Messina, Italy

Messina ( , ; ; ; ) is a harbour city and the capital of the Italian Metropolitan City of Messina. It is the third largest city on the island of Sicily, and the 13th largest city in Italy, with a population of 216,918 inhabitants in the city proper and about 595,948 in the metropolitan city as of 2025. It is located near the northeast corner of Sicily, at the Strait of Messina and it is an important access terminal to Calabria region, Villa San Giovanni, Reggio Calabria on the mainland.

Founded by the Sicels with the name of ''Zancle'' in 757 BC, which in their language meant sickle, it was repopulated by Greek colonists of Magna Graecia and renamed ''Messana''. The city was renamed ''Messina'' in the Byzantine age. It was an important Roman, and then Greek-Byzantine city, but in 843 it was completely destroyed by the Arabs. Almost abandoned during the Islamic period, it rose again in the Norman era and reached the height of its grandeur between the late Middle Ages and the mid-17th century, when it competed with Palermo for the role of capital of the Kingdom of Sicily.

Put to fire and sword in 1678 after a historic anti-Spanish revolt that led to the annihilation of its ruling class, it was seriously damaged by an earthquake in 1783. In 1908, another earthquake destroyed the city almost entirely, causing the death of about half the population. Rebuilding started in 1912, largely in the Liberty style, and an orderly and regular network of wide and straight streets in a north-south direction was built. Being a strategic target, the city of the strait was heavily bombed by the Allies of World War II in 1943 during the landing in Sicily, being hit by about 6,500 tons of explosives in about 2,800 air raids and four naval bombardments. This event earned the city the Gold Medal of Military Valor.

Its port, for thousands of years has been one of the main commercial crossroads of the Mediterranean and only recently becoming a port of call for ferries to the continent, is the first in Italy in terms of number of passengers in transit. According to Eurostat 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, and olives). The city has been a Roman Catholic Archdiocese and Archimandrite seat since 1548 and is home to a locally important international fair. The city has the University of Messina, founded in 1548 by Pope Paul III.

Name

* ''Zancle'', from the Siculian meaning "scythe", that characterizes the singular shape of the natural port, from the founding of the city by the Sicels in 757 BC up to the Magna Graecia age;
* ''Dankle'' (Ζάγκλης), from the Greek meaning "scythe" in the Magna Graecia age up to Anaxilas of Rhegium;
* ''Messene'' (Μεσσήνη), a name that was given to the city in the Magna Graecia age by Anaxilas of Rhegium, when he settled refugees from Messenia there at the beginning of the 5th century BC;
* ''Messana'', in the Roman age;
* ''Messina'', from the Byzantine age to today.

History

Founded by Greek colonists of Magna Graecia in the 8th century BC, Messina was originally called ''Zancle'' (), from the Greek meaning "scythe" because of the shape of its natural harbour (though a legend attributes the name to King Zanclus). A ''comune'' of its Metropolitan City, located at the southern entrance of the Strait of Messina, is to this day called 'Scaletta Zanclea'. Solinus wrote that the city of Metauros was established by people from Zancle.

In the early 5th century BC Anaxilas of Rhegium renamed it ''Messene'' () in honour of the Greek city Messene (See also List of traditional Greek place names). Later, Micythus was the ruler of Rhegium and Zancle, and he also founded the city of Pyxus.
The city was sacked in 397 BC by the Carthaginians and then reconquered by Dionysius I of Syracuse.

In 288 BC the Mamertines 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, tyrant of Syracuse, defeated the Mamertines near Mylae on the Longanus River and besieged Messina. Carthage 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 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 it was a free city allied with Rome. In Roman times Messina, then known as ''Messana'', had an important pharos (lighthouse). Messana was the base of Sextus Pompeius, during his war against Octavian.

After the fall of the Western Roman Empire the city was successively ruled by Goths from 476, then by the Byzantine Empire in 535, by the Arabs in 842, and in 1061 by the Norman brothers Robert Guiscard 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 for the Third Crusade 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.

One of the major cities on Sicily, Messina was heavily involved in the rivalry between the Anjou dynasty in Naples and the Aragonese House of Barcelona. Initially a stronghold of Anjou support on Sicily, in 1282 the city joined the revolt of the Sicilian Vespers, resulting in the city being subjected to a major siege by Charles I of Anjou. Messina remained a major naval base for the remainder of the ensuing twenty-year War of the Sicilian Vespers, and was besieged a second time in 1301.

In 1345 Orlando d'Aragona, the illegitimate son of Frederick II of Sicily was the ''strategos'' of Messina.

In 1347 Messina was one of the first points of entry for the black death 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 the siege of Kaffa from infected Mongol armies led by Janibeg; 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 college in the world, which later gave birth to the ''Studium Generale'' (the current University of Messina). The Christian ships that won the Battle of Lepanto (1571) left from Messina: the Spanish author Miguel de Cervantes, 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, but in 1678, with the Peace of Nijmegen, 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 in the city.

In 1783 an earthquake 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 riots broke out. In 1848 it rebelled openly against the reigning Bourbons, but was heavily suppressed again. Only in 1860, after the Battle of Milazzo, the Garibaldine troops occupied the city. One of the main figures of the unification of Italy, Giuseppe Mazzini, was elected deputy 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 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. 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 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 of Western European foreign ministers which led to the creation of the European Economic Community. The conference was held mainly in Messina's City Hall building ( it), and partly in nearby Taormina.

The city is home to a small Greek-speaking minority, which arrived from the Peloponnese between 1533 and 1534 when fleeing the expansion of the Ottoman Empire. They were officially recognised in 2012.

Geography

Territory

Located in the north-eastern corner of Sicily, on the western shore of the Strait of Messina (Ionian Sea)— altitude above sea level— it extends for of municipal surface. Its extension on the coast ( from the coast of Giampilieri to the south to that of Orto Liuzzo to the north), which makes it the "longest" and most maritime city in Italy.

The municipality is located from Catania and from Palermo, squeezed between the Ionian and Tyrrhenian coasts and the Peloritani mountains, it overlooks with its large natural, military and commercial port, closed by the sickle-shaped peninsula of San Raineri, in front of Villa San Giovanni and a little further north than Reggio Calabria. Cape Peloro, in the northern part of the city, is instead opposite Scylla. In these waters is located the myth of Scylla and Charybdis, whose whirlpools are compared to the punishment of the souls of hell that go round and round and collide eternally ("''qui la gente riddi''" in Sicilian).

An era of the Neogene, a fraction of the upper Miocene, a period known as the one in which the Mediterranean increased its salinity following the closing of the Strait of Gibraltar, takes the name of Messinian from the discovery in Messina of its characteristic rocks, the evaporites.

From sea level, within the same municipality, it is possible to climb up to above sea level, via the hills overlooking the city, to Mount Dinnammare, from the Latin "''bimaris''", two seas. From here the view extends over the two seas of the city, the Ionian, the Strait of Messina and the Tyrrhenian. To the east, the entire city of Messina can be seen, while across the sea Calabria from its southernmost point to Capo Vaticano, in the province of Vibo Valentia. To the south, the imposing view of Mount Etna is clearly visible. To the northwest, the Aeolian Islands and the Tyrrhenian coast with Capo Milazzo, Capo Tindari and Capo Calavà in Gioiosa Marea.

The city develops mainly in a longitudinal direction along the coast of the strait without interruption from Giampilieri Marina to Capo Peloro for in the Ionian strip. The Tyrrhenian strip, long, extends from Capo Peloro to Ponte Gallo. The central urban area, which can be enclosed between the Annunziata and San Filippo streams, now covered by the road surface, is about long, with little inclination towards the west due to the hilly buttresses of the Peloritani, which prevent the development of a large geometric urban network in that direction. The extreme proximity of the mountains gives the western part of the city a certain slope, overcome with steps and crossed by the panoramic ring road located upstream. There are numerous "urban intrusions" towards the interior, corresponding to the short plains of the streams, which tend to incorporate as districts some of the oldest farmhouses in the city territory, the so-called "Villaggi", currently 48.

Climate

Messina has a subtropical Mediterranean climate with long, hot summers with low diurnal temperature variation and consistently 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 on the other side of the Messina Strait, a remarkable climatic difference for such a small distance.

The winter, short, presents rare episodes of cold that in rare cases can also bring snow in the hinterland of the city. The last snowy episode occurred on 7 January 2017, preceded by the event of 31 December 2014 and even before that by that of 30 January 1999.

The summer, hot, but due to the sea breezes, is not particularly muggy. The average humidity value tends to be lower during the hottest hours of the day. Furthermore, the presence of the sea tends to contain the maximum temperature values; only in the presence of southern winds (during the major heat waves) do reach , and in these cases the humidity levels are very high, reaching over 80%.

Precipitation is consistent as Messina is among the medium-large municipalities of the island, the rainiest coastal city in Sicily. An average annual rainfall of places the city of the strait above the Italian average. Precipitation is concentrated mainly between autumn and winter but in the summer season there are some thunderstorms. The abundant rainfall in Messina derives from various factors and in particular from the relatively high reliefs close to the area on which the city stands, in Sicily the eastern Nebrodi and the Peloritani, in Calabria the Aspromonte, reliefs that cause frequent orographic lift phenomena and the presence of two seas, the Ionian and the Tyrrhenian, which create frequent conditions favorable to precipitation.

Demographics

The city's population reached a peak of 260,118 inhabitants in 1981, after which it decreased at a rate of 1,000 inhabitants per year. The first reason for this phenomenon is the chronic employment crisis, the second the transfer to neighbouring municipalities. The 1911 census recorded a drastic contraction due to the 1908 Messina earthquake. The victims were actually much more numerous than would appear from a simple subtraction between the data of that census and the previous one, because the city, almost entirely depopulated, was repopulated by inhabitants from other areas of Sicily and Calabria, attracted by the reconstruction and by the large gaps that opened up in public employment and trade. The families from Messina who had lived in the city since before 1908 are now very few.

Government

Municipal administration

The Mayor of Messina is an elected politician who, along with the Messina's City Council, is accountable for the strategic government of Messina. According to the Italian Constitution, the Mayor of Messina is member of the City Council. The Mayor is elected by the population of Messina, who also elects the members of the City Council, controlling the Mayor's policy guidelines and is able to enforce his resignation by a motion of no confidence. The Mayor is entitled to appoint and release the members of his government.

Since 1994 the Mayor is elected directly by Messina's electorate: in all mayoral elections in Italy in cities with a population higher than 15,000 the voters express a direct choice for the mayor or an indirect choice voting for the party of the candidate's coalition. If no candidate receives at least 50% of votes, the top two candidates go to a second round after two weeks. The election of the City Council is based on a direct choice for the candidate with a preference vote: the candidate with the majority of the preferences is elected. The number of the seats for each party is determined proportionally.

Administrative subdivisions

The territory of the municipality of Messina is divided into six districts, which are in turn divided into dozens of ''frazioni'', almost all ancient villages, called "casali". For this reason, the city can be considered polycentric, because beyond the historic center of the city itself, there are many historic centers in the suburbs, namely the 48 ''frazioni'' of Messina, located along the valleys and on the hills.

Metropolitan area of Messina

The metropolitan area of Messina, still unimplemented to date, was established in 1986 by the Sicily region and delimited by a decree of 1995. It would include 51 municipalities on a surface of and would be characterized by an uninterrupted ribbon-like coastal conurbation of between Furnari on the Tyrrhenian Sea and the Alcantara River on the Ionian Sea, passing through Milazzo, Barcellona Pozzo di Gotto, Lipari, Taormina and Giardini Naxos

Main sights

Religious architecture

* The cathedral (12th century), containing the remains of the king Conrad, ruler of Germany 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 structure can be recognised in the apsidal area. The façade has three late Gothic 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 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 holds the Messina astronomical clock, one of the largest astronomical clocks in the world, built-in 1933 by the Ungerer Company of Strasbourg. 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 body of Saint 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. Noteworthy is the external decoration of the transept 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. It is a rare example of pure Gothic architecture in Sicily, as is witnessed by the arched windows and shapely buttresses.

Civil and military architecture

* The Botanical Garden Pietro Castelli of the University of Messina.
* 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, a 16th-century fort in the Port of Messina.
* The Forte Gonzaga, a 16th-century fort overlooking Messina.
* The Porta Grazia, 17th-century gate of the "Real Cittadella 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 bringing electric power to the island. At the time of their construction, the two electric pylons 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, built in 2009.

Monuments

*The Fountain of Orion, a monumental civic sculpture located next to the cathedral, built in 1547 by Giovanni Angelo Montorsoli, student of Michelangelo, with a Neoplatonic-alchemical program. It was considered by art historian Bernard Berenson "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, a sculpture on Piazza della Memoria

Museums

* Museo Regionale di Messina (MuMe) hosting notable paintings by Caravaggio, Antonello da Messina, Alonzo Rodriguez, Mattia Preti
*The Galleria d'Arte Contemporanea di Messina, hostings paintings by Giò Pomodoro, Renato Guttuso, Lucio Fontana, Corrado Cagli, Giuseppe Migneco, Max Liebermann

Culture

Literature

Messina has provided the setting for two of William Shakespeare's plays, ''Much Ado About Nothing'' and ''The Winter's Tale''. In August 2011, the city council of Messina voted to grant honorary citizenship posthumously to William Shakespeare. In the science fiction novel ''The Condemned of Messina'' by the American writer Ben Bova, the city of Messina is the seat of the world government.

Cuisine

The specialities of Messina's cuisine are fish and seafood dishes: swordfish, stockfish, mussels, saury, neonata and tuna. Meat-based dishes include braciole (a unique cut different from the rest of Italy) and ''falsomagro''. Typical Messina desserts include: pignolata glazeata, ''bianco e nero'', ricotta, cannoli with a chocolate variant, and cassata siciliana. Also typical are focaccia messinese (curly escarole, desalted anchovies, black pepper and tuma cheese), ''pane alla disgraziata'' ''rustici'' (arancini, pidoni, mozzarella in carrozza and puff pastry) and granita, in various flavours (strawberry, lemon, almond, mulberry, chocolate, pistachio and, very popular, coffee granita with cream) accompanied by the traditional brioche.

The traditional dishes linked to the various liturgical celebrations are: pidoni (a type of calzone filled with curly white escarole, salted anchovies and scamorza cheese, prepared on the Feast of the Annunciation, 25 March, but also on many other occasions, for example, St. Joseph's Day, Easter Monday, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, Christmas Eve, St. Stephen's Day). ''U ciusceddu'' (a dish made with minced beef, veal bones, fresh ricotta, eggs, breadcrumbs, Majorcan cheese, tomatoes, onion, celery and parsley), was usually prepared on Easter Sunday and ''pasta 'ncaciata'' (the ingredients for the preparation are: beef, a young chicken, livers, minced lean beef, eggs, Sant'Angelo di Brolo salami, scamorza, mature pecorino cheese, breadcrumbs, aubergines, tomato sauce, onion, short smooth pasta, parsley, basil, lard, salt and ground black pepper). This typical dish was usually prepared on 15 August, the feast of the Assumption, a very popular celebration in the city of Messina where the Vara is carried in procession, a majestic votive machine in the shape of a pyramid, about high and weighing about 8 tons.

Universities

The University of Messina (Latin: ''Studiorum Universitas Messanae''), known colloquially as UniME, is a state university located in Messina. Founded in 1548 by Pope Paul III, it was the world's first Jesuit college, and today it is counted among the oldest universities in Italy. It is organized in 12 departments offering more than 80 Graduate and Undergraduate Degrees, over 20 Master's Degrees and 13 PhD Programmes. Among them, 7 are English-taught. The University counts more than 23.000 students distributed in the 4 campus facilities spread across the city.

Over the centuries the University of Messina has been a centre of attraction for esteemed scholars and historical figures, such as Giovanni Pascoli, Marcello Malpighi, Gaetano Salvemini and Vittorio Emanuele Orlando. The Central Administration Buildings and the Faculties of Economics, Political Science, Law and Education are located in the centre of Messina in the historical site of the University or ''Polo Centrale''.

The Faculty of Medicine is held in the main hospital of the city, ''Policlinico G. Martino'', situated in the southern area of Messina. The Faculties of Sciences and Engineering are located inside ''Polo Papardo'', overlooking the famous Strait of Messina. The Faculties of Veterinary Medicine, Pharmacy and Humanities are established in the ''Polo Annunziata'' facility, which is also the Sport Centre of the University.

Traditions and folklore

The Good Friday celebrations wind through the main streets of the city with the procession of the Barette (Varette), dating back to 1610 and composed of eleven groups of statues depicting episodes of the Passion of Christ. This procession has taken place several times for more than 150 years and owes its name of Barette to the fact that in the first editions there was only the simulacrum of the Madonna Addolorata and a fercolo with the dead Christ and five barette representing the mysteries. Among the last interruptions was that which lasted a few years due to the earthquake of 1908 and the period of the Second World War. Over the years other simulacra have been gradually added until there are twenty-one today. The barette remain kept in the Oratory of Peace which has a portal dating back to the pre-earthquake period.

On the feast day of Corpus Christi, a long procession begins from the Cathedral, preceded by hooded Catholic believers called "Babaluci" and by all the religious associations, congregations and archconfraternities of the city. Together with the monstrance with the Blessed Sacrament, carried under a rich silk canopy by the Archbishop, the "Vascelluzzo" (small vessel) is carried on the shoulders, a fercolo in chiseled silver adorned with small red drapes and ears of wheat. The work is an ex voto made by the people of Messina as a sign of thanks to the Madonna della Lettera who, according to legend, during various famines, brought several vessels loaded with wheat to the city's port. The Vascelluzzo is kept at the Church of the Sailors and is displayed behind safety glass in addition to two heavy iron grates overexposed. On the morning of Corpus Christi it is carried on the shoulders of 16 people, with a pace that makes it seem as if the Vascelluzzo is sailing on the sea, and enters the Cathedral at the stroke of midday. Once it has arrived at the main altar, the relic of the Lock of Hair of the Madonna is placed in the centre of the Vascelluzzo. In the evening, after Holy Mass, the Vascelluzzo without the relic is brought back in procession to the Church of the Sailors where it is welcomed with the setting off of fireworks.

The most important Catholic celebration, however, is the one that takes place on 15 August every year, the Ferragosto procession: an ancient votive machine is carried in procession by thousands of faithful, dressed in white and blue and barefoot: the Vara, depicting the phases of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary into heaven. The Vara, about 13 and a half meters high, rests on large metal slides and features numerous figures in different materials of angels, the two large rotating spheres of the Sun and the Moon and, at the top, the statue of Christ who, with one hand, supports Mary, in the act of carrying her to the Empyrean; the faithful drag it by pulling the long ropes ( each, thick) that are attached to the base along the previously wet pavement of Corso Garibaldi, from Piazza Castronovo to Via I Settembre and then from Via I Settembre, the historic artery of the city, to Piazza Duomo, where the procession ends in the evening. In the days leading up to August 15, the streets of the city are filled with the festive procession of the two Giants and the Camel, along with numerous folk groups. In particular, the two colossal statues on horseback represent the legendary founders of the city, the Messina native Mata and the Moor Grifone (known as "''u giganti e a gigantissa''"). The statues derive from the processional giants of the ancient Catalan tradition, still present today in many areas of Catalonia and used during various festivities, such as Tarragona for the feast of Santa Tecla, or during the fiesta Mayor de Reus which takes place on the day of San Pietro Reus. Contact with the Catalan domination brought the tradition of processional giants which also spread to Sicily and today is linked to the cult of the Virgin Mary, as in the case of the giants Mata and Grifone of the feast of the Assumption in Messina and the giants Kronos and Mytia of the feast of the Madonna della luce in Mistretta, while the Camel recalls the triumphal entry into Messina, at the beginning of the conquest of Sicily taken from the Arabs, of the Norman Count Roger I of Hauteville, which according to tradition took place on the back of a camel.

Economy

Agriculture, fishing and livestock

Particularly important in the past, when it included highly prized derivative products such as silk and citrus products, agriculture still plays an important role in the economy of Messina today.

Agricultural and livestock activities are still practiced today in the countryside of the villages of the municipality of Messina. Among the agricultural products, the following stand out:

* Citrus fruits (lemon, orange, mandarin, clementine)
* Vines, from which excellent red and white wines are produced, including the DOC Faro
* Beer, where the Birra DOC 15 and the Birra dello Stretto have been produced since 2016 in the new Messina brewery.

Also widespread is the breeding of various types of red meat animals, especially sheep, whose meat is traditionally eaten in the city cooked in a wood oven, but above all cattle whose entrails are roasted on the grill and also sold on the street, a dish that in the Messina dialect is called: taiuni, virina and paddi i boi. Fresh milk is used for the production of:
* Ricotta
* Mozzarella and other dairy products.

Crafts and industry

The secondary sector is not particularly developed in the city, where it is (and was) focused on medium-sized industries, in various locations:

Regional Industrial Zone (ZIR), in the southern part of the city, there were activities such as grain milling, production of food products, prefabricated buildings, furniture, etc.
The hub for the artisanal development of Larderia, also in the southern part of the city. Numerous medium-sized artisanal activities are based there, with high-quality production (companies in the food sector, furniture, prefabricated and building materials).
A separate chapter is instead the shipbuilding sector, alive and present in the sickle-shaped area of the city port, home to the Rodriquez shipyards (now Intermarine) and the Palumbo shipyards

Tertiary

The tertiary sector is, historically, the "driving sector" of the city's economy. This is partly due to the presence of the Port of Messina, which in the past was an important export hub for local products (wine, silk, and above all, citrus products) and is still today an important goods hub (in particular, raw materials and materials processed by/for the processing industries of the area).

Tourism

The tourism sector has developed with the annual presence of cruise passengers in the city, reviving Messina from a serious crisis in the sector due to the proximity of the major attractions of Taormina and the Aeolian Islands (which make the metropolitan city the second most visited in Southern Italy after Naples and the first in Sicily). In 2017, 367,269 cruise passengers disembarked at the city's port, in 2024 650,000.

With the necessary distinctions between tourists and non-tourists, the statistics show the tourism sector in clear growth compared to past years, especially with regard to the presence of foreign tourists, thanks to the artistic attractions (historical center and monuments, Regional Museum with works by Antonello and Caravaggio) and naturalistic attractions ( Capo Peloro, Lake Ganzirri, Peloritani mountains).

The seaside sector is particularly lively, especially along the coasts of the northern area, around Capo Peloro (the closest point to the Calabrian coast, where the lighthouse stands), which overlook the Ionian Sea (and therefore the Strait) and the Tyrrhenian Sea.

Transport

Roads

The Messina motorway ring road is part of the Autostrada A20 Messina-Palermo which crosses the urban area from the south to the central-northern area. There are 7 junctions: Messina sud Tremestieri, Messina San Filippo, Messina Gazzi, Messina Centro, Messina Boccetta, Messina Giostra-Annunziata, Messina nord Villafranca. The city is also served by the Autostrada A18 Messina-Catania.

Railways

The new Messina Centrale station building was projected following the modern criteria of the futurist architect Angiolo Mazzoni, and is extended through the stations square. It is at almost contiguous with Messina Marittima station, located by the port and constituting a Ferry transport in the Strait of Messina to Villa San Giovanni station across the Strait of Messina. In 2021 the harbor of Messina was the busiest passenger port in Europe with over 8,232,000 passenger crossings in one year.

The station is electrified and served by regional trains. For long-distance transport it counts some InterCity and ICN night trains to Rome, linking it also with Milan, Turin, Venice, Genoa, Bologna, Florence, and other cities. It is also part of the projected Berlin–Palermo railway axis.

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.

Strait of Messina Bridge

The Strait of Messina Bridge is a proposed suspension bridge across the Strait of Messina, connecting Torre Faro in Sicily with Villa San Giovanni on the Italian peninsula.

While a bridge across the Strait of Messina had been proposed since ancient times, the first detailed plan was made in the 1990s for a suspension bridge. The project was cancelled in 2006 under prime minister Romano Prodi. On 6 March 2009, as part of a massive new public works programme, prime minister Silvio Berlusconi's government announced that construction of the Messina Bridge would indeed go ahead, pledging €1.3 billion as a contribution to the total cost, estimated at €6.1 billion. The project was cancelled again on 26 February 2013, by prime minister Mario Monti's government, due to budget constraints. A decade later, the project was revived again with a decree by Giorgia Meloni's government, on 16 March 2023, which received presidential approval on 31 March 2023.

If fully approved and built, it will be the longest suspension bridge in the world. The bridge would be part of the Berlin–Palermo railway axis (Line 1) of the Trans-European Transport Networks (TEN-T). Construction is set to begin in April 2025, with completion expected in 2032.

Religion

According to Catholic tradition, Saint Paul, during his wanderings across the Mediterranean to Rome to spread the Good News, landed in the year 41 AD in Messina, a city that was already very prosperous from an economic point of view thanks to its port.

Here, by preaching the Christian doctrine, he immediately inflamed the hearts of many people from Messina and, among them, the Senators of the city of the time, who, having learned from the Apostle of the Gentiles of the existence of the Mother of the Lord in Jerusalem, immediately decided to go there to ask for her blessing on the City.

The Madonna wrote in her own hand and delivered to the ambassadors from Messina a Letter, in which she blessed the City and its inhabitants and established herself as its perpetual Protector. On 8 September 42 AD the ship brought the ambassadors to the city of the Strait with the Letter of Mary, which the same Celeste sender had rolled up and tied with some of her hair. This letter is said to be preserved in the Vatican Museums in Rome. According to a legend, Mary chose to be the patron saint of the people of Messina and not the other way around. This tradition contributed greatly to rooting the Marian cult in the city.

Since then, Messina became a Marian city par excellence for Catholics, boasting as a credential that it had been chosen "directly by its Patron Saint". This choice would be attested by a statement by Nummius Aemilianus Dexter, from the 2nd century. The Cathedral houses the relic of the Madonna's hair, which is carried in procession on an artistic silver vessel on Corpus Domini day. It is said that following a plague, the population of Palmi was significantly reduced and the Senate of Messina decided to carry part of the Lock of Hair in procession to Palmi, when they arrived at the gates of the Calabrian town the plague ended immediately. In gratitude, on the Sunday after 15 August, the procession of the Vara (Mary's Assumption into Heaven) is repeated in Palmi.

Catholics celebrate the feast of the Madonna della Lettera on June 3, with a popular procession of the engraved silver fercolo with the silver statuette of the Madonna, modeled by Lio Gangeri in 1902 and the relic of the Hair of Mary contained in a precious monstrance (the Letter was lost in one of the many fires that devastated the Cathedral during its troubled history).

The city of Messina is home to many religious minorities: Pentecostals are the most numerous, there are also Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormons, Waldensians and a strong Islamic concentration due to strong immigration.

Sport

Associazioni Calcio Riunite Messina is a football club based in Messina, that competes in the Serie C, the third tier of the Italian football league system.he origins of the team go back to 1900, when Messina F.C. was founded in the city. The club has spent most of its existence in the lower Italian football leagues. They last competed in Serie B in 2007–08, which followed three consecutive seasons in Serie A. In July 2008, Messina were excluded from professional football due to financial issues, being later registered into amateur Serie D. The farthest Messina has reached in the Coppa Italia is the last 16. This was achieved in the 2000s decade. In the past, they have also reached the semi-finals in the Coppa Italia Serie C. Messina have appeared in the Italy's top league, Serie A, for a total of five seasons. The club's first spell in the league was in the 1960s; the second began in the 2000s decade. The highest ever position they have finished is 7th, which happened during the 2004–05 season.

Pallacanestro Messina was an Italian professional basketball team based in Messina. Established in 1976, the club was admitted to the first division Serie A for the 2003-04 season after Virtus Bologna was excluded for financial irregularities.
Messina struggled on every front during that season, finishing dead last in the league whilst suffering from financial problems and a lack of interest from the public.
With debts too big to allow the club to even take part in other divisions and scaring off clubs that wanted to buy the side's sporting rights, Messina went bankrupt a few months after the season.

International Rally of Messina was a former rally competition that was held in Messina. The event was held for 26 editions, from 1979 to 2004 and was part of the European Rally Championship schedule and the Italian national rally championship. Many of Italian top drivers for several years fought for the Italian title, because the rally was one of the last race of the season, and often decisive. Among the winners are remembered Andrea Aghini, Franco Cunico and Piero Liatti.

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, actor (1922–1986)
*Tano Cimarosa, actor (1922–2008)
*Maria Grazia Cucinotta, actress (born 1968)
*Nino Frassica, actor (born 1950)
*Massimo Mollica, actor (1929–2013)
* Adua Del Vesco, actress (born 1992)
*Ninni Bruschetta, actor (born 1962)
* Marina La Rosa, actress and Grande Fratello (season 1) contestant (born 1977)
*Gino Buzzanca, actor (1912–1985)

Artists and designers

* Girolamo Alibrandi, painter (1470–1524)
* Anna Maria Arduino (1672 – 1700), 17th century painter, writer and socialite, served as the Princess of Piombino, from Messina.
* Antonio Barbalonga, painter (17th century)
* Francesco Comande, painter (16th century)
* Antonello da Messina, major painter of the Renaissance (1430–1479)
* Giuseppe Migneco, painter (1908–1997)
* Giovanni Quagliata, painter (1603–1673)
* Filippo Juvarra, Baroque architect (1678–1736)
* Mariano Riccio, painter (1510–1593)
* Alonzo Rodriguez, painter (1578–1648)
* Valentina Romeo (born 1977), cartoonist, illustrator, billiards player
* Giovanni Tuccari, painter (1667–1743)
* Pino da Messina, painter (born 15th century)

Politicians, civil service, military

* Giuseppe La Farina, leader of the Italian Risorgimento (1815–1863)
* Gaetano Martino, politician, physician and professor. (1900–1967)
* Giuseppe Natoli, lawyer and politician (1815–1867)
* Luigi Rizzo, naval officer and First World War hero (1887–1951)
* Carlo Stagno D'Alcontres, politician, Prince of Alcontres and mayor of Messina (1913–1981)

Musicians, composers

* Mario Aspa, composer (1797–1868)
* Filippo Bonaffino (fl. 1623), Italian madrigal composer
* Alberto Urso, singer (born 1997)
* Peppino D'Agostino, guitarist (born 1956)

Religion

* Eustochia Smeralda Calafato, saint (1434–1485)
* Annibale Maria Di Francia, saint (1851–1927)
* Pope Leo II, bishop of Rome (611–683)

Sport

* Tony Cairoli, motocross world champion (born 1985)
* Vincenzo Nibali, cyclist (born 1984)
* Antonio Stelitano, Italian footballer (born 1987)
* Antonino Ragusa, Italian footballer (born 1990)

Researchers, academics

*Aristocles of Messene, peripatetic philosopher (1st century AD)
*Dicaearchus, Greek philosopher and mathematician (350 BC—323 BC)
* Caio Domenico Gallo, historian (1697–1780)
*Francesco Maurolico, astronomer, mathematician and humanist (1494–1575)
* Agostino Scilla, painter, paleontologist, geologist and pioneer in the study of fossils (1629–1700)
*Giuseppe Seguenza, naturalist and geologist (1833–1889)
*Giuseppe Sergi, anthropologist and psychologist (1841–1936)
* Michele Parrinello, physicist (born 1945)
* Giulio Tarro, doctor and scientist (born 1938)
*Gaetano Martino, scientist (1900–1967)

Others

* Stefano D'Arrigo, writer (1919–1992)
* Guido delle Colonne, judge and writer (13th century)
* Santi Visalli, American photographer and photojournalist (born 1932)
* Tommaso Cannizzaro, writer (1838–1921)

Literary references

Numerous writers set their works in Messina, including:
*Plutarch – ''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 – ''Novelliere'' First Part, novel XXII (1554)
*William Shakespeare – ''Much Ado about Nothing'' (1598) and ''Antony and Cleopatra'' (1607)
*Molière – ''L'Étourdi ou Les Contre-temps'' (1654)
*Friedrich Schiller – ''Die Braut von Messina'' (''The Bride of Messina'', 1803)
*Silvio Pellico – ''Eufemio da Messina'' (1818)
*Friedrich Nietzsche – ''Idyllen aus Messina'' (''Idylls from Messina'', 1882)
*Giovanni Pascoli – poem ''L'Aquilone'' (1904)
*Elio Vittorini – ''Le donne di Messina'' (''Women of Messina'', 1949) and ''Conversazione in Sicilia'' (''Conversations in Sicily'', 1941)
* Stefano D'Arrigo – ''Horcynus Orca'' (1975)
*Julien Green – ''Demain n'existe pas'' (1985)

Twin Towns

* Southampton, England, United Kingdom
* Townsville, Australia
* Nîmes, France
* Corfu, Greece
* Kochi, India

See also

* International Rally of Messina
* Messina Centrale railway station
* Messina Grand Prix held between 1959 and 1961
* Strait of Messina Bridge
* Torre Faro 224 metres tall lattice tower
* Zanclean Age of the Pliocene, named for Zancle, ancient Messina
* Messinian Age of the Miocene Epoch in geology, named for Messina

Notes

References

Bibliography

in English

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in Italian

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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
Populated places destroyed by earthquakes