holidays in messina

Messina importance and development as Sicily’s third largest town has been entirely driven by its location, adjacent to mainland Italy and with a natural harbour. Both the Greeks and the Romans established extensive settlements in the town, recognising the strategic importance it offered, situated on the straits between Sicily and Italy. The rest of the town’s history has been dominated by a series of disasters, some natural and some man-made. Besides the effect of bombardments, which destroyed parts of the town in both 1848 and 1943, there have been three significant earthquakes in 1783, 1894 & 1908. The earthquake in 1908 was particularly savage, as it caused the shoreline to subside by half a metre, resulting in a six metre tidal wave.

Holiday Accommodation in Messina

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The town was largely re-built after the 1908 earthquake, which allowed the planners to incorporate particularly wide streets planted with trees, with low buildings to minimise the danger of future earthquakes.

The key historical buildings and artefacts that can be found in Messina, include the Duomo or cathedral, which was first built in the 12th Century. The building has been severely damaged twice, first during the earthquake of 1908 and secondly during the aerial bombings of 1943. However, some parts of the original building did remain, and those parts that were destroyed were painstakingly restored. Outside of the Cathedral, the Orion Fountain can be seen, built in the 15th century and incorporating statues representing four rivers, including the Camaro, which was diverted through Messina via the first aqueduct designed specifically to supply the fountain with water.

The piazza Antonello is one of the main focal points of the town, situated just north of the Duomo. The buildings that surround the piazza include the Town Hall, the post office and the Palazzo della Provincia. The area was named after Antonello da Messina, who was one of the masters of the Italian Renaissance and perhaps one of the greatest southern Italian painters. Many of his works can be found in the Museo Regionale, which exhibits a substantial quantity of local art, including pieces from the Norman period and the Renaissance. Artists of particular note include Caravaggio, Alibrandi and Catena. To the north of the town is the Forte San Salvatore, which was built in the 17th Century to protect the harbour from attack.

Messina does not offer the same level of shopping as Taormina, which has a far better selection of the famous Sicilian ceramics. Although a number of restaurants are located near the port, most of Messina’s pizzeria’s and better eating establishments are to be found further into the town.

Other places of interest within close proximity to Messina include the fishing village of Ganzirri, which is primarily famous for two lagoons, the Pantano Grande and Piccolo. At the extreme north-eastern tip of Sicily is Punta Faro an area renowned for swordfish harpooning, but also dominated by the electric pylons and cable which bring power from the Italian mainland.

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