the history of messina

It all started when…

Messina is probably the Sicilian city with the saddest history and unlucky destiny. While in the course of the centuries Messina has rivaled with Palermo to be the capital of Sicily and the most important city in southern Italy, today it has been almost forgotten by the rest of Sicily, and little attention is paid to the city by the standard tourism. Today the city is mainly known for its port, gateway to Calabria and the continental Italy, but in truth it has much more to offer.

The history of Messina is quite ancient, having it been one of the first areas to be colonized by the Greeks in the IX century b.C.. The city has followed the history of the rest of the island, with the subsequent dominion of the Romans, Arabs, Normans, French and Spaniards. While it was already a very important city during the Norman time, it reached its pick of importance during the Spanish dominion in the XVI-XVII century, when it was in the top 10 European cities for number of inhabitants and already one of the most important ports in Europe.

A series of catastrophic events signed the history of Messina in the centuries, starting from a terrible earthquake in 1783 and, most of all, the earthquake of 1908 where half of the population (70.000 people) was killed by the earthquake itself and the fires and tsunamis that followed. The city was completely flattened and rebuilt from scratch using modern layouts (long and wide streets, straight from north to south), but again heavily hit by the bombing of the second world war.

What survives today is only a small portion of the greatness of the city. In particular the earthquake of 1908 destroyed the real landmark of the city, the so called Palazzata, a continuous series of buildings all with the same style (like if it was one single building) that surrounded the whole port of the city, like a spectacular theater in the eyes of the people coming to the city from the sea. This palazzata was already a second version of the another one destroyed in the earthquake of 1783. What is left today is a third version built along Via Vittorio Emanuele (along the sea line), with 13 different buildings, no more connected like the previous ones.

Among the most beautiful sights of the city, the Duomo or Basilica Cattedrale di S. Maria Assunta cannot be missed. Entirely rebuilt in the XX century following the old version as much as possible, this is the most important church in the city. The exterior has Gothic style, while inside it is enriched with mosaics that remember the arabic-norman style. The church features the second biggest organ in Italy (and third biggest in Europe) with 16.000 pipes distributed inside the building. Next to the Duomo we find the belltower hosting the famous mechanic and astronomical clock: the biggest and most complex clock of this type in the world, it was built by German artists and everyday at noon offers a unique show, where the different statues composing the moving clock start dancing. The scene depicted in this dance remembers the victory of the people in Messina against the French king in the XIII century.

Other important sights are the Chiesa Santissima Annunziata dei Catalani, with its norman-arabic style, 13 meters below the level of the city, due to the many earthquakes that have increased the level of the city; the Sacrario di Cristo Re, a baroque church built on top of an old Norman castle, that hosts the rest of 1300 soldiers died during the First and Second world war. On the belltower of the Sacrario it is located the third biggest bell in Italy.

Messina is also famous for its fountains, two of the are remarkable: the Fountain of Orione (located in the square of the Duomo) and the Fountain of Nettuno (located in front of the seafront (what in Italian is called Lungomare). Both were made by the artist Angelo Montorsoli, who worked with Michelangelo in the XVI century.

Visiting the city around the 15th of August it is possible to experience the Processione di Ferragosto, a festival during which a construction of 13 meters high is taken around the city, featuring Jesus Christ holding the Holy Mary on top of the Sun and the Moon, richly decorated with flowers. The day before, on the 14th, another parade features the two giants Mata and Grifone, a white lady and a black man on top of horses, considered to be founders of the city (a tradition coming from Spain).