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MESSINA
233km
(145 miles) E of Palermo, 683km
(410 miles) SE of Rome, 469km (281
miles) S of Naples.
The Sicilians founded Messina in the eighth century BC and
called it Zancle. In the fifth
century BC it was occupied it turn
by the Greeks and then the Chalcis.
Later it was conquered by the
dreaded Anaxilas, the tyrant of
Reggio, and it was he who changed
its name to Messina.
Rome took over control of
the city in the third century BC,
and the city did prosper somewhat
during this time. In the Middle
Ages it gained importance as the
launching pad for the Crusades.
Its peak period when it really
flourished was during the
seventeenth century AD, after
which it gradually declined, and
this decline resulted because of a
dispute with the powerful Spanish
Viceroys. Messina lies at the foot
of the Peloritani Mountains and
over looks the straits of Messina.
Across the sea is the mainland
city of Reggio di Calabria. The
city is only five kilometers from
the mainland of Italy, and forms a
gateway for visitors to the island
of Sicily.
Messina is the third most populous city of Sicily and it was
a beautiful town ay one time. But
earthquakes and the allied bombers
destroyed it repeatedly and each
time it was rebuilt it lost some
of its charm. It still is the most
modern city in Sicily. Shakespeare
found his setting for the play
“Much ado about nothing” in
Messina. But that was about the
only piece of good fortune that
came Messinas way. Some of the
misfortunes that befell this
benighted city are listed below: -
1.
In 1743 AD bubonic plague
killed over fourty thousand of its
population.
2.
In 1783 AD an earthquake
devastated the city.
3.
In 1848 AD the Bourbon
ruler Ferdinand II bombarded
Messina to a pulp, because of
Sicily’s demands for
independence.
4.
In 1854 AD the killer was
cholera, and,
5.
In 1894 AD another
earthquake.
6.
December 28th,
1908, 5.30 am this time the
tremors resulted in the death of
eighty five thousand inhabitants.
Then
finally, just as it was being
restored to its former glory by
the dictator Mussolini, the allied
air force rained down bombs like a
hailstorm onto the city, and
Messina was flattened yet again
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