Messina

Messina is the third largest city in Sicily. It is located on the banks of the Strait of Messina, which separates Sicily from continental Italy.
According to the legend, here were hidden two terrible monsters, Scylla and Charybdis: two giants who guarded the strait, sinking the ships that sailed it. It is from this legend that comes the celebration of these two giants that every year in August brings together spectators from all over the world. Messina has ancient origins; it was founded by Greek settlers in the 8th century B.C., because of its strategic location. Today it is a city with a thousand facets: very colorful, rich in anthropic attractions and natural beauty. In 1908, a terrible earthquake, accompanied by a tsunami, completely destroyed Messina; but only a year later it was completely rebuilt maintaining its conformation and recovering the monuments of the city. A real architectural jewel is the Church of Santa Maria Annunziata dei Catalani, built in the twelfth century on the site of an ancient pagan temple. The Norman Cathedral of Messina, built in the same period by King Rogero II, and the bell tower of the cathedral that houses one of the largest astronomical clocks in the world, built in 1933. On the bell tower at noon there is a representative and soound show of some golden figures representing historical symbols of the city. Other points of historical importance are the city’s fountains: the 16th-century Orion Fountain next to the cathedral and the Neptune Fountain in Piazza Unità d’Italia (both designed by the famous sculptor and architect Giovanni Montorsoli, an assistant of Michelangelo); originally the Neptune statue faced the city, but after the terrible earthquake and tsunami of 1908, it was turned towards the sea, to ensure that Neptune would protect the city. As for the natural attractions, a must-see are the natural lakes of Ganzirri, where mussels are grown. The fishing village of Torre Faro is located at the confluence of the two seas Ionian and Tyrrhenian. And inside there are the Lighthouse and the Pylon, built in 1957 and which today represents the symbol of the city.
Messina’s museums are attractive as well, such as the Regional Museum, which houses paintings of Caravaggio and Antonello da Messina.