Messina

Messina has a subtropical Mediterranean climate with long, hot summers with low diurnal temperature variation with consistent dry weather. In winter, Messina is rather wet and mild. Diurnals remain low and remain averaging above 10 °C (50 °F) lows even during winter. It is rather rainier than Reggio Calabria on the other side of the Messina Strait, a remarkable climatic difference for such a small distance.

Cathedral of Messina.

Church of the Santissima Annunziata dei Catalani.

13th century Church of Santa Maria degli Alemanni

The extant octagonal tower of the 11th century Matagrifone Castle and the Cristo Re sanctuary

• The cathedral (12th century), containing the remains of the king Conrad, ruler of Germany and Sicily in the 13th century. The building had to be almost entirely rebuilt in 1919–20, following the devastating 1908 earthquake, and again in 1943, after a fire triggered by Allied bombings. The original Norman structure can be recognised in the apsidal area. The façade has three late Gothic portals, the central of which probably dates back to the early 15th century. The architrave is decorated with a sculpture of Christ Among the Evangelists and various representations of men, animals and plants. The tympanum dates back to 1468. The interior is organised in a nave and two equally long aisles divided by files of 28 columns. Some decorative elements belong the original building, although the mosaics in the apse are reconstructions. Tombs of illustrious men besides Conrad IV include those of Archbishops Palmer (died in 1195), Guidotto de Abbiate (14th century) and Antonio La Legname (16th century). Special interest is held by the Chapel of the Sacrament (late 16th century), with scenic decorations and 14th-century mosaics. The bell tower holds the Messina astronomical clock, one of the largest astronomical clocks in the world, built-in 1933 by the Ungerer Company of Strasbourg. The belfry's mechanically animated statues, which illustrate events from the civil and religious history of the city every day at noon, are a popular tourist attraction.
• The Sanctuary of Santa Maria del Carmelo (near the Courthouse), built-in 1931, contains a 17th-century statue of the Virgin Mary. See also Chiesa del Carmine.
• The Sanctuary of Montevergine, where the incorrupt body of Saint Eustochia Smeralda Calafato is preserved.
• The Church of the Santissima Annunziata dei Catalani (late 12th–13th century). Dating from the late Norman period, it was transformed in the 13th century when the nave was shortened and the façade added. It has a cylindrical apse and a high dome emerging from a high tambour. Noteworthy is the external decoration of the transept and the dome area, with a series of blind arches separated by small columns, clearly reflecting Arabic architectural influences.
• The Church of Santa Maria degli Alemanni (early 13th century), which was formerly a chapel of the Teutonic Knights. It is a rare example of pure Gothic architecture in Sicily, as is witnessed by the arched windows and shapely buttresses.

The giants Mata and Grifone, whose stories are told about the city, are brought around Messina during the second week of August

The Madonna della Lettera that dominates the port of Messina is the Patron Saint of the city, celebrated on 3 June

Fountain of Orion in Piazza Duomo

Porta Grazia

Statue of Don John of Austria, hero of Lepanto

Palazzo della Provincia, Corso Cavour

• The Botanical Garden Pietro Castelli of the University of Messina.
• The Palazzo Calapaj-d'Alcontresj, an example of 18th-century Messinese architecture which is one of the few noble palazzi to have survived the 1908 earthquake.
• The Forte del Santissimo Salvatore, a 16th-century fort in the Port of Messina.
• The Forte Gonzaga, a 16th-century fort overlooking Messina.
• The Porta Grazia, 17th-century gate of the "Real Cittadella di Messina", by Domenico Biundo and Antonio Amato, a fortress still existing in the harbour.
• The Pylon, built in 1957 together with a twin located across the Strait of Messina, to carry a 220 kV overhead power line bringing electric power to the island. At the time of their construction, the two electric pylons were the highest in the world. The power line has since been replaced by an underwater cable, but the pylon still stands as a freely accessible tourist attraction.
• The San Ranieri lighthouse, built in 1555.
• The Palazzo della Provincia (Palazzo dei Leoni), provincial Seat, built in 1914 by Alessandro Giunta.
• The Palace of Culture, built in 2009.

• The Fountain of Orion, a monumental civic sculpture located next to the cathedral, built in 1547 by Giovanni Angelo Montorsoli, student of Michelangelo, with a Neoplatonic-alchemical program. It was considered by art historian Bernard Berenson "the most beautiful fountain of the sixteenth century in Europe".
• The Fountain of Neptune, looking towards the harbour, built by Montorsoli in 1557.
• The monument to John of Austria, by Andrea Camalech (1572)
• The Senatory Fountain, built in 1619.
• The Four Fountains, though only two elements of the four-cornered complex survive today.
• LaFenice, a sculpture on Piazza della Memoria

One of the two surviving Four Fountains dating from the 17-18th centuries. Located on the corner of Via 1 Settembre and Via Cardines

• Museo Regionale di Messina (MuMe) hosting notable paintings by Caravaggio, Antonello da Messina, Alonzo Rodriguez, Mattia Preti
• The Galleria d'Arte Contemporanea di Messina, hostings paintings by Giò Pomodoro, Renato Guttuso, Lucio Fontana, Corrado Cagli, Giuseppe Migneco, Max Liebermann

The new Messina Centrale station building was projected following the modern criteria of the futurist architect Angiolo Mazzoni, and is extended through the stations square. It is at almost contiguous with Messina Marittima station, located by the port and constituting a Ferry transport in the Strait of Messina to Villa San Giovanni station across the Strait of Messina.[18] In 2021 the harbor of Messina was the busiest passenger port in Europe with over 8.232.000 passenger crossings in one year.[19]

The station is electrified and served by regional trains. For long-distance transport it counts some InterCity and ICN night trains to Rome, linking it also with Milan, Turin, Venice, Genoa, Bologna, Florence, and other cities. It is also part of the projected Berlin–Palermo railway axis.

Since 2010, a suburban train service has been carried out along the Messina-Catania-Syracuse railway with routes serving the stations of Fiumara Gazzi, Contesse, Tremestieri, Mili Marina, Galati, Ponte Santo Stefano, Ponte Schiavo, San Paolo and Giampilieri.[20]

Messina's public bus system is operated by ATM Messina:[21] starting from 8 October 2018, has reorganized the offer of public transport, introducing a bus line (line 1 - Shuttle 100) which with a frequency of approx. 15 minutes, it crosses 38 of the total 50 km of the coast of the City of Messina. Thus, a comb service is created, with interchange stops at which the buses to and from the villages terminate, and with the tram which reaches a frequency of about 20 minutes.[22] About 36 different routes reach every part of the city and also the modern Messina tramway[23] (at "Repubblica" stop, on station's square), opened in 2003. This line is 7.7 kilometres (4.8 mi) and links the city's central railway station with the city centre and harbour.

The industrial plan provides for the purchase of about 66 buses in the three-year period 2020–2022 to improve the environmental performance and comfort of the fleet. Furthermore, the resources equal to 1.82 million euros, coming from the PON Metro 2014-2020 will allow:

• Installation of the AVM system on the vehicles;
• Installation of turnstiles on electric buses;
• Implementation of the electronic ticketing system;
• Installation of electronic poles.[24][25]

• Adolfo Celi, actor (1922–1986)
• Tano Cimarosa, actor (1922–2008)
• Maria Grazia Cucinotta, actress (born 1968)
• Nino Frassica, actor (born 1950)
• Massimo Mollica, actor (1929–2013)
• Adua Del Vesco, actress (born 1992)
• Ninni Bruschetta, actor (born 1962)
• Marina La Rosa, actress and Grande Fratello (season 1) contestant (born 1977)
• Gino Buzzanca, actor (1912–1985)

• Girolamo Alibrandi, painter (1470–1524)
• Anna Maria Arduino (1672 – 1700), 17th century painter, writer and socialite, served as the Princess of Piombino, from Messina.[26]
• Antonio Barbalonga, painter (17th century)
• Francesco Comande, painter (16th century)
• Antonello da Messina, major painter of the Renaissance (1430–1479)
• Giuseppe Migneco, painter (1908–1997)
• Giovanni Quagliata, painter (1603–1673)
• Filippo Juvarra, Baroque architect (1678–1736)
• Mariano Riccio, painter (1510–1593)
• Alonzo Rodriguez, painter (1578–1648)
• Valentina Romeo (born 1977), cartoonist, illustrator, billiards player
• Giovanni Tuccari, painter (1667–1743)
• Pino da Messina, painter (born 15th century)

• Giuseppe La Farina, leader of the Italian Risorgimento (1815–1863)
• Gaetano Martino, politician, physician and professor. (1900–1967)
• Giuseppe Natoli, lawyer and politician (1815–1867)
• Luigi Rizzo, naval officer and First World War hero (1887–1951)
• Carlo Stagno D’Alcontres, politician, Prince of Alcontres and mayor of Messina (1913–1981)

• Mario Aspa, composer (1797–1868)
• Filippo Bonaffino (fl. 1623), Italian madrigal composer
• Alberto Urso, singer (born 1997)
• Peppino D'Agostino, guitarist (born 1956)

• Eustochia Smeralda Calafato, saint (1434–1485)
• Annibale Maria Di Francia, saint (1851–1927)
• Pope Leo II, bishop of Rome (611–683)

• Tony Cairoli, motocross world champion (born 1985)
• Vincenzo Nibali, cyclist (born 1984)
• Antonio Stelitano, Italian footballer (born 1987)
• Antonino Ragusa, Italian footballer (born 1990)

• Aristocles of Messene, peripatetic philosopher (1st century AD)
• Dicaearchus, Greek philosopher and mathematician (350 BC—323 BC)
• Caio Domenico Gallo, historian (1697–1780)
• Francesco Maurolico, astronomer, mathematician and humanist (1494–1575)
• Agostino Scilla, painter, paleontologist, geologist and pioneer in the study of fossils (1629–1700)
• Giuseppe Seguenza, naturalist and geologist (1833–1889)
• Giuseppe Sergi, anthropologist and psychologist (1841–1936)
• Michele Parrinello, physicist (born 1945)
• Giulio Tarro, doctor and scientist (born 1938)
• Gaetano Martino, scientist (1900–1967)

• Stefano D'Arrigo, writer (1919–1992)
• Guido delle Colonne, judge and writer (13th century)
• Santi Visalli, American photographer and photojournalist (born 1932)
• Tommaso Cannizzaro, writer (1838–1921)