All Topics  
Strait of Messina

 
Strait of Messina

 
   Email Print
   Bookmark   Link
 

 

Strait of Messina
 
 
  Topics Strait of Messina Topic Home

The Strait of Messina (Strittu di Missina in Sicilian
Sicilian language

Sicilian is a Romance language. Its dialects comprise the Italiano Meridionale-estremo language group, which are spoken on the island of Sicily and its satellite islands; in southern and central Calabria ; in the southern parts of Apulia, the Salento ; and Campania, on the Italian mainland, where it is called Cilentano ....
) is the narrow section of water between the eastern tip of Sicily
Sicily

Sicily is an Autonomous regions with special statute of Italy. Of all the regions of Italy, Sicily covers the largest land area at 25,708 km? and currently has just over five million inhabitants....
 and the southern tip of Calabria
Calabria

Calabria , is a Regions of Italy in Southern Italy Italy, south of Naples, located at the "toe" of the Italian peninsula. It is bounded to the north by the region of Basilicata, to the south-west by the region of Sicily, to the west by the Tyrrhenian Sea, and to the east by the Ionian Sea....
 in the south of Italy
Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic , is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia....
. At its narrowest point, it measures 3.1 km (1.9 miles) in breadth, though near the town of Messina
Messina, Italy

Messina is the third largest city on the island of Sicily, Italy and the capital of the province of Messina. It has a population of c. 240,000 inhabitants in the city proper and about 500,000 in the metropolitan area....
 the breadth is some 5.1 km (3.2 miles) and maximum depth is 250 m (830 ft).






Discussion
Ask a question about 'Strait of Messina'
Start a new discussion about 'Strait of Messina'
Answer questions from other users
Full Discussion Forum



Encyclopedia


Messinastrait
The Strait of Messina (Strittu di Missina in Sicilian
Sicilian language

Sicilian is a Romance language. Its dialects comprise the Italiano Meridionale-estremo language group, which are spoken on the island of Sicily and its satellite islands; in southern and central Calabria ; in the southern parts of Apulia, the Salento ; and Campania, on the Italian mainland, where it is called Cilentano ....
) is the narrow section of water between the eastern tip of Sicily
Sicily

Sicily is an Autonomous regions with special statute of Italy. Of all the regions of Italy, Sicily covers the largest land area at 25,708 km? and currently has just over five million inhabitants....
 and the southern tip of Calabria
Calabria

Calabria , is a Regions of Italy in Southern Italy Italy, south of Naples, located at the "toe" of the Italian peninsula. It is bounded to the north by the region of Basilicata, to the south-west by the region of Sicily, to the west by the Tyrrhenian Sea, and to the east by the Ionian Sea....
 in the south of Italy
Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic , is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia....
. At its narrowest point, it measures 3.1 km (1.9 miles) in breadth, though near the town of Messina
Messina, Italy

Messina is the third largest city on the island of Sicily, Italy and the capital of the province of Messina. It has a population of c. 240,000 inhabitants in the city proper and about 500,000 in the metropolitan area....
 the breadth is some 5.1 km (3.2 miles) and maximum depth is 250 m (830 ft). A natural whirlpool
Whirlpool

A whirlpool is a swirling body of water usually produced by ocean tides. The vast majority of whirlpools are not very powerful. More powerful ones are more properly termed maelstroms....
 forms in the strait, which has been linked to the legend of Scylla
Scylla

Scylla , also known as Scylle , was one of the two monsters in Greek mythology that lived on either side of a narrow channel of water. The two sides of the strait were within an arrow's range of each other?so close that sailors attempting to avoid Charybdis would pass too close to Scylla and vice versa....
 and Charybdis
Charybdis

In Greek mythology, Kharybdis or Charybdis was a sea monster, once a beautiful naiad and the daughter of Poseidon and Gaia . She takes form as a huge bladder of a creature whose face was all mouth and whose arms and legs were flippers and swallows huge amounts of water three times a day before belching them back out again, creating whi...
.

A ferry connects Messina on Sicily with the mainland at Villa San Giovanni
Villa San Giovanni

Villa San Giovanni is a town in the province of Reggio Calabria, Calabria, Italy. It is located on the coast of Strait of Messina....
 and Reggio
Reggio Calabria

Reggio di Calabria , commonly known as Reggio Calabria or Reggio, is a city in southern Italy Italy, the Capital of the Province of Reggio Calabria as well as the largest and oldest city in the Calabria region....
 in Calabria
Calabria

Calabria , is a Regions of Italy in Southern Italy Italy, south of Naples, located at the "toe" of the Italian peninsula. It is bounded to the north by the region of Basilicata, to the south-west by the region of Sicily, to the west by the Tyrrhenian Sea, and to the east by the Ionian Sea....
. There is also a hydrofoil
Hydrofoil

A hydrofoil is a boat with wing-like airfoils mounted on struts below the hull . As the craft increases its speed the hydrofoils develop enough lift for the boat to become foilborne - i.e....
 service from Messina to Reggio.

In 1957 a 220-kV
Volt

The volt is the SI SI derived unit of electric potential difference or electromotive force, commonly known as voltage. It is named in honor of the Lombard physicist Alessandro Volta , who invented the voltaic pile, possibly the first chemical battery ....
 overhead powerline
Overhead powerline

An overhead power line is an electric power transmission line suspended by towers or poles. Since most of the electrical insulation is provided by air, overhead power lines are generally the lowest-cost method of electric power transmission for large quantities of electric power....
 was built across the Strait of Messina. Its pylons
Electricity pylon

An electricity pylon or transmission tower is a tall, usually steel lattice structure used to support overhead electricity conductors for electric power transmission....
 are among the highest in the world. This powerline has since been replaced by a submarine power cable
Submarine power cable

Submarine power cables are cables for electrical power running through the sea, below the surface.A DC system may use the ground and seawater as a return path for current....
, but the pylons are still there because they are protected as national monuments. (See Pylons of Messina
Pylons of Messina

The Pylons of Messina were once used to carry a 220 kilovolt overhead power line across the Strait of Messina, between the Rizziconi substation in Calabria on the Italian mainland and the Sorgente substation in Sicily....
.)

Straitmess

The planned Messina Bridge


For years, the possibility of building a bridge across the Messina Strait has been under discussion. In 2006, under Prime Minister Romano Prodi
Romano Prodi

is an Politics of Italy and statesman. He served as President of the Council of Ministers of Italy of Italy twice, from 17 May 1996 to 21 October 1998 and from 17 May 2006 to 8 May 2008....
 the project was cancelled.. However, on 6 March 2009, as part of a massive new public works programme, Silvio Berlusconi
Silvio Berlusconi

is an Politics of Italy, entrepreneur, real estate and insurance tycoon, bank and media proprietor, sports team owner and songwriter. He is the second longest-serving Prime Minister of Italy , a position he has held on three separate occasions: from 1994 to 1995, from 2001 to 2006 and currently since 2008....
's government announced that plans to construct the Messina Bridge had been fully revived, pledging EUR 1.3 billion as a contribution to its estimated cost of EUR 6.1 billion euros.

Some 3.3 km long and 60 m wide, the bridge would be supported by two 382 m pillars, each higher than the Empire State Building
Empire State Building

The Empire State Building is a 102-story Art Deco skyscraper in New York City at the intersection of Fifth Avenue and West 34th Street. Its name is derived from the List of U.S....
. There would be six motorway lanes, a railway for up to 200 trains a day and two walkways.

Supporters see the bridge as a huge job-creation scheme and a boost for tourism. Opponents say it will be an ecological disaster, vulnerable to high winds, earthquakes and tidal waves, and a boon for the mafia. Berlusconi believes work will be completed by 2016.

Stretto Di Messina Incisione

See also

  • Strait of Messina Bridge
    Strait of Messina Bridge

    The Strait of Messina Bridge is a planned suspension bridge across the Strait of Messina, a narrow section of water between the eastern tip of Sicily and the southern tip of mainland Italy....


Further reading

  • Fabio Spadi (2001) International and Comparative Law Quarterly 50: 411 ff.
  • Mary Spicuzza (2004) PBS Frontline/World Fellows.
  • "From Rome to Sicily: Plane or Train?" The New York Times.