Strait of Messina

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Satellite photo of the Strait of Messina with names. NASA image.
Satellite photo of the Strait of Messina with names. NASA image.

The Strait of Messina is the narrow section of water between the eastern tip of Sicily and the southern tip of Calabria. At its narrowest point it measures 3.1 km (1.9 miles) in breadth, though near the town of Messina the breadth is more on the order of 5.1 km (3.2 miles). A natural whirlpool forms in the strait, which has been linked to the legend of Scylla and Charybdis.

A ferry connects Messina (Sicily) with the mainland at Villa San Giovanni and Reggio in Calabria. There is also a hydrofoil service from Messina to Reggio di Calabria.

The former electricity pylon on the Sicilian site of Messina Strait ("Torre Faro")
The former electricity pylon on the Sicilian site of Messina Strait ("Torre Faro")

In 1957 a 220-kV overhead powerline was built across the Strait of Messina. Its pylons are among the highest in the world. This powerline has since been replaced by an underwater cable, but the pylons are still there because they are protected as national monuments. (See Pylons of Messina.)

The Strait is so narrow that the mainland can be seen quite clearly from Sicily
The Strait is so narrow that the mainland can be seen quite clearly from Sicily

Every five or ten years, major debates have ensued in Italy about building a bridge that would connect the island of Sicily to the mainland. In recent years advances in technologies have made the construction of the bridge possible. As recently as 2006, plans were underway, but these have now been scrapped (see Strait of Messina Bridge).

The bridge was planned to connect Reggio Calabria to Messina, the two cities which face each other on either side of the strait, and form a single city. This ambitious urban project was called Area Metropolitana integrata dello Stretto (Integrated Metropolitan Area of the Strait) or simply Città dello Stretto (City of the Strait). Some controversy surrounded both the building of the bridge, from both environmental and economic viewpoints, and the formation of the new city itself. The latter was especially opposed by various Sicilian nationalist groups.

The two cities of the strait in an old German engraving.
The two cities of the strait in an old German engraving.

Coordinates: 38°14′45″N, 15°37′57″E