Strait of Messina

The Strait of Messina is the narrow section of water between the eastern tip of Sicily and the southern tip of Calabria. A natural whirlpool forms there, 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.

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 This powerline has since been replaced by an underwater cable, but the pylons are still there because they are under monumental protection.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

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. A bridge has been planned and designed. If built, the Strait of Messina Bridge would be the largest single-span bridge in the world, with a span of 3,300 metres (about 2 miles), at a projected cost of 4.6 billion euro. The project was supported and promoted by former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi.

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

In May 2006, the bridge building project was cancelled by the newly elected Romano Prodi.

Straits of Europe | Geography of Sicily

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