Messina (,
also , ) is a harbour city and the
capital
Capital may refer to:
Common uses
* Capital city, a municipality of primary status
** List of national capital cities
* Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences
* Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used f ...
of the Italian
Metropolitan City of Messina
The Metropolitan City of Messina ( it, Città metropolitana di Messina) is a Metropolitan cities of Italy, metropolitan city in Sicily, Italy. Its capital is the city of Messina. It replaced the Province of Messina and comprises the city of Messin ...
. It is the third largest city on the island of
Sicily
(man) it, Siciliana (woman)
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, demographi ...
, and the 13th largest city in Italy, with a population of more than 219,000 inhabitants in the city proper and about 650,000 in the Metropolitan City. It is located near the northeast corner of Sicily, at the
Strait of Messina
The Strait of Messina ( it, Stretto di Messina, Sicilian: Strittu di Missina) is a narrow strait between the eastern tip of Sicily (Punta del Faro) and the western tip of Calabria ( Punta Pezzo) in Southern Italy. It connects the Tyrrhenian Se ...
and it is an important access terminal to
Calabria
, population_note =
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, population_blank1 =
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, demographics1_title2 ...
region,
Villa San Giovanni
Villa San Giovanni is a port city and a municipality in the Metropolitan City of Reggio Calabria of Calabria, Italy. In 2010 its population was 13,747 with a decrease of 2.5% until 2016 and in 2020 an increase of 3.7% . It is an important termina ...
,
Reggio Calabria
Reggio di Calabria ( scn, label= Southern Calabrian, Riggiu; el, label= Calabrian Greek, Ρήγι, Rìji), usually referred to as Reggio Calabria, or simply Reggio by its inhabitants, is the largest city in Calabria. It has an estimated popul ...
on the mainland. According to
Eurostat
Eurostat ('European Statistical Office'; DG ESTAT) is a Directorate-General of the European Commission located in the Kirchberg, Luxembourg, Kirchberg quarter of Luxembourg City, Luxembourg. Eurostat's main responsibilities are to provide statis ...
the
FUA of the metropolitan area of Messina has, in 2014, 277,584 inhabitants.
The city's main resources are its seaports (commercial and military shipyards),
cruise tourism, commerce, and agriculture (wine production and cultivating lemons, oranges,
mandarin oranges
The mandarin orange (''Citrus reticulata''), also known as the mandarin or mandarine, is a small citrus tree fruit. Treated as a distinct species of orange, it is usually eaten plain or in fruit salads. Tangerines are a group of orange-coloured ...
, and olives). The city has been a
Roman Catholic
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
Archdiocese and Archimandrite seat since 1548 and is home to a locally important international fair. The city has the
University of Messina
The University of Messina ( it, Università degli Studi di Messina; Latin: ''Studiorum Universitas Messanae''), known colloquially as UniME, is a state university located in Messina, Sicily, Italy. Founded in 1548 by Pope Paul III, it was the world ...
, founded in 1548 by
Ignatius of Loyola
Ignatius of Loyola, Society of Jesus, S.J. (born Íñigo López de Oñaz y Loyola; eu, Ignazio Loiolakoa; es, Ignacio de Loyola; la, Ignatius de Loyola; – 31 July 1556), venerated as Saint Ignatius of Loyola, was a Spain, Spanish Catholic ...
.
History
![Gloeden, Wilhelm von (1856-1931) - Terremoto di Messina, 1908](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/04/Gloeden%2C_Wilhelm_von_%281856-1931%29_-_Terremoto_di_Messina%2C_1908.jpg)
Founded by
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
colonists in the 8th century BC, Messina was originally called Zancle ( grc-gre, Ζάγκλη), from the Greek meaning "
scythe
A scythe ( ) is an agricultural hand tool for mowing grass or harvesting crops. It is historically used to cut down or reap edible grains, before the process of threshing. The scythe has been largely replaced by horse-drawn and then tractor m ...
" because of the shape of its natural harbour (though a legend attributes the name to King
Zanclus
Zanclus (Ancient Greek: Ζάγκλος Smith, William (1861). ''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology''v. 3, page 1309.) is the legendary first king of the Sicilian city of Messina. He is mentioned in an etiological passage by Dio ...
). A ''
comune
The (; plural: ) is a local administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions ('' regioni'') and provinces (''province''). The can also ...
'' of its Metropolitan City, located at the southern entrance of the
Strait of Messina
The Strait of Messina ( it, Stretto di Messina, Sicilian: Strittu di Missina) is a narrow strait between the eastern tip of Sicily (Punta del Faro) and the western tip of Calabria ( Punta Pezzo) in Southern Italy. It connects the Tyrrhenian Se ...
, is to this day called 'Scaletta Zanclea'.
Solinus write that the city of
Metauros
Gioia Tauro () is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Reggio Calabria (Italy), on the Tyrrhenian coast. It has an important port, situated along the route connecting Suez to Gibraltar, one of the busiest maritime corridors in t ...
was established by people from the Zancle.
In the early 5th century BC,
Anaxilas of Rhegium
Anaxilas or Anaxilaus ( grc-gre, Ἀναξίλας, Ἀναξίλαος), son of Cretines, was a tyrant of Rhegium (modern Reggio Calabria). He was originally from Messenia, a region in the Peloponnese.
Life
Anaxilas was master of Rhegium in 4 ...
renamed it Messene () in honour of the Greek city
Messene
Messene (Greek: Μεσσήνη 𐀕𐀼𐀙 ''Messini''), officially Ancient Messene, is a local community within the regional unit (''perifereiaki enotita'') of Messenia in the region (''perifereia'') of Peloponnese.
It is best known for the ...
(See also
List of traditional Greek place names
This is a list of Greek place names as they exist in the Greek language.
*Places involved in the history of Greek culture, including:
**Historic Greek regions, including:
***Ancient Greece, including colonies and contacted peoples
***Hellenistic ...
). Later,
Micythus
Micythus ( grc, Μίκυθος), son of Choerus, was a 5th-century BC tyrant of Rhegium (modern Reggio Calabria), Zancle (modern Messina). He also founded the city of Pyxus (c. 471 BC).
He was at first a slave in the service of Anaxilas, tyra ...
was the ruler of
Rhegium
Reggio di Calabria ( scn, label= Southern Calabrian, Riggiu; el, label=Calabrian Greek, Ρήγι, Rìji), usually referred to as Reggio Calabria, or simply Reggio by its inhabitants, is the largest city in Calabria. It has an estimated popula ...
and Zancle, and he also founded the city of
Pyxus
Policastro Bussentino (or simply Policastro) is an Italian town and hamlet (''frazione'') of the municipality of Santa Marina (of which it is its seat) in the province of Salerno, Campania region. It is a former bishopric, now titular see, an ...
.
The city was
sacked in 397 BC by the
Carthaginians
The Punic people, or western Phoenicians, were a Semitic people in the Western Mediterranean who migrated from Tyre, Phoenicia to North Africa during the Early Iron Age. In modern scholarship, the term ''Punic'' – the Latin equivalent of the ...
and then reconquered by
Dionysius I of Syracuse
Dionysius I or Dionysius the Elder ( 432 – 367 BC) was a Greek tyrant of Syracuse, in Sicily. He conquered several cities in Sicily and southern Italy, opposed Carthage's influence in Sicily and made Syracuse the most powerful of the Western Gre ...
.
![Feluca in the strait of Messina](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5d/Feluca_in_the_strait_of_Messina.JPG)
In 288 BC the
Mamertines
The Mamertines ( la, Mamertini, "sons of Mars", el, Μαμερτῖνοι) were mercenaries of Italian origin who had been hired from their home in Campania by Agathocles (361–289 BC), Tyrant of Syracuse and self-proclaimed King of Sicily. ...
seized the city by treachery, killing all the men and taking the women as their wives. The city became a base from which they ravaged the countryside, leading to a conflict with the expanding regional empire of
Syracuse.
Hiero II
Hiero II ( el, Ἱέρων Β΄; c. 308 BC – 215 BC) was the Greek tyrant of Syracuse from 275 to 215 BC, and the illegitimate son of a Syracusan noble, Hierocles, who claimed descent from Gelon. He was a former general of Pyrrhus of Epirus a ...
, tyrant of Syracuse, defeated the Mamertines near
Mylae
Milazzo ( Sicilian: ''Milazzu''; la, Mylae; ) is a town (''comune'') in the Metropolitan City of Messina, Sicily, southern Italy; it is the largest commune in the Metropolitan City after Messina and Barcellona Pozzo di Gotto. The town has a p ...
on the
Longanus River
The Longanus (also Longanos or Loitanus) was a river in north-eastern Sicily on the Mylaean plain. As recorded by Polybius, it was where the Mamertines were drastically defeated by Hiero II of Syracuse in around 269 BC. The small settlement of L ...
and besieged Messina.
Carthage
Carthage was the capital city of Ancient Carthage, on the eastern side of the Lake of Tunis in what is now Tunisia. Carthage was one of the most important trading hubs of the Ancient Mediterranean and one of the most affluent cities of the classi ...
assisted the Mamertines because of a
long-standing conflict with Syracuse over dominance in Sicily. When Hiero attacked a second time in 264 BC, the Mamertines petitioned the
Roman Republic
The Roman Republic ( la, Res publica Romana ) was a form of government of Rome and the era of the classical Roman civilization when it was run through public representation of the Roman people. Beginning with the overthrow of the Roman Kin ...
for an alliance, hoping for more reliable protection. Although initially reluctant to assist lest it encourage other mercenary groups to mutiny, Rome was unwilling to see Carthaginian power spread further over Sicily and encroach on Italy. Rome, therefore, entered into an alliance with the Mamertines. In 264 BC, Roman troops were deployed to Sicily, the first time a Roman army acted outside the
Italian Peninsula. At the end of the
First Punic War
The First Punic War (264–241 BC) was the first of three wars fought between Rome and Carthage, the two main powers of the western Mediterranean in the early 3rd century BC. For 23 years, in the longest continuous conflict and grea ...
it was a free city allied with Rome. In Roman times Messina, then known as Messana, had an important
pharos
The Lighthouse of Alexandria, sometimes called the Pharos of Alexandria (; Ancient Greek: ὁ Φάρος τῆς Ἀλεξανδρείας, contemporary Koine ), was a lighthouse built by the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Ancient Egypt, during the re ...
(lighthouse). Messana was the base of
Sextus Pompeius
Sextus Pompeius Magnus Pius ( 67 – 35 BC), also known in English as Sextus Pompey, was a Roman military leader who, throughout his life, upheld the cause of his father, Pompey the Great, against Julius Caesar and his supporters during the las ...
, during his war against
Octavian
Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pri ...
.
After the fall of the
Western Roman Empire
The Western Roman Empire comprised the western provinces of the Roman Empire at any time during which they were administered by a separate independent Imperial court; in particular, this term is used in historiography to describe the period fr ...
, the city was successively ruled by
Goths
The Goths ( got, 𐌲𐌿𐍄𐌸𐌹𐌿𐌳𐌰, translit=''Gutþiuda''; la, Gothi, grc-gre, Γότθοι, Gótthoi) were a Germanic people who played a major role in the fall of the Western Roman Empire and the emergence of medieval Europe ...
from 476, then by the
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
in 535, by the
Arabs
The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Wester ...
in 842, and in 1061 by the
Norman
Norman or Normans may refer to:
Ethnic and cultural identity
* The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries
** People or things connected with the Norm ...
brothers
Robert Guiscard
Robert Guiscard (; Modern ; – 17 July 1085) was a Norman adventurer remembered for the conquest of southern Italy and Sicily. Robert was born into the Hauteville family in Normandy, went on to become count and then duke of Apulia and Calabri ...
and
Roger Guiscard (later count Roger I of Sicily). In 1189 the English King
Richard I (''"The Lionheart"'') stopped at Messina en route to the
Holy Land
The Holy Land; Arabic: or is an area roughly located between the Mediterranean Sea and the Eastern Bank of the Jordan River, traditionally synonymous both with the biblical Land of Israel and with the region of Palestine. The term "Holy ...
for the
Third Crusade
The Third Crusade (1189–1192) was an attempt by three European monarchs of Western Christianity (Philip II of France, Richard I of England and Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor) to reconquer the Holy Land following the capture of Jerusalem by ...
and briefly occupied the city after a dispute over the dowry of his sister, who had been married to
William the Good, King of Sicily. In 1345
Orlando d'Aragona, the illegitimate son of
Frederick II of Sicily was the ''
strategos
''Strategos'', plural ''strategoi'', Linguistic Latinisation, Latinized ''strategus'', ( el, στρατηγός, pl. στρατηγοί; Doric Greek: στραταγός, ''stratagos''; meaning "army leader") is used in Greek language, Greek to ...
'' of Messina.
In 1347, Messina was one of the first points of entry for the
black death
The Black Death (also known as the Pestilence, the Great Mortality or the Plague) was a bubonic plague pandemic occurring in Western Eurasia and North Africa from 1346 to 1353. It is the most fatal pandemic recorded in human history, causi ...
into Western Europe.
Genoese galleys travelling from the infected city of
Kaffa carried plague into the Messina ports. Kaffa had been infected via Asian trade routes and siege from infected
Mongol
The Mongols ( mn, Монголчууд, , , ; ; russian: Монголы) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, Inner Mongolia in China and the Buryatia Republic of the Russian Federation. The Mongols are the principal member of ...
armies led by
Janibeg
Jani Beg ( fa, , tt-Latn, Canibäk), also known as Djanibek Khan, was a Khan of the Golden Horde from 1342 to 1357, succeeding his father Öz Beg Khan.
Reign
With the support of his mother Taydula Khatun, Jani Beg made himself khan after e ...
; it was a departure point for many Italian merchants who fled the city to Sicily. Contemporary accounts from Messina tell of the arrival of "Death Ships" from the East, which floated to shore with all the passengers on board already dead or dying of plague. Plague-infected rats probably also came aboard these ships. The black death ravaged Messina and rapidly spread northward into mainland Italy from Sicily in the following few months.
In 1548
St. Ignatius founded there the first
Jesuit
, image = Ihs-logo.svg
, image_size = 175px
, caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits
, abbreviation = SJ
, nickname = Jesuits
, formation =
, founders ...
college in the world, which later gave birth to the ''Studium Generale'' (the current
University of Messina
The University of Messina ( it, Università degli Studi di Messina; Latin: ''Studiorum Universitas Messanae''), known colloquially as UniME, is a state university located in Messina, Sicily, Italy. Founded in 1548 by Pope Paul III, it was the world ...
). The Christian ships that won the
Battle of Lepanto (1571)
The Battle of Lepanto was a naval engagement that took place on 7 October 1571 when a fleet of the Holy League, a coalition of Catholic states (comprising Spain and its Italian territories, several independent Italian states, and the Soverei ...
left from Messina: the
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Can ...
author
Miguel de Cervantes
Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra (; 29 September 1547 (assumed) – 22 April 1616 Old Style and New Style dates, NS) was an Early Modern Spanish writer widely regarded as the greatest writer in the Spanish language and one of the world's pre-emin ...
, who took part in the battle, recovered for some time in the ''Grand Hospital''. The city reached the peak of its splendour in the early 17th century, under Spanish domination: at the time it was one of the ten greatest cities in Europe.
In 1674 the city
rebelled against the foreign garrison. It managed to remain independent for some time, thanks to the help of the French king
Louis XIV
, house = Bourbon
, father = Louis XIII
, mother = Anne of Austria
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France
, death_date =
, death_place = Palace of Vers ...
, but in 1678, with the
Peace of Nijmegen
The Treaties of Peace of Nijmegen ('; german: Friede von Nimwegen) were a series of treaties signed in the Dutch city of Nijmegen between August 1678 and October 1679. The treaties ended various interconnected wars among France, the Dutch Republi ...
, it was reconquered by the Spaniards and sacked: the university, the senate and all the privileges of autonomy it had enjoyed since the Roman times were abolished. A
massive fortress was built by the occupants and Messina decayed steadily. In 1743, 48,000 died of a second wave of
plague
Plague or The Plague may refer to:
Agriculture, fauna, and medicine
*Plague (disease), a disease caused by ''Yersinia pestis''
* An epidemic of infectious disease (medical or agricultural)
* A pandemic caused by such a disease
* A swarm of pe ...
in the city.
In 1783, an
earthquake
An earthquake (also known as a quake, tremor or temblor) is the shaking of the surface of the Earth resulting from a sudden release of energy in the Earth's lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from ...
devastated much of the city, and it took decades to rebuild and rekindle the cultural life of Messina. In 1847 it was one of the first cities in Italy where
Risorgimento
The unification of Italy ( it, Unità d'Italia ), also known as the ''Risorgimento'' (, ; ), was the 19th-century political and social movement that resulted in the consolidation of different states of the Italian Peninsula into a single ...
riots broke out. In 1848 it rebelled openly against the reigning
Bourbons
The House of Bourbon (, also ; ) is a European dynasty of French origin, a branch of the Capetian dynasty, the royal House of France. Bourbon kings first ruled France and Navarre in the 16th century. By the 18th century, members of the Spani ...
, but was heavily suppressed again. Only in 1860, after the
Battle of Milazzo, the
Garibaldi
Giuseppe Maria Garibaldi ( , ;In his native Ligurian language, he is known as ''Gioxeppe Gaibado''. In his particular Niçard dialect of Ligurian, he was known as ''Jousé'' or ''Josep''. 4 July 1807 – 2 June 1882) was an Italian general, pat ...
ne troops occupied the city. One of the main figures of the
unification of Italy
The unification of Italy ( it, Unità d'Italia ), also known as the ''Risorgimento'' (, ; ), was the 19th-century Political movement, political and social movement that resulted in the Merger (politics), consolidation of List of historic stat ...
,
Giuseppe Mazzini
Giuseppe Mazzini (, , ; 22 June 1805 – 10 March 1872) was an Italian politician, journalist, and activist for the unification of Italy (Risorgimento) and spearhead of the Italian revolutionary movement. His efforts helped bring about the in ...
, was elected
deputy
Deputy or depute may refer to:
* Steward (office)
* Khalifa, an Arabic title that can signify "deputy"
* Deputy (legislator), a legislator in many countries and regions, including:
** A member of a Chamber of Deputies, for example in Italy, Spai ...
at Messina in the general elections of 1866. Another earthquake of less intensity damaged the city on 16 November 1894. The city was almost entirely destroyed by
an earthquake and associated
tsunami
A tsunami ( ; from ja, 津波, lit=harbour wave, ) is a series of waves in a water body caused by the displacement of a large volume of water, generally in an ocean or a large lake. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and other underwater explo ...
on the morning of 28 December 1908, killing about 100,000 people and destroying most of the ancient architecture. The city was largely rebuilt in the following year. However, thousands of residents displaced by the earthquake lived in shanty towns outside the city until the late 1930s, when further reconstruction finally commenced.
It incurred further damage from the massive Allied air bombardments of 1943; before and during the
Allied invasion of Sicily
The Allied invasion of Sicily, also known as Operation Husky, was a major campaign of World War II in which the Allied forces invaded the island of Sicily in July 1943 and took it from the Axis powers ( Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany). It bega ...
. Messina, owing to its strategic importance as a transit point for Axis troops and supplies sent to Sicily from mainland Italy, was a prime target for the British and American air forces, which dropped some 6,500 tons of bombs in the span of a few months. These raids destroyed one-third of the city, and caused 854 deaths among the population. The city was awarded a
Gold Medal of Military Valor
The Gold Medal of Military Valour ( it, Medaglia d'oro al valor militare) is an Italian medal established on 21 May 1793 by King Victor Amadeus III of Sardinia for deeds of outstanding gallantry in war by junior officers and soldiers.
The fac ...
and one for Civil Valor by the Italian government in memory of the event and the subsequent effort of reconstruction.
In June 1955, Messina was the location of the
Messina Conference
The Messina Conference of 1955 was a meeting of the six member states of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC). The conference assessed the progress of the ECSC and, deciding that it was working well, proposed further European integratio ...
of
Western Europe
Western Europe is the western region of Europe. The region's countries and territories vary depending on context.
The concept of "the West" appeared in Europe in juxtaposition to "the East" and originally applied to the ancient Mediterranean ...
an
foreign minister
A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between cou ...
s which led to the creation of the
European Economic Community
The European Economic Community (EEC) was a regional organization created by the Treaty of Rome of 1957,Today the largely rewritten treaty continues in force as the ''Treaty on the functioning of the European Union'', as renamed by the Lisb ...
. The conference was held mainly in Messina's
City Hall building (
it), and partly in nearby
Taormina
Taormina ( , , also , ; scn, Taurmina) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Messina, on the east coast of the island of Sicily, Italy. Taormina has been a tourist destination since the 19th century. Its beaches on ...
.
The city is home to a small
Greek-speaking minority, which arrived from the
Peloponnese
The Peloponnese (), Peloponnesus (; el, Πελοπόννησος, Pelopónnēsos,(), or Morea is a peninsula and geographic regions of Greece, geographic region in southern Greece. It is connected to the central part of the country by the Isthmu ...
between 1533 and 1534 when fleeing the expansion of the
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...
. They were officially recognised in 2012.
Climate
Messina has a
subtropical Mediterranean climate with long, hot summers with low
diurnal temperature variation
In meteorology, diurnal temperature variation is the variation between a high air temperature and a low temperature that occurs during the same day.
Temperature lag
Temperature lag is an important factor in diurnal temperature variation: peak d ...
with consistent dry weather. In winter, Messina is rather wet and mild. Diurnals remain low and remain averaging above lows even during winter. It is rather rainier than
Reggio Calabria
Reggio di Calabria ( scn, label= Southern Calabrian, Riggiu; el, label= Calabrian Greek, Ρήγι, Rìji), usually referred to as Reggio Calabria, or simply Reggio by its inhabitants, is the largest city in Calabria. It has an estimated popul ...
on the other side of the
Messina Strait
The Strait of Messina ( it, Stretto di Messina, Sicilian: Strittu di Missina) is a narrow strait between the eastern tip of Sicily ( Punta del Faro) and the western tip of Calabria ( Punta Pezzo) in Southern Italy. It connects the Tyrrhenian S ...
, a remarkable climatic difference for such a small distance.
Government
Main sights
Religious architecture
![Messina 3 Matagrifone Castle 27-2-2021](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9a/Messina_3_Matagrifone_Castle_27-2-2021.jpg)
* The
cathedral
A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denomination ...
(12th century), containing the remains of the king
Conrad, ruler of
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
and Sicily in the 13th century. The building had to be almost entirely rebuilt in 1919–20, following the devastating
1908 earthquake, and again in 1943, after a fire triggered by Allied bombings. The original
Norman
Norman or Normans may refer to:
Ethnic and cultural identity
* The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries
** People or things connected with the Norm ...
structure can be recognised in the apsidal area. The façade has three late
Gothic
Gothic or Gothics may refer to:
People and languages
*Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes
**Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths
**Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...
portals, the central of which probably dates back to the early 15th century. The architrave is decorated with a sculpture of ''Christ Among the Evangelists'' and various representations of men, animals and plants. The
tympanum dates back to 1468. The interior is organised in a nave and two equally long aisles divided by files of 28 columns. Some decorative elements belong the original building, although the mosaics in the
apse
In architecture, an apse (plural apses; from Latin 'arch, vault' from Ancient Greek 'arch'; sometimes written apsis, plural apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome, also known as an ''exedra''. In ...
are reconstructions. Tombs of illustrious men besides Conrad IV include those of Archbishops Palmer (died in 1195), Guidotto de Abbiate (14th century) and Antonio La Legname (16th century). Special interest is held by the Chapel of the Sacrament (late 16th century), with scenic decorations and 14th-century mosaics. The
bell tower
A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells even if it has none. Such a tower commonly serves as part of a Christian church, and will contain church bells, but there are also many secular bell tower ...
holds the
Messina astronomical clock
The astronomical clock of Messina is an astronomical clock constructed by the Ungerer Company of Strasbourg in 1933. It is built into the campanile of Messina Cathedral.
The mechanism was designed by Frédéric Klinghammer, with the artistic de ...
, one of the largest astronomical clocks in the world, built-in 1933 by the Ungerer Company of
Strasbourg
Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label=Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label=Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the Eu ...
. The belfry's mechanically animated statues, which illustrate events from the civil and religious history of the city every day at noon, are a popular tourist attraction.
* The Sanctuary of Santa Maria del Carmelo (near the Courthouse), built-in 1931, contains a 17th-century statue of the Virgin Mary. See also
Chiesa del Carmine.
* The Sanctuary of Montevergine, where the
incorrupt
Incorruptibility is a Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox belief that divine intervention allows some human bodies (specifically saints and beati) to completely or partially avoid the normal process of decomposition after death as a sign of their ...
body of
Saint
In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of Q-D-Š, holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and Christian denomination, denominat ...
Eustochia Smeralda Calafato is preserved.
* The
Church of the Santissima Annunziata dei Catalani (late 12th–13th century). Dating from the late Norman period, it was transformed in the 13th century when the nave was shortened and the façade added. It has a cylindrical apse and a high dome emerging from a high
tambour
In classical architecture, a tambour ( Fr.: "drum") is the inverted bell of the Corinthian capital around which are carved acanthus leaves for decoration.
The term also applies to the wall of a circular structure, whether on the ground or rais ...
. Noteworthy is the external decoration of the
transept
A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform churches, a transept is an area set crosswise to the nave in a cruciform ("cross-shaped") building withi ...
and the dome area, with a series of blind arches separated by small columns, clearly reflecting Arabic architectural influences.
* The Church of Santa Maria degli Alemanni (early 13th century), which was formerly a chapel of the
Teutonic Knights
The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem, commonly known as the Teutonic Order, is a Catholic religious institution founded as a military society in Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. It was formed to aid Christians on ...
. It is a rare example of pure Gothic architecture in Sicily, as is witnessed by the arched windows and shapely
buttress
A buttress is an architectural structure built against or projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall. Buttresses are fairly common on more ancient buildings, as a means of providing support to act against the lateral (s ...
es.
Civil and military architecture
![Palazzo della Provincia Messina 7-12-20](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/48/Palazzo_della_Provincia_Messina_7-12-20.jpg)
* The Botanical Garden
Pietro Castelli
Pietro Castelli (1574–1662) was an Italian physician and botanist.
Born at Rome, he was graduated in 1617 and studied under the botanist Andrea Cesalpino (1519–1603). He was professor at Rome from 1597 until 1634, when he went to Messina. H ...
of the
University of Messina
The University of Messina ( it, Università degli Studi di Messina; Latin: ''Studiorum Universitas Messanae''), known colloquially as UniME, is a state university located in Messina, Sicily, Italy. Founded in 1548 by Pope Paul III, it was the world ...
.
* The Palazzo Calapaj-d'Alcontresj, an example of 18th-century Messinese architecture which is one of the few noble palazzi to have survived the 1908 earthquake.
* The
Forte del Santissimo Salvatore
Forte del Santissimo Salvatore, also known as Castello del Santissimo Salvatore, is a fort in Messina, Sicily. It was built in the mid-16th century, and it is still military property. Some of its walls were demolished after the earthquake of 19 ...
, a 16th-century fort in the
Port of Messina
A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ha ...
.
* The
Forte Gonzaga
Forte Gonzaga, also known as Castel Gonzaga, is a bastioned fort in Messina, Sicily. It was built in the mid-16th century, and it remained in use by the military until 1973. Today, the fort is in good condition.
History
In the 1540s, the fortifi ...
, a 16th-century fort overlooking Messina.
* The Porta Grazia, 17th-century gate of the "
Real Cittadella
The Real Cittadella was a fort in Messina, Sicily. The Cittadella was built between 1680 and 1686 by the Spanish Empire, and it was considered to be one of the most important fortifications in the Mediterranean. Most of the fort was demolished in ...
di Messina", by Domenico Biundo and Antonio Amato, a fortress still existing in the harbour.
* The
Pylon, built in 1957 together with a twin located across the Strait of Messina, to carry a 220 kV
overhead power line
An overhead power line is a structure used in electric power transmission and distribution to transmit electrical energy across large distances. It consists of one or more uninsulated electrical cables (commonly multiples of three for three-p ...
bringing electric power to the island. At the time of their construction, the two electric
pylons
Pylon may refer to:
Structures and boundaries
* Pylon (architecture), the gateway to the inner part of an Ancient Egyptian temple or Christian cathedral
* Pylon, a support tower structure for suspension bridges or highways
* Pylon, an orange mar ...
were the highest in the world. The power line has since been replaced by an underwater cable, but the pylon still stands as a freely accessible tourist attraction.
* The San Ranieri lighthouse, built in 1555.
* The Palazzo della Provincia (Palazzo dei Leoni), provincial Seat, built in 1914 by Alessandro Giunta.
* The
Palace of Culture
Palace of Culture (russian: Дворец культуры, dvorets kultury, , ''wénhuà gōng'', german: Kulturpalast) or House of Culture (Polish: ''dom kultury'') is a common name (generic term) for major Club (organization), club-houses (comm ...
, built in 2009.
Monuments
*The Fountain of Orion, a monumental civic sculpture located next to the cathedral, built in 1547 by
Giovanni Angelo Montorsoli
Giovanni Angelo Montorsoli (1507 – 31 August 1563), also known as Giovann'Agnolo Montorsoli, was a Florentine sculptor and Servite friar. He is today as often remembered for his restorations of famous classical works as his original crea ...
, student of
Michelangelo
Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (; 6 March 1475 – 18 February 1564), known as Michelangelo (), was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet of the High Renaissance. Born in the Republic of Florence, his work was insp ...
, with a Neoplatonic-alchemical program. It was considered by art historian
Bernard Berenson
Bernard Berenson (June 26, 1865 – October 6, 1959) was an American art historian specializing in the Renaissance. His book ''The Drawings of the Florentine Painters'' was an international success. His wife Mary is thought to have had a large ...
"the most beautiful fountain of the sixteenth century in Europe".
*The Fountain of Neptune, looking towards the harbour, built by Montorsoli in 1557.
*The
monument to John of Austria, by
Andrea Camalech (1572)
*The Senatory Fountain, built in 1619.
*The Four Fountains, though only two elements of the four-cornered complex survive today.
*
LaFenice
''LaFenice'' (''The Phoenix'') is a public sculpture by the Architecture and Vision design team, Arturo Vittori and Andreas Vogler, sited in the Piazza della Memoria of the waterfront in Messina, Sicily in Italy. The sculpture for this memorial squ ...
, a sculpture on Piazza della Memoria
Museums
*
Museo Regionale di Messina (MuMe) hosting notable paintings by
Caravaggio
Michelangelo Merisi (Michele Angelo Merigi or Amerighi) da Caravaggio, known as simply Caravaggio (, , ; 29 September 1571 – 18 July 1610), was an Italian painter active in Rome for most of his artistic life. During the final four years of hi ...
,
Antonello da Messina
Antonello da Messina, properly Antonello di Giovanni di Antonio, but also called Antonello degli Antoni and Anglicized as Anthony of Messina ( 1430February 1479), was an Italian painter from Messina, active during the Early Italian Renaissance. ...
,
Alonzo Rodriguez,
Mattia Preti
Mattia Preti (24 February 1613 – 3 January 1699) was an Italian Baroque artist who worked in Italy and Malta. He was appointed a Member of the Order of Saint John.
Life
Born in the small town of Taverna in Calabria, Preti was called ''Il Ca ...
*The Galleria d'Arte Contemporanea di Messina, hostings paintings by
Giò Pomodoro
Giò Pomodoro (; 17 November 1930 – 21 December 2002) was an Italian sculptor, printmaker, and stage designer. His brother is the sculptor Arnaldo Pomodoro.
In 1954 he moved to Milan
Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in n ...
,
Renato Guttuso
Renato Guttuso (26 December 1911 – 18 January 1987) was an Italian painter and politician. His best-known works include ''Flight from Etna'' (1938–39), ''Crucifixion'' (1941) and ''La Vucciria'' (1974). Guttuso also designed for the theatre ( ...
,
Lucio Fontana
Lucio Fontana (; 19 February 1899 – 7 September 1968) was an Argentine-Italian painter, sculptor and theorist. He is mostly known as the founder of Spatialism.
Early life
Born in Rosario, to Italian immigrant parents, he was t ...
,
Corrado Cagli
Corrado Cagli (1910–1976) was an Italian painter of Jewish heritage, who lived in the United States during World War II.
Life
Cagli was born in Ancona but he moved with his family to Rome in 1915 at the age of five.
In 1927, he made his ar ...
,
Giuseppe Migneco
Giuseppe Migneco (1908–1997) was an Italian painter of the Novecento Italiano. He often painted scenes of laborers at work in a naïve and expressionist style.
Biography
Migneco was born in Messina. His father was a train station master and his ...
,
Max Liebermann
Max Liebermann (20 July 1847 – 8 February 1935) was a German painter and printmaker, and one of the leading proponents of Impressionism in Germany and continental Europe. In addition to his activity as an artist, he also assembled an important ...
Public transport
Railways
The new Messina Centrale
station building
A station building, also known as a head house, is the main building of a passenger railway station. It is typically used principally to provide services to passengers. A station building is a component of a station, which can include tracks, p ...
was projected following the
modern criteria of the
futurist
Futurists (also known as futurologists, prospectivists, foresight practitioners and horizon scanners) are people whose specialty or interest is futurology or the attempt to systematically explore predictions and possibilities abou ...
architect
Angiolo Mazzoni
Angiolo Mazzoni (May 21, 1894 – September 28, 1979) was a state architect and engineer of the Italian Fascist government of the 1920s and 1930s.
Mazzoni designed hundreds of public buildings, post offices and train stations during the Interwar ...
, and is extended through the stations square. It is at almost contiguous with
Messina Marittima station, located by the
port
A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ham ...
and constituting a Ferry transport in the Strait of Messina to
Villa San Giovanni station across the
Strait of Messina
The Strait of Messina ( it, Stretto di Messina, Sicilian: Strittu di Missina) is a narrow strait between the eastern tip of Sicily (Punta del Faro) and the western tip of Calabria ( Punta Pezzo) in Southern Italy. It connects the Tyrrhenian Se ...
.
The station is electrified and served by regional trains. For long-distance transport it counts some
InterCity
InterCity (commonly abbreviated ''IC'' on timetables and tickets) is the classification applied to certain long-distance passenger train services in Europe. Such trains (in contrast to regional, local, or commuter trains) generally call at m ...
and
ICN night trains to
Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
, linking it also with
Milan
Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...
,
Turin
Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital ...
,
Venice
Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...
,
Genoa
Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the List of cities in Italy, sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian ce ...
,
Bologna
Bologna (, , ; egl, label= Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nat ...
,
Florence
Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...
, and other cities. It is also part of the projected
Berlin–Palermo railway axis
The Berlin–Palermo railway axis (german: Eisenbahnachse Berlin–Palermo, it, Asse ferroviario Berlino-Palermo) is project No. 1 of the Trans-European high-speed rail network ( TEN-R), which involves the creation of a high-speed rail line betw ...
.
Since 2010, a suburban train service has been carried out along the Messina-Catania-Syracuse railway with routes serving the stations of Fiumara Gazzi, Contesse, Tremestieri, Mili Marina, Galati, Ponte Santo Stefano, Ponte Schiavo, San Paolo and Giampilieri.
Bus and tram
Messina's public bus system is operated by ATM Messina: starting from 8 October 2018, has reorganized the offer of public transport, introducing a bus line (line 1 - Shuttle 100) which with a frequency of approx. 15 minutes, it crosses 38 of the total 50 km of the coast of the City of Messina. Thus, a comb service is created, with interchange stops at which the buses to and from the villages terminate, and with the tram which reaches a frequency of about 20 minutes. About 36 different routes reach every part of the city and also the modern
Messina tramway (at "Repubblica" stop, on station's square), opened in 2003. This line is and links the city's central railway station with the city centre and harbour.
The industrial plan provides for the purchase of about 66 buses in the three-year period 2020–2022 to improve the environmental performance and comfort of the fleet. Furthermore, the resources equal to 1.82 million euros, coming from the PON Metro 2014-2020 will allow:
*Installation of the AVM system on the vehicles;
*Installation of turnstiles on electric buses;
*Implementation of the electronic ticketing system;
*Installation of electronic poles.
Sports team
*
A.C.R. Messina
Associazioni Calcio Riunite Messina S.r.l. is an Italian football club based in Messina, Sicily. It currently plays in .
History
Football in Messina
The origins of the team go back to 1900, when Messina F.C. was founded in the city. Th ...
*
S.S.D. Città di Messina
Notable people
List of notable people from Messina or connected to Messina, listed by career and then in alphabetical order by last name.
Actors
*
Adolfo Celi
Adolfo Celi (; 27 July 1922 – 19 February 1986) was an Italian film actor and director. Born in Curcuraci, Messina, Sicily, Celi appeared in nearly 100 films, specialising in international villains. Although a prominent actor in Italian ...
, actor (born 1922)
*
Tano Cimarosa
Tano Cimarosa, real name Gaetano Cisco, (1 January 1922 – 24 May 2008) was an Italian actor, screenwriter and film director. He participated in more than fifty movies.
He played the "Blacksmith" in the Oscar-winning film ''Cinema Paradiso'' fr ...
, actor (born 1922)
*
Maria Grazia Cucinotta
Maria Grazia Cucinotta (; born 27 July 1968) is an Italian actress who has featured in films and television series since 1990. She has also worked as a film producer, screenwriter and model. Internationally she is best known for her roles in ' ...
, actress (born 1968)
*
Nino Frassica
Antonino "Nino" Frassica (born 11 December 1950) is an Italian actor, Duke of Gela and television personality.
Biography and career
Born in Messina, Frassica is mostly known for his deadpan humour, characterized by absurd jokes he described as ...
, actor (born 1950)
*
Massimo Mollica
Massimo Mollica (19 March 1929 – 1 May 2013) was an Italian actor and stage director.
Born in Pace del Mela, Messina, the son of an elementary school teacher, Mollica started acting at the university.Giancarlo Colombo. ''Who's Who in Ita ...
, actor (born 1929)
Artists and designers
*
Girolamo Alibrandi, painter (born in 1470)
*
Anna Maria Arduino
Anna Maria Arduino (1672–1700) was an Italian regent, socialite, painter and writer. She was the regent of the Principality of Piombino during the minority of her son Prince Niccolò II Ludovisi in 1699–1700.
Life
She was born in Messina, I ...
(1672 – 1700) 17th century painter, writer and socialite, served as the Princess of
Piombino
Piombino is an Italian town and ''comune'' of about 35,000 inhabitants in the province of Livorno (Tuscany). It lies on the border between the Ligurian Sea and the Tyrrhenian Sea, in front of Elba Island and at the northern side of Maremma.
Ove ...
, from Messina.
*
Antonio Barbalonga, painter (17th century)
*
Francesco Comande
Francesco Comande (16th century) was an Italian painter of a Renaissance style, born and active in Messina, Sicily.
He was a pupil of Deodato Guinaccia.Antonello da Messina
Antonello da Messina, properly Antonello di Giovanni di Antonio, but also called Antonello degli Antoni and Anglicized as Anthony of Messina ( 1430February 1479), was an Italian painter from Messina, active during the Early Italian Renaissance. ...
, major painter of the Renaissance (born 1430)
*
Giuseppe Migneco
Giuseppe Migneco (1908–1997) was an Italian painter of the Novecento Italiano. He often painted scenes of laborers at work in a naïve and expressionist style.
Biography
Migneco was born in Messina. His father was a train station master and his ...
, painter (born 1908)
*
Giovanni Quagliata, painter (born 1603)
*
Filippo Juvarra
Filippo is an Italian language, Italian male given name, which is the equivalent of the English language, English name Philip (name), Philip, from the Greek language, Greek ''Philippos'', meaning "amante dei cavalli".''Behind the Name''"Given Name ...
, Baroque architect (born 1678)
*
Mariano Riccio, painter (born 1510)
*
Alonzo Rodriguez, painter (born 1578)
*
Giovanni Tuccari
Giovanni Tuccari (1667–1743) was an Italian painter during the Baroque period, active in Sicily.
Tuccari was born in Messina. He was the son and pupil of Antonio Tuccari, an obscure painter. He excelled as a battle painter. He died of the ...
, painter (born 1667)
Politicians, civil service, military
*
Giuseppe La Farina, leader of the Italian
Risorgimento
The unification of Italy ( it, Unità d'Italia ), also known as the ''Risorgimento'' (, ; ), was the 19th-century political and social movement that resulted in the consolidation of different states of the Italian Peninsula into a single ...
(born 1815)
*
Gaetano Martino
Gaetano Martino (25 November 1900 – 21 July 1967) was an Italian politician, physician, and university teacher.
Early life and medicine
Gaetano Martino was born in 1900 in Messina, Sicily, son of its Mayor Antonino Martino. He graduated in med ...
, politician, physician and professor. (born 1900)
*
Giuseppe Natoli
Giuseppe Natoli Gongora di Scaliti (9 June 1815 – 25 September 1867) was an Italian lawyer and politician from the Mediterranean island of Sicily. He was Minister of Agriculture under Camillo Benso, Count of Cavour, in the first government o ...
, lawyer and politician (born 1815)
*
Luigi Rizzo
Luigi Rizzo, 1st Count of Grado and Premuda (1887–1951), nicknamed ''the Sinker'', was an Italian admiral. He is mostly known for his distinguished service in World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviat ...
, naval officer and First World War hero (born 1887)
Musicians, composers
*
Mario Aspa
Mario Aspa (17 October 1797 – 14 December 1868) was an Italian composer. He composed over 40 operas, the most successful of which were ''Paolo e Virginia'' (premiered in Rome, 1843) and ''II Muratore di Napoli'' (premiered in Naples, 1850). He ...
, composer (born 1797)
*
Filippo Bonaffino
Filippo Bonaffino ( fl. 1623) was an Italian composer.
Life and career
Filippo Bonaffino is thought to have been born in Messina. In 1623, he published a book of 18 Madrigali concertati for two to four voices with continuo, titled ''Madrigali c ...
(fl. 1623), Italian madrigal composer
Religion
*
Eustochia Smeralda Calafato, saint (born 1434)
*
Annibale Maria Di Francia, saint (born 1851)
Sports
*
Tony Cairoli, motocross world champion (born 1985)
*
Vincenzo Nibali
), The Nibbler
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Messina, Sicily, Italy
, height =
, weight =
, currentteam =
, discipline = Road
, role = Rider
, ridertype = Climber
, proyears1 = 2005
, proteam1 =
, proyears2 = 2006–2012
, protea ...
,
cyclist
Cycling, also, when on a two-wheeled bicycle, called bicycling or biking, is the use of cycles for transport, recreation, exercise or sport. People engaged in cycling are referred to as "cyclists", "bicyclists", or "bikers". Apart from two ...
(born 1984)
*
Antonio Stelitano, Italian footballer (born 1987)
Researchers, academics
*
Aristocles of Messene, peripatetic philosopher (1st century AD)
*
Dicaearchus
Dicaearchus of Messana (; grc-gre, Δικαίαρχος ''Dikaiarkhos''; ), also written Dikaiarchos (), was a Greek philosopher, geographer and author. Dicaearchus was a student of Aristotle in the Lyceum. Very little of his work remains exta ...
, Greek philosopher and mathematician (born 350 BC)
*
Caio Domenico Gallo
Caio Domenico Gallo (28 February 1697 – 20 October 1780), was an Italian historian. Gallo was born and died in Messina, in the north-east of the Mediterranean island of Sicily. His principal work, the ''Annali della città di Messina'', is a ...
, historian (born 1697)
*
Francesco Maurolico, astronomer, mathematician and humanist (born 1494)
*
Agostino Scilla, painter, paleontologist, geologist and pioneer in the study of fossils (born 1629)
*
Giuseppe Seguenza
Giuseppe Seguenza (June 8, 1833 in Messina – February 3, 1889 in Messina) was an Italian naturalist and geologist.
Early life
Giuseppe Seguenza was born on June 8, 1833, in Italy. Because his father expected him to follow in his footsteps a ...
, naturalist and geologist (born 1833)
*
Giuseppe Sergi
Giuseppe Sergi (March 20, 1841 – October 17, 1936) was an Italian anthropologist of the early twentieth century, best known for his opposition to Nordicism in his books on the racial identity of Mediterranean peoples. He rejected existing racia ...
, anthropologist and psychologist (born 1841)
*
Michele Parrinello
Michele Parrinello (born 7 September 1945, Messina) is an Italian physicist particularly known for his work in molecular dynamics (the computer simulation of physical movements of atoms and molecules). Parrinello and Roberto Car were awarded the ...
, physicist (born 1945)
Others
*
Stefano D'Arrigo
Stefano D'Arrigo (15 October 1919 – 2 May 1992) was an Italian writer. He published three books, the collection of poetry ''Codice Siciliano'' (''The Sicilian Code''), the epic ''Horcynus Orca'' (''Killer Whale'', ) and the novel ''Cima del ...
, writer (born 1919)
*
Guido delle Colonne
Guido delle Colonne (in Latin Guido de Columnis or de Columna) was a 13th-century Italian judge and writer, who lived in Messina. He is the author of a prose narrative of the Trojan War entitled '' Historia destructionis Troiae'' ("History of the d ...
, judge and writer (13th century)
*
Santi Visalli
Santi Visalli is an American photographer and photojournalist who covered the news from social issues to politics to lifestyles to entertainment for over 40 years beginning in the 1960s.
Biography
Born in Messina, Sicily, Santi Visalli left ...
, American photographer and photojournalist (born 1932)
Literary references
Numerous writers set their works in Messina, including:
*
Plutarch
Plutarch (; grc-gre, Πλούταρχος, ''Ploútarchos''; ; – after AD 119) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for his ''P ...
– ''The Life of Pompey'' (40 BC?)
*
Giovanni Boccaccio – ''Decameron'' IV day V novel, ''Lisabetta da Messina'' – IV day IV Novel, ''Gerbino ed Elissa'' (1351)
*
Matteo Bandello
Matteo Bandello ( 1480 – 1562) was an Italian writer, soldier, monk, and, later, a Bishop mostly known for his novellas. His collection of 214 novellas made him the most popular short-story writer of his day.
Biography
Matteo Bandello wa ...
– ''Novelliere'' First Part, novel XXII (1554)
*
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
– ''
Much Ado about Nothing
''Much Ado About Nothing'' is a comedy by William Shakespeare thought to have been written in 1598 and 1599.See textual notes to ''Much Ado About Nothing'' in ''The Norton Shakespeare'' ( W. W. Norton & Company, 1997 ) p. 1387 The play ...
'' (1598) and ''
Antony and Cleopatra'' (1607)
*
Molière
Jean-Baptiste Poquelin (, ; 15 January 1622 (baptised) – 17 February 1673), known by his stage name Molière (, , ), was a French playwright, actor, and poet, widely regarded as one of the greatest writers in the French language and world ...
– ''L'Étourdi ou Les Contre-temps'' (1654)
*
Friedrich Schiller
Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller (, short: ; 10 November 17599 May 1805) was a German playwright, poet, and philosopher. During the last seventeen years of his life (1788–1805), Schiller developed a productive, if complicated, friends ...
– ''Die Braut von Messina'' (''The Bride of Messina'', 1803)
*
Silvio Pellico
Silvio Pellico (; 24 June 1789 – 31 January 1854) was an Italian writer, poet, dramatist and patriot active in the Italian unification.
Biography
Silvio Pellico was born in Saluzzo (Piedmont). He spent the earlier portion of his life at Pin ...
– ''Eufemio da Messina'' (1818)
*
Friedrich Nietzsche
Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (; or ; 15 October 1844 – 25 August 1900) was a German philosopher, prose poet, cultural critic, philologist, and composer whose work has exerted a profound influence on contemporary philosophy. He began his ...
– ''Idyllen aus Messina'' (''Idylls from Messina'', 1882)
*
Giovanni Pascoli
Giovanni Placido Agostino Pascoli (; 31 December 1855 – 6 April 1912) was an Italian poet, classical scholar and an emblematic figure of Italian literature in the late nineteenth century. Alongside Gabriele D'Annunzio, he was one of the great ...
– poem ''L'Aquilone'' (1904)
*
Elio Vittorini
Elio Vittorini (; 23 July 1908 – 12 February 1966) was an Italian writer and novelist. He was a contemporary of Cesare Pavese and an influential voice in the modernist school of novel writing. His best-known work is the anti-fascist novel '' Co ...
– ''Le donne di Messina'' (''Women of Messina'', 1949) and ''Conversazione in Sicilia'' (''Conversations in Sicily'', 1941)
*
Stefano D'Arrigo
Stefano D'Arrigo (15 October 1919 – 2 May 1992) was an Italian writer. He published three books, the collection of poetry ''Codice Siciliano'' (''The Sicilian Code''), the epic ''Horcynus Orca'' (''Killer Whale'', ) and the novel ''Cima del ...
– ''Horcynus Orca'' (1975)
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Julien Green
Julien Green (September 6, 1900 – August 13, 1998) was an American writer who authored several novels (''The Dark Journey'', ''The Closed Garden'', ''Moira'', ''Each Man in His Darkness'', the ''Dixie'' trilogy, etc.), a four-volume autobiog ...
– ''Demain n'existe pas'' (1985)
See also
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International Rally of Messina
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Messina Centrale railway station
Messina Centrale railway station (Italian: ''Stazione di Messina Centrale'' or ''Messina Centrale'') is the main railway station of the Italian city of Messina in Sicily. As Palermo Centrale, Catania Centrale and Syracuse it is one of the most ...
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Messina Grand Prix
The Messina Grand Prix (Italian: ''Gran Premio di Messina'') a Formula Junior motor race held at Ganzirri Lake circuit (6,200 metres) in Messina, Italy, organized by the Automobile Club d'Italia. The race formed part of the Italian Formula Junior ...
held between 1959 and 1961
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Strait of Messina Bridge
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Torre Faro 224 metres tall lattice tower
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Zanclean
The Zanclean is the lowest stage or earliest age on the geologic time scale of the Pliocene. It spans the time between 5.332 ± 0.005 Ma (million years ago) and 3.6 ± 0.005 Ma. It is preceded by the Messinian Age of the Miocene Epoch, and ...
Age of the
Pliocene
The Pliocene ( ; also Pleiocene) is the epoch in the geologic time scale that extends from 5.333 million to 2.58[geology
Geology () is a branch of natural science concerned with Earth and other astronomical objects, the features or rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Ear ...](_blank)
, named for Zancle, ancient Messina
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Messinian Age of the
Miocene
The Miocene ( ) is the first geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and means "less recen ...
Epoch in geology, named for Messina
Notes
Sources
External links
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{{Authority control
Coastal towns in Sicily
Mediterranean port cities and towns in Italy
Municipalities of the Metropolitan City of Messina
Cumaean colonies
Euboean colonies of Magna Graecia
Populated places established in the 8th century BC
8th-century BC establishments in Italy
Greek city-states
Cities destroyed by earthquakes