Messina

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 Catholic Archdiocese seat since 1548 and is home to a locally important International Fair. 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.

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. Graphic sourced with thanks from http://www.gentracer.com

11 °C


Rain, light rain (0.42 mm last hour)


Wind3.6 m/s
Cloudiness100 %
Temperature (min/max)9/11 °C
Pressure1009 hpa
Humidity81 %
Last update: 24 Apr 2024 @ 20:48

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