 Introduzione
Messina's natural harbor, its position on the Strait of Messina, which here is just 3km wide, and its proximity to the mainland, are factors which have determined its history from the earliest times. Today Messina, is a modern city and a centre for trade and communications, triumphantly overcoming the earthquake of 1908 and the Allies' bombing in 1943.
Come Si Arriva Plane
The nearest airport to Messina is on the Italian mainland at Reggio di Calabria. The airport, Svincolo Aeropuerto, lies south of Reggio. A bus will take you from the Stazione Centrale in Reggio to the airport. The two main airports in Sicily are - one based in Catania and one based in Palermo. Airlines who fly into Sicily include British Airways, Volareweb, Ryanair, Air One, Alitalia and Air Malta.
Train
For many visitors, this is the most convenient way to reach Sicily from the Italian mainland. Trains with connections from all over Europe, including Rome and Naples, arrive at the port of Villa San Giovanni, near Reggio Calabria, in southern Italy.
Sea
Ferries -- called traghetti -- depart frequently from Villa San Giovanni, making the trip of 12km (7 1/2 miles) across the Straits. If you don't have a car, the fastest way to go is by hydrofoil from Reggio Calabria.
Car
Follow the A3 south to Reggio di Calabria, getting off at Villa San Giovanni and taking a car ferry across the Straits of Messina to Messina itself.
History and Culture
The rest of the history of the town during ancient times can be summarized with a few dates: in 461 the rule of the tyrants of Rhegion was toppled, in 426 Messina joined the Athenians after the latter had conquered its sister town of Mylai, but then soon went back over to Syracuse. In 396 it was destroyed by the Carthaginians, only to be rebuilt by Syracuse the following year.
Around 350 it was ruled by the tyrant Hippon; in 337 he was removed by Timoleon of Syracuse; in 289 it fell, after the death of the tyrant Agathocles of Syracuse, to his bodyguards, the Mamertinians (sons of Mars), who killed the whole of the male population and from there went on to tyrannize the whole of Sicily.
In 264 the Mamertinians, by enlisting the help of the Romans, triggered off the first Punic War. In 263 Messina became civitas foederata of the Romans and in the following period experienced a heyday as a Roman trading center.
Messina was also a thriving city in the three centuries of Byzantine rule (535-843). Then the Arabs (843-1061) held power, followed by the Normans (1061-1194). The Normans promoted the Greek Orthodox Basilian monastery of San Salvatore dei Greci as a place to transmit Eastern Christian Byzantine culture to the west. Towards the end of the Hohenstaufen period of rule (1194-1266), Messina founded in 1255, together with Milazzo and Taormina, a free state (comune libero), which ended, however, in 1266 with the rule of Charles of Anjou. The Spanish from the House of Aragon, who came to power after the Sicilian Vespers of 1282, preferred to reside in Messina - it was not until the 16th century that Palermo became the seat of residence of the kings and subsequently of the viceroys. In 1535 Emperor Charles V was received with great ceremony; in 1571 his son Don Juan of Austria sailed from Messina with the fleet of the Western League to join the triumphant progress of the sea-battle of Lepanto, which was being waged against the Turks. Messina's heyday came to an end with the unsuccessful uprising against the Spanish rulers (1674-78). In the period that followed there was a series of catastrophes: in 1743 the plague (40,000 victims), in 1785 an earthquake (12,000 deaths), in 1823 a flood disaster, in 1847/1848 a revolt against the rule of the Neapolitan Bourbons and a bombardment by the troops of Ferdinand II (“Re Bomba”), in 1854 cholera (15,000 deaths), in 1894 an earthquake. The city was almost entirely destroyed by an earthquake and associated tsunami on the morning of December 28, 1908, killing about 60,000 people and destroying most of the ancient architecture. The city was largely rebuilt in the following year, according to a more modern ad rationale plan. Further damage was added by the massive American air bombardments of 1943, which caused thousand of deaths. Later, the city gained a Gold Medal for Military Valour and one for the Civil Valour in memory of the event and the subsequent effort of reconstruction.
Chiese e Musei
The 12th century Cathedral contains the remains of Conrad, king of Germany and Sicily in the 13th century. After the quake of 1908, the cathedral was almost entirely rebuilt in 1919/1920; after a fire in 1943 it had to be rebuilt again. The original Norman structure can be seen in the apsidal area. The facade has three late Gothic portals, the central one probably dating from the early 15th century, with noteworthy decorations. The architrave is decorated with a sculpture of Christ Among the Evangelists and representations of human figures, animals and plants. The interior has a nave and two equally long aisles divided by files of 28 columns; some of the decorative elements are from the original edifice. This 60m high bell-tower, reconstructed using old designs, contains one of the greatest of all astronomical clocks, a work by the Strasbourg firm of Ungerer (1933); every day at midday the figures are set in motion and show scenes from the history of Messina, including the handing-over of the legendary letter of protection from the Madonna to Messina. According to tradition she gave a letter to Messinan diplomats in Nazareth, in which she wrote: “We bless you and your city”.
Annunziata dei Catalani
The Annunziata dei Catalani (late 12th-13th century) is the only building to have survived the earthquake of 1908. Dating from the late Norman period, it was transformed in the 13th century when the nave was shortened and the facade added. It has a cylindrical apse and a high dome emerging from a high tambour. There is the external decoration of the transept and the dome area, with a series of blind arches separated by small columns.
Chiesa di Santa Maria degli Alemanni
Dating from the Swabian period, possibly from the early 13th c. It be1onged to the order of the Knights of Jerusalem. The church was seriously damaged by the earthquakes of 1783 and 1908. Restoration work began only after the Second World War. Stylistically the church reflects an interest in Gothic models by architects who possibly came from the north, among the followers of the re1igious orders. A basilica in plan, it has a nave and two ais1es, and three apses. Some elements of the original sculpture work still remain, including the two portals (the latera1 one is a1most entirely intact).
Chiesa di San Paolino
Built at the beginning of the 17th c., this church is the only almost intact example of the architecture of that age. The decoration of the interior, which has survived the vicissitudes of earthquakes and wars, is enriched by stuccos and frescoes dating from the flirst half ofthe 18th c. On the high altar there is a painting by Giovanni Quagliata representing The Apparition ofthe Virgin Mary to St Paolino.
Santuario di Montevergine
The monastery (1634), designed by Andrea Suppa, was somewhat arbitrarily restored after 1908. The church, built in about 1450 and dedicated to the Blessed Eustochia, whose mortaI remains it preserves, presents a facade by Nicola and Antonio Maffei (sec. half 17th c.). It has a single nave and animated decorative elements dating from the 18th c., now recomposed.
Museo Regionale
In town on the Viale della Libertà, is the Museo Regionale. Located in a former silk mill and dating from 1914, it is one of Sicily's best museums, and is home to a collection of art from the 15th to 17th centuries. There’s a garden at the back of the museum that displays some beautiful statues.
Historical buildings and monuments
The cathedral square (Piazza del Duomo) acquires its status as the historical center of Messina by virtue of the cathedral and Orion fountain and, with the square now closed to cars, its considerable beauties are more evident. The Orion fountain (1547-51) by G.A. Montorsoli from Florence, a pupil of Michelangelo, At the lower level of the fountain are figures representing the Rivers Tiber, Nile, Ebro and Camaro, surrounded by putti, shells and various other decorative elements. The central part is made up of female figures and tritons. High above stands the figure of Orion, with dolphins and puttos.
Palazzo Calapaj
Near the Duomo, an example of 18th century Messinese architecture which survived to the 1908 earthquake.
Piazzetta dei Catalani
On the Piazzetta dei Catalani in Messina stands a bronze memorial by Andrea Calamecca to Don Juan of Austria, son of Emperor Charles V and Barbara Blomberg, the daughter of a citizen of Regensburg (because of which a copy of this memorial was placed by the Old Town Hall in Regensburg in 1977); Don Juan set off from Messina in 1571 to take part in the Battle of Lepanto, in which he defeated the Turks. The memorial was consecrated one year later in front of the Palazzo Reale.
San Ranieri Lighthouse
As you approach Messina from the Strait you are able to see almost at the centre of the San Rainieri peninsula, the San Raineri lighthouse or tower, built by G. An- gelo da Montorsoli (1555).
Monte di Pietà,
One of the finest baroque buildings in Messina, part of which survived the great earthquake. Its original construction dates from the 16th century, but in the following century it was modified by Natale Masuccio. The entrance opens on to a courtyard, at the middle of which is a fountain; the courtyard leads to an atrium with a scenographic two-ramp stairway that goes up to the Chiesa della Pietà, of which only the facade remains.
Places of Interest
An easy bus ride from Messina is Mortelle, the city's beach resort, lying 12kms north of the city. Mortelle opens onto some fine beaches, and in the evening it flourishes until late at night with loud music and energetic youths.
Eventi
The Teatro Vittorio Emanuele is not only known for its fine structure, but also for its excellent programme.
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