Messina

Messina guards the narrow strait that separates Sicily from the Italian mainland — a crossing so vital that the ancient Greeks mythologised its dangers as the twin monsters Scylla and Charybdis. Founded as the Greek colony of Zancle around 730 BC, Messina became a crucial Mediterranean port through which Crusaders, traders, and empires passed for millennia. The city was devastated by a catastrophic earthquake and tsunami in 1908 that killed over 80,000 people, and most of what visitors see today was rebuilt in the early twentieth century — yet the spirit of this resilient Sicilian gateway endures.

The centrepiece of Messina is its Norman-era cathedral, the Duomo, originally built in the twelfth century and reconstructed after both the 1908 earthquake and Allied bombing in 1943. Its bell tower houses the largest and most complex astronomical clock in the world, built in Strasbourg in 1933 — at noon, animated figures enact a theatrical procession to the sound of Ave Maria. The church of Santissima Annunziata dei Catalani, a jewel of Arab-Norman architecture, is one of the few structures to survive the earthquake. The Regional Museum displays works by Caravaggio, who lived in Messina during his turbulent final years.

Sicilian cuisine in Messina reflects the island's position at the crossroads of Mediterranean cultures. Arancini (fried rice balls stuffed with ragù or mozzarella), pasta alla Norma (with aubergine, tomato, ricotta salata, and basil), and swordfish — caught in the Strait of Messina — are local staples. Granita with brioche, a semi-frozen confection of almonds or coffee served inside a soft brioche bun, is the Sicilian breakfast of choice. Cannoli, filled to order with sweet ricotta, pistachios, and candied orange peel, need no introduction.

The town of Taormina, with its ancient Greek theatre framing Mount Etna and the Ionian Sea in a single breathtaking panorama, lies an hour south along the coast. Mount Etna itself, Europe's most active volcano, offers guided summit hikes and wine tastings on its fertile volcanic slopes. The Aeolian Islands — Stromboli, Lipari, Vulcano — are accessible by hydrofoil from Milazzo, forty minutes west of Messina.

Messina is a popular Mediterranean cruise port, welcoming AIDA, Costa Cruises, Crystal Cruises, Disney Cruise Line, Fred Olsen Cruise Lines, Holland America Line, Marella Cruises, MSC Cruises, Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises, P&O Cruises, Princess Cruises, Regent Seven Seas Cruises, Viking, and Windstar Cruises. It is a frequent call on western Mediterranean and Greek island itineraries. Late spring and early autumn provide the most comfortable temperatures, with September and October offering warm seas and the grape harvest on Etna's slopes.