Description
Palazzo Zanca is Messina's town hall, a large neoclassical building of about 12,000 square meters between Piazza Unione Europea and Corso Cavour. Beneath its offices, in the Antiquarium, it holds the remains of the Roman and medieval city.
The building takes its name from the Palermo architect Antonio Zanca, who built it between 1914 and 1924. The old town hall, which stood in the Palazzata, the long row of buildings facing the port, had been destroyed by the 1908 earthquake.
The facade is full of the city's symbols. In the pediment sits the Queen of the Peloro with her trident, between two reclining sirens: an allegory of Messina as a city of trade and maritime traffic.
On the Via San Camillo side two bas-reliefs portray Dina and Clarenza, the heroines who according to tradition defended the walls during the War of the Sicilian Vespers. On the opposite side, in front of the porticoed entrance on Via Consolato del Mare, stands the Fontana Senatoria of 1619.
On the main floor, in the Sala della Giunta, hangs the 17th-century Last Supper by Alonso Rodriguez, painted for a church that no longer exists. In the middle of the grand staircase is a bronze bust of Antonello da Messina, and several rooms have frescoes by Adolfo Romano and Daniele Schmidt.
The Antiquarium came about by chance. In 1976, while digging to build new municipal offices, workers uncovered the remains of a large Roman imperial complex from the 1st and 2nd centuries AD.
Above it, layer upon layer, were the houses of a medieval neighborhood, inhabited between the 12th and 15th centuries along two crossing lanes, the via and the vico della Neve. The excavations, though damaged, were saved, and since 2009 you can visit them.
The display cases hold the objects found in the dig, including animal remains that reveal what the inhabitants ate. Inside the building there are also stretches of Greek-era walls.
The building has also witnessed great history. In 1955 it hosted the Messina Conference, where ministers from six countries laid the foundations of today's European Union. Among them was Messina's own Gaetano Martino.
On the entrance gate you can read "Gran Mirci", meaning "many thanks". According to a legend with little historical basis, it was the thanks of the Eastern Roman emperor Arcadius to the Messina ships that came to his aid in 407.
The building takes its name from the Palermo architect Antonio Zanca, who built it between 1914 and 1924. The old town hall, which stood in the Palazzata, the long row of buildings facing the port, had been destroyed by the 1908 earthquake.
The facade is full of the city's symbols. In the pediment sits the Queen of the Peloro with her trident, between two reclining sirens: an allegory of Messina as a city of trade and maritime traffic.
On the Via San Camillo side two bas-reliefs portray Dina and Clarenza, the heroines who according to tradition defended the walls during the War of the Sicilian Vespers. On the opposite side, in front of the porticoed entrance on Via Consolato del Mare, stands the Fontana Senatoria of 1619.
On the main floor, in the Sala della Giunta, hangs the 17th-century Last Supper by Alonso Rodriguez, painted for a church that no longer exists. In the middle of the grand staircase is a bronze bust of Antonello da Messina, and several rooms have frescoes by Adolfo Romano and Daniele Schmidt.
The Antiquarium came about by chance. In 1976, while digging to build new municipal offices, workers uncovered the remains of a large Roman imperial complex from the 1st and 2nd centuries AD.
Above it, layer upon layer, were the houses of a medieval neighborhood, inhabited between the 12th and 15th centuries along two crossing lanes, the via and the vico della Neve. The excavations, though damaged, were saved, and since 2009 you can visit them.
The display cases hold the objects found in the dig, including animal remains that reveal what the inhabitants ate. Inside the building there are also stretches of Greek-era walls.
The building has also witnessed great history. In 1955 it hosted the Messina Conference, where ministers from six countries laid the foundations of today's European Union. Among them was Messina's own Gaetano Martino.
On the entrance gate you can read "Gran Mirci", meaning "many thanks". According to a legend with little historical basis, it was the thanks of the Eastern Roman emperor Arcadius to the Messina ships that came to his aid in 407.