SICILY ON WEB

It is regarded as one the most important chief town of Sicily. Someone even says that that city could also be larger than other Sicilian towns, but I don’t’ believe that this city is the largest Sicilian town, I only know that it is among the very interesting ones to visit during a travel into Sicily. I am discussing about Messina, the Sicilian city placed on the eastern tip of Sicily. Messina faces the namesake Strait that links it to Calabria and the port of Reggio Calabria, with which Messina has close business relationships. The most important property of Messina is the fact that you can admire the Strait of Messina (see the image) and the city of Reggio Calabria just in front of your eyes.

This important Sicilian city also hosts a very strategic, commercial port called Madonnina port (see the image). Also Messina is an ancient city of Sicily that was subject, in the past, to many dominances, beginning from Greeks, Romans, Normans and Arabs and ending up to Spanish and French kingdoms. Also in Messina, you can find very interesting monuments and churches, many of them enriched with the signs of Arab and Gothic architecture, but this architectural style can be seen in other Sicilian cities, too. Indeed, the most important things you can see in Messina are its surroundings, its glittering sea and its stony beaches, I never saw as a deep and intense blue sea as the one in Messina. I invite you to visit the following beaches: Taormina, Giardini Naxos, Roccalumera, Santa Teresa di Riva, Ali Terme, Furci Siculo, Tindari, Goiosa Marea and Capo D’Orlando.

You can travel trough a long coast of over 200 km. But not only, also Messina’s hinterland holds several surprises. Protected by Nebrodi mountains, the distant lands from the sea are a wide showcase of rivers, valleys, promontories and spectacular waterfalls. You can do trekking and exciting hikes in the Alcantara Valley, where just runs Alcantara river, in reality a large torrent that moves between the rock of the mountains dug by deep caves called “Gole di Alcantara”. And then, Taormina with its famous and international Greek Theatre and Giardini Naxos with its stunning Greek remains and monuments. All this is included in the Sicilian province of Messina. This city, instead, is much populated and full of roads and crosses, at the beginning of your travel, you feel a bit confused, but only for a while, because, traffic is smooth and fluent and you can go easily to nearby beaches and internal areas.

Messina and its entire province can give you a dream experience, many places are also secluded and unknown, such as Savoca, a little country above the coast, suspended among the mountains, sky, hills and sea. I discussed about Savoca in another post because this evocative and amazing country is the place where American director Francis Ford Coppola directed the famous movie “ The Fathergod” . To visit Messina and its surroundings, the best season is the summer, or between the spring and the summer or the early autumn, in September.

In Messina, weather is typically Mediterranean. Fortunately, beaches enjoy windy days and you never feel sticky and stifling hot . During the winter and late autumn, instead, Messina is almost always hit by rains and thunders and thunderbolts coming from its wonderful mountains. I say this, because I often attend Messina and his beautiful places( included the beaches). After this season, the sun shines in Messina by creating an extraordinary effect toward the sea: look at Messina’s waters carefully and you’ll see the sun rises and sets in the middle of the sea. Book your travel into Messina, now, to enjoy your exciting vacation in Sicily.

To find accommodations and stay in Messina, you can see here.

Rosalba Mancuso

Rosalba Mancuso is a freelance journalist born in Sicily. Passionate about her loved island and with extensive writing experience, Rosalba worked as a contributor to the main Sicily’s newspapers and as a bilingual Italian – English writer. Thanks to her skills, she also founded four websites in English. On Sicilyonweb, Rosalba tells every corner of her beloved Sicily. Furthermore, she writes this blog thanks to your help. Rosalba, in fact, earns a small commission, with no cost for you, when you book your travel or buy products through the affiliate widgets or links you find in her posts.