This tale gave rise to the legal idiom “the cranes of Ibycus”—a symbol of truth revealed.