Train Station                                                                                                Cruise ship dock

     Cruise ships dock at the Autorita Portuale di Messina in Messina, on Sicily's northwest coast. There is easy access to the rest of the city from the port.

     I hope you all are planning on going to Taormina for the day, but if not, here are some suggestions for  a short sightseeing walking tour of Messina which includes points of interest such as the Cathedral with its astronomic clock,  the Churches  Maria Alemanna and Catalani and the fountains. Moving around Messina is quite easy and stress free since it is a compact city. Most places can be visited on foot and the streets are all pedestrian friendly and picturesque so it can be quite enjoyable. Also, Messina is quite well covered by public buses which run regularly through the city. There are various bus stops and offices from where tickets, maps and bus routes can be purchased well in advance.  Remember as is typical in most of Italy, almost all shops and restaurants close by 2 for their afternoon "Siesta."

Messina Cruise Ship Dock with Mt. Etna and the Duomo (far left) and Christo Re high on the hill in background (right)

     Via Garbaldi is the main street and runs parallel to the sea.  It goes through Piazza del Duomo, the town's major square.  South of this square is the second most important square in Messina, Piazza Carducci. You can walk down to the little museum (The Cathedral Museum - Museo del Duomo) approximately 1.5 miles from where the ship docked but be sure to get back to the Duomo to see the astronomical clock in the bell tower at noon.

NORMAN CATHEDRAL

     The Norman cathedral in Messina is one of the most beautiful churches in Sicily. The cathedral was first built in the 12th century and has been destroyed several times, first due to a fire in 1254 and then twice because of earthquakes and the last time it was destroyed in bombings. Despite its share of tragedies the cathedral has been restored to its original beauty in the past years.

           

                 Cathedral Interior                                                               Largest organ in Italy             The Cathedral (Duomo_di_Messina)

     The church was originally built in Norman  times, but in 1197, it was dedicated to the Virgin Mary.  Nothing of the Norman construction remains today except the general layout and the overall exterior appearance after the 1908  earthquake, and a 1943 Allied firebomb that didn't help.   The statue of Madonna and Child, in the lunette of the doorway, is from 1534, and is the work of Giovambattista Mazzeo.

     The  16th century  saw radical intervention also inside the building: Montorsoli designed a marble inlay floor and the arrangement, along the walls of the side naves, representing the Apostolate.

     The altar, designed by Simone Gulli, was begun in 1628 and finished at the end of the 18th century.

     In 1930, the Cathedral became home to what is the largest organ in Italy and the third largest in Europe: 5 keyboards, 170 stops, 16000 pipes arranged in both sides of the transept, behind the altar, above the main portal and above the triumphal arch.

Piazza del Duomo

          

Fontana di Orione

          Standing in the center of the cathedral square is this elegant fountain made from pale marble.  It was the pre-baroque creation of Giovanni Angelo Montorsoli in 1547. It honors Orione, the city's mythical founder, who is seen surmounting a bevy of giants, nymphs and crocodiles. The fountain was built to honor the construction of the city's first aqueduct. The major figures represent the rivers, Nile, Ebro, Camaro, and Tiber.

 The Astronomical Clock

Orologio astronomico – The astronomical clock is the most interesting component of the 60m (197 feet) high bell-tower to the left of the cathedral. The mechanism dating from 1933 was built in Strasbourg.

 It's comprised of several layers, each bearing a different display with a separate movement. At the bottom, a two-horse chariot driven by a god indicates the day of the week; above, the central figure of Death waves his scythe threateningly at the child, youth, soldier or old man – the four ages of man – that pass before him. At the third stage, the Sanctuary of Montalto (turn left to compare it with the real one) sets the scene for a group of figures which, according to the time of year, represent the Nativity, Epiphany, Resurrection and Pentecost. At the top, the tableau enacts a scene relating to a local legend whereby the Madonna delivers a letter to the ambassadors of Messina in which she thanks and agrees to protect the inhabitants of the town who were converted to Christianity by St. Paul the Apostle: the same Madonna della Lettera (Madonna of the Letter) is the patron saint of Messina.   

When the clock strikes midday, all the mechanical figures come to life in time to music.  The Ave Maria begins playing from a loudspeaker and the bronze mechanical figures start to move; a lion roars, a bird flaps its wings, and two historical heroines take turns ringing the bell, and just before it ends, a statue of Jesus appearing from a tomb appears.  

ANNUNZIATA DEI CATALANI                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            

   The church of the "Annunziata dei Catalani" stands on one of the most historically important sites of the Straits. The  church was built between 1150 and 1200 on the remains of a pagan temple dedicated to Neptune. When the Messinese saw their beloved church on this square after the 1908 earthquake, they called it a miracle.  In an amazing feat, the earthquake stripped away much of the latter-day alterations and additions to the church leaving its original 12th- and 13th- century architectural style intact.  But because the quake leveled the earth on which the church sits, the structure seems to be sinking into the street today. The church, restored over the centuries, lies at a lower level of today's street level. The great difference in height between the ground level  of the church and that of the surrounding streets and buildings is due to the piles of rubble caused by the earthquake of 1908, which were later leveled for reconstruction.

The RUINS of SANTA MARIA ALEMANNA

     The Santa Maria Alemanna Church (Saint Mary of the Germans) dates from the mid-thirteenth century and was founded, along with an adjacent hospital, by the Teutonic Knights, hence the name "Alemanna" which it is still known by.  It stands in isolation a few blocks from the train station in a part of the city that visitors hardly ever see on an obscure street between Viale San Martino and Via Garibaldi and surrounded by unsightly buildings.  The Church of Santa Maria Alemanna also stands below ground level and is rarely open to the public, though much of its open interior is visible from the outside. Because of its unappealing location and incomplete condition, it is virtually ignored by travel guides and tourists, but a brief visit to the Church of Santa Maria could give your visit to Messina a taste of what the city was like when its ancient stone streets echoed with the footsteps of presumptuous kings and overzealous knights. The knights had their priorities, and here they received and tended to veterans from the Holy Land.   Only a small trace of the old hospital remains in the form of a lancer arch and a fragment of a wall near the apses. The church was abandoned by the knights at the end of the 14th century.  It was struck by lightening at the beginning of the 17th century and further damaged by the 1783 earthquake which caused the facade to collapse.

     Today it is under restoration after having been dismantled stone by stone to allow consolidation.  A beautiful doorway of this church which is to be built by German craftsmen, is the purest example of Gothic architecture in Sicily

SANTA MARIA DELLA VALLE, (the "BADIAZZA")


     The ruins of the antique church and convent of  Santa Maria della Valle, commonly known as "Badiazza," forms one the most antique and interesting monuments of the Medieval Messina.

   It is situated near the bottom of the San Rizzo stream and is reached by a rough road through the Peloritani mountains and the village Scala. It belonged to a Benedictine monastery  founded  in the 12th century. After a devastation fire in 1282, it was restored.

 

 

MUSEO REGIONALE

     Established in 1914 in a former silk weaving mill, along the seacoast road leading from Messina to the lighthouse, the museum host the collections of a great number of works rescued from the ruins of palaces and churches destroyed in the 1908 earthquake and in the Second World War.  The regional museum is one of the best museums in Sicily and a must visit for all tourists interested in serious art and history. The museum showcases art works of some of the best local artists and although it is small, the art work is all excellent   The museum consist of different sections including archaeology, medieval art, Renaissance and later art, precious creations in gold, silver and ivory in the upper floor Treasury Room, and crafts, exhibited in 14 different rooms all around a courtyard.

CHRISTO Re

     The dome of Cristo Re crowns a hilltop and can be seen as you approach by ship.

The Tempio Votivo di Cristo Re (Votive Temple of Christ the King), was constructed in 1900, built on higher ground, elevated from the street. Crowned by an octagonal dome, it recalls the Sicilian Baroque style of former days. In its crypt is a shrine with a memorial to Italian soldiers. This theme is continued in the bell mounted on an octagonal tower also built in the 1900's in the same style as the towers of the former fortress on the site. The bell chimes the hours in memory of the fallen in all wars.

Il MONTE di PIETA

   

     The massive building of the Monte di Pieta, the work of Natale Masuccio, actually dates back to 1616.  Today, all that remains of this extraordinary beauty is the front façade with the entrance door topped by a large balcony and baroque gable windows alternating with niches.  The doorway leads through a lobby with vaulted ceilings.. after that the complex is missing almost all of its original parts (the first floor, the bell tower and the whole rest of the church, except for that section of the facade ).

     In the 18th century, extensive renovation work was carried out, involving the reconstruction of the first floor, the adjacent bell tower and staircase. And at the centre of the staircase, the fountain representing Abundance, was designed by Ignazio Buceti, and bears the date of 1741.  Again, reconstruction work was carried out after the earthquake in 1783. But the upper deck was again damaged by the earthquake of 1908. Finally, and sorrowfully, the building was permanently destroyed from 1943 bombing. Restored to what you see today, in 1979, it is now is used for cultural events, performances and exhibitions.

    

     It is very sad that so much irreplaceable art has been lost -  and such a beautiful, architectural, historic city has crumbled under the ravages of wars, tsunamis, and earthquakes.  But it should also be known that today the city is growing and developing along the coast, and because of all of these tragedies, the city is almost completely modern. Learning from past lessons, modern Messina is constructed with safety in mind. Streets are wide and buildings relatively low and despite Italy's anti-corruption drives of the past decades, the Mafia is still a reality that most prefer not to discuss. But it's unlikely to have any noticeable impact on your stay, however. Petty crime, as elsewhere in Italy, is more of a risk for tourists, so take sensible precautions.

THIS WAY TO TAORMINA
 

Messina, Italy

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