Messina, Sicily, Italy

 Messina, Sicily, Italy   Wed, April 1, 2026

The sun was shining bright as the Sun Princess passed by the last Lady of the Letter Statue. She greets ships coming into the harbor to Messina.

Larry and I have passed through the Strait of Messina a couple of times, never stopping at the city of Messina. We were excited to go ashore to this city on the island of Sicily.

Unfortunately the weather changed very quickly. The sunshine became an extremely rainy day after we had breakfast. We scurried between the torrential rain to the Visitor Center to have a dry spot to search for a rental car.

The Visitor Center was a very interesting little museum.

Because the car rental companies were out of town, we decided to jump on the HOHO Bus for a tour of the city. Traffic was bumper to bumper....so glad we aren't driving.

We passed by the Town Hall of Messina and ....

the World War I and II  Memorial site on top of a hill over looking Messina.

The earthquake of 1908 killed 120,000 people and totally flattened the city. It is the deadliest earthquake of Europe.  The only thing left of the  Catholic Church was a portion of its tower after the earthquake and tsunami of 1908.

The church tower was built back in 1933.

with the astronomical clock that chimes at noon everyday. This theatrical time piece has moving parts that represent the resilience of the city of Messina.

The city had many buildings of remarkable 1920-40's architecture basically because of the rebuilding after the earthquake.

A student of Michael Angelo carved this fountain that survived the earthquake and still functions in the square of its original placement.

We took a sail away picture of the Lady of the Letter Statue when leaving the harbor. It was still pouring down rain. Messina will leave the memory of being a rainy yet friendly city of our trip.