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Regions in Italy Region Sicily Province Messina

Province of Messina

Region Sicilia (Sicily), Italy

The province occupies the north-western corner of Sicily, and borders the Thyrrhenian Sea to the north and the Ionian to the east, separated by the Messina strait. The territory is mostly mountainous, with the exception of the Milazzo plain, where the 2 populous towns of Milazzo and Barcellona Pozzo di Gotto are situated. The hinterland is occupied by the Monti Peloritani (reaching 1300 mt) and the Monti Nebrodi or Caronie (reaching 1900 mt), where a Regional Natural Park was established.

The province of Messina includes also the beautiful Aeolian islands in the Thyrrhenian Sea, 7 in all, with 4 different communes, Lipari which includes the isles of Alicudi, Filicudi, Lipari, Panarea, Stromboli and Vulcano, while on the large island of Salina are the comuni of Malfa, Leni and Santa Maria Salina.

WHERE TO STAY: See Agritourism, Bed & Breakfast and Hotels in the Province of Messina, divided by category and grouped by locality.

Info: Area: 3247 km² -- Population: over 680,000 inhabitants -- Zip/postal codes: 98000-98100 -- Phone Area Codes: 090, 0941, 0942 -- Car Plate: ME -- Communes: 108 communes -- Official website: http://www.provincia.messina.it/

History

Already in Roman times Messina, a faithful allied town of Rome, had jurisdiction over a wide area including Milazzo, and this area was the origin of the present province. Under the Arab domination, when Sicily was divided into the three provinces of Val di Mazara (western Sicily), Val di Noto (the south-east) and Val Demone (north and east), Messina was the main center of the Val di Demone including Catania to the South and Cefalù.

Between 1815 and 1825 the Bourbon government reduced the "Vallo di Messina", creating the "Vallo di Catania" with the area around Mount Aetna and moving Cefalù to the "Vallo di Palermo". At the time the province acquired more or less the present boundaries, and was furtherly divided into the four districts of Messina, Mistretta, Patti and Castroreale. The population of 236.632 in 1798 grew to 380.279 in 1852, lived in 95 communes, with 105,000 people in the city of Messina. In 1860, when Sicily was included in the kingdom of Italy, the seven bourbon "valli" took the names of "Provinces".

The apocalyptic earthquake of 28 December 1908 destroyed most of the provinces of Messina and Reggio Calabria, only in Messina victims were between 60,000 and 80,000. After decades of reconstruction further destruction came with WW2 bombings in 1943.

The weather in Messina:

The "Comuni" of the Province

"Knowest thou the land where the lemon trees bloom..." W.Goethe