It is one of the gates of the Real Cittadella, built around 1680 by Domenico Biundo and Antonio Amato. It was moved to the top of the steps of Piazza Casa Pia in 1961 because room was needed for the enlargement of the Cassaro shipyard, which was...
The Fiera Campionaria occupies a large area at the end of the passeggiata a mare. It is used for exhibitions, fairs and shows; once it was called Chalet and Giardino a mare (garden on the sea). It was dedicated to king Humbert I, and in 1934, was...
In the city centre, on the street with the same name, St. Elias Church is located. It is one of the monuments that was not destroyed by the 1908 Messina earthquake.
The site preserves the 1694 Baroque portal and, inside, part of the...
Built in 1914, it is situated in the area where, till 1783, the imposing Royal Palace of the Norman period was located. Today it is possible to admire the modern building, designed by G. Lo Cascio in art-nouveau style, with wonderful decorations,...
On the right side of Piazza Unione Europea, there is the War Memorial of the First World War. It was designed by G. Nicolini and constructed in 1936. In 1950 a plaque was added to commemorate the fallen of the Second World War. On a marble base,...
On Via Garibaldi, precisely in Largo Minutoli, in front of the Municipal building, there are two buildings made in the late 1930s.
They were designed by the architects Samonà and Viola, winners of the national competition for the...
In front of the main entrance of the Fiera Campionaria, in the perimeter of the passeggiata a mare, is the Bios fountain. The work was made in 2005 by Ranieri Wanderlingh, and it was given to the city by the local daily paper Gazzetta del Sud on...
On the seafront, at the north of the port, one of the churches built before the earthquake of 1908 overlooks the Straits of Messina. It is called Gesù e Maria del Buon Viaggio, also known as Ringo, from the name of the fishermen village where it...
It is dedicated to Antonello da Messina, one of the most important Italian painters, who was born in Messina.
The construction of the multi-purpose center, an inverted pyramid, was delayed by various unfortunate events. It was designed in...
Initially it was named “Santa Elisabetta Theatre,” as a tribute to Maria Isabella, Charles V’s daughter. It was opened in 1852 and, after the Expedition of the Thousand revolt, it changed its name in honor of the Italian king Victor Emmanuel II....
In 1551, one of Leo X’s papal bull encouraged the foundation of charitable organizations such as pawnshops, in order to get people out from usurers’ clutches. On the base of this act, in 1581 the Azzurri archconfraternity (sky blue, from the...
Next to the ancient Catalani church, the palazzo Magaudda is located, constructed by the architect Coppedè. It is full of decorations, particular friezes and some polychrome graffitoes drawings in eclectic style.
It is the best example of the architecture made by Coppedè. It is different from the others he has constructed because of its shape and its features, but the classical decoration is typical of his eclectical style.
The building bears a strong Renaissance memory, as is evoked in the palace's facade by the ground floor, characterized by rustication, both around the windows and in the corners, as well as in the central field. Similarly, the pilasters frame the...
The University of Messina was established in 1548 by Pope Paul III. It is one of the most ancient of Italy and it has always had an important role in the city economy and culture.
Its history began before the official date: in the 13th...
It was built in 1914, and it was the first building built in Piazza Antonello after the earthquake of 1908. On its façade, it has a neoclassic arcade, matching the other buildings of the square.
The building, designed by the architect V....
It is an example of Renaissance art. It is located in piazza Cavallotti, at the back of the Old Custom House. Before the earthquake of 1908, it was in the municipal building. Construction started in 1912 and ended in 1926, by the architect...
It was built in 1866, and it had only one rail line towards Taormina, while in 1889 a new rail line was opened to San Filippo del Mela. Messina, for its geographical position, was a strategic location to reach the rest of Sicily and to leave for...
Going along Via Consolato del Mare, next to Palazzo Zanca (the Municipal building), the INPS building is located, constructed at the end of the 1920s by the architect Peressutti from Padua.
The building has a particular architectonical...
It is placed in Via Garibaldi, specifically in Largo Marinai Russi. Its history begins in 1839 when Pietro Tenerani, a famous sculptor of the 19th century, made the first bronze statue representing Ferdinand II, wearing his uniform and having in...
In order to remember the charity work that Queen Elena of Montenegro did for the people of Messina in January 1909, after the earthquake of 1908, the citizens dedicated this statue to her that can now be admired in Largo Seggiola, a little...
The statue stands in the square of the same name, at the intersection of Via Santa Cecilia and Via Cesare Battisti. It consists of a bronze statue on a marble base, a work by the sculptor Mario Lucerna from Messina, and was placed in 1968. The...
It was inaugurated on November 24, 2000, in memory of Gaetano Martino on the centenary of his birth, in the presence of the President of the Republic Carlo Azeglio Ciampi, the widow of the great statesman and their children. It was created in...
Like the majority of the fountains of Messina, the Quattro Cavallucci fountain was commissioned by the Senate in honor of the feast of the Madonna della Lettera, probably in 1742. It was built by Giovan Battista Marino and designed by Gaetano...
The train station overlooks Piazza della Repubblica. At the middle of the square there is a big fountain consisting of a wide circular basin. It was placed here after the Second World War and for its construction, rests of another big fountain...
The Arena Fountain, situated in a little open space in Viale Boccetta, represents a little putto created by Antonio Bonfiglio during the 20th century. The fountain was commissioned by the Municipality to remember the Arena family who, during a...
It is one of the most ancient fortifications still an integral part of Messina. It rises up in the hamlet of Montepiselli, in the Camaro valley, and it dominates the Straits from 525 feet above sea level. Its construction started in 1540, thanks...
It raises in an area that, before 1908 hosted the “Miracoli” quarter and an intensely cultivated area. After the Second World War the entire area was used as a park crossed by the Viale San Martino. At the end of 70s it was restored. In the...
Its history is indissolubly linked to that of its founder, Smeralda Eustochia Calafato, who was proclaimed a saint by Pope John Paul II in 1988.
She was so beautiful that, as the legend says, Antonello da Messina choose her as a model for...