Everything about Messina totally explained
Messina (Missina in
Sicilian) is the third largest city on the island of
Sicily,
Italy and the capital of the
province of Messina. It has a population of 250,000 inhabitants in the city proper and about 500,000 in the metropolitan area.
It is located near the North-East corner of Sicily, at the
Strait of Messina, just opposite
Villa San Giovanni which is itself north of
Reggio Calabria across the straits, on the mainland.
The main economical resource of the city is the port, both commercial and military, with several shipyards. Agriculture include cultivations of
lemons,
oranges,
mandarin oranges and other fruit, vegetables and wine.
The city has been a Roman Catholic
Archdiocese and Archimandrite seat since 1548 and is home to a locally important International Fair.
History
Founded by
Greek colonists in the
8th century BC, Messina was originally called
Zancle (a native word for "scythe"—but in legend the name is attributed to King
Zanclus) because of the shape of its natural harbour. (The stairs leading to the harbour are to this day called 'Scaletta Zanclea'.) In the early
5th century BC,
Anaxilas of Rhegium renamed it
Messene in honor of the Greek city
Messene (
Greek: Μεσσήνη). See also
List of traditional Greek place names. The city was
sacked in 397 BC by the
Carthaginians, 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
Rome 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
Roman Empire, the city was successively conquered by the
Goths, 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 stopped at Messina in his path towards the Holy Land and briefly occupied the city after a dispute over the dowry of his sister, who had been married to
William II of Sicily.
Messina was most likely the harbour at which the
Black Death entered
Europe in the
Middle Ages (1347): the plague was brought by Genoese ships coming from
Jaffa in
Palestine. In
1548 St. Ignatius founded here the first
Jesuit College of 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
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 thenceforth Messina decayed steadily.
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 freed the city. One of the main figure of the
unification of Italy,
Giuseppe Mazzini, was elected
deputy at Messina in the general elections of 1866.
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 and rational plan. Further damage was added by the massive Allied air bombardments of
1943, which caused thousand of deaths. Later, the city gained a Gold Medal for Military Valour and one for Civil Valour 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.
Main sights
Religious buildings
- 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 façade 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 tympanum is from 1468. 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. Beside of that of Conrad IV, the tombs include those of Archbishop Palmer (died in 1195), Archbishop Guidotto de Abbiate (14th century) and Antonio La Legname (16th century). The mosaics in the apse are reconstructions. Noteworthy is the Chapel of the Sacrament (late 16th century), with scenographic decorations and 14th century mosaics. Very famous as touristic attraction is the clock tower, with several animated mechanical statues which every days at noon show some events of Christian and Messina history.
- The 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.
- Santa Maria degli Alemanni (probably from the early 13th century), which belonged to the Knights of Malta.
- Sanctuary of Montevergine, where the incorrupt body of Saint Eustochia Smeralda Calafato rests.
Other
Palazzo Calapaj, near the Cathedral, an example of 18th century Messinese architecture which survived to the 1908 earthquake.
The Fountain of Orion and the Fountain of Neptune, by Giovanni Angelo Montorsoli (16th century).
The Senatory Fountain (1619)
The Four Fountains
The San Ranieri Lighthouse (or Tower), from 1555.
The Orto Botanico "Pietro Castelli" dell'Università di Messina, a botanical garden
The Regional Museum
, which hosts, among others, paintings from Caravaggio and Antonello da Messina.
The Pylons, built in 1957 for a 220kV-overhead powerline across the Strait of Messina. At the time of its construction, the two pylons were the highest in the world. This powerline has since been replaced by an underwater cable, but the pylons still remain, protected as historical monuments, and freely visitable since 2006 summer by tourists.
Notable people
Antonello da Messina, Italian painter and genius of the Renaissance, was born in Messina in 1430.
Dicaearchus, Greek philosopher and mathematician, born in Messina 350 BC.
Eustochia Smeralda Calafato, Italian Saint, was born in Messina in 1434.
Francesco Maurolico, Italian astronomer and mathematician, was born in Messina in 1494.
Filippo Juvarra, also spelled Filippo Juvara, Italian architect and highest exponent of the Baroque, was born in Messina in 1678.
Hannibal Mary Di Francia, Italian Saint, was born in Messina in 1851.
Messina in literature
Many writers set their works in Messina, among them:
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 Jean Baptiste Poquelin - L'Etourdi 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 - poetry 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)Further Information
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