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Home > Travel Italy > Italy Destinations > Messina
Messina
Italy, officially the Italian Republic or Repubblica Italiana, is a Southern European country comprising of the Po River valley, the Italian Peninsula and the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia. It is shaped like a boot and for this reason Italians commonly call it lo Stivale, the boot or, due to its prevalent peninsular geographical nature, la Penisola, the Peninsula.
Messina 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 almost 500,000 in the metropolitan area. It is located near the Northeast corner of Sicily, at the Strait of Messina, just in front to Villa San Giovanni and north to Reggio Calabria.
The main economical resource of the city is the port, both commercial and military, with several shipyards. Agriculture of the city includes cultivations of lemons, oranges, mandarin oranges and other fruit, vegetables and wine. The city is a Catholic archdiocese seat from 1548 and is home to an important International Fair. Founded by Greek colonists in the 8th century BC, Before Christ. Messina was originally called Zancle because of the shape of its natural harbour. In the early 5th century, Anaxilas of Rhegium renamed it Messene in honor of the Greek city Messene.
The city was sacked in 396 BC by the Carthaginians, then reconquered by Dionysius I of Syracuse. At the end of the first Punic War it was a free city allied with Rome. In 1847 it was one of the first cities in Italy where Unitarian riots broke out. Only in 1860 , after the Battle of Milazzo, the Garibaldine troops freed the city. 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 ad rationale plan. Later, the city gained a Gold Medal for Military Valour and one for the Civil Valour in memory of the event and the subsequent effort of reconstruction.
Messina, justifiably so, enjoys a very positive reputation with worldwide travelers, and is one of the most visited place. It is also said the place of best geographical environment and can trace its origins back to prehistoric times.
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