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Strait of Messina

Ionian SeaLandforms of CalabriaLandforms of SicilyLandforms of the Tyrrhenian SeaMessina
Straits of ItalyStraits of MessinaStraits of the Mediterranean Sea
MessinaStrait
MessinaStrait

The Strait of Messina (Italian: Stretto di Messina; Sicilian: Strittu di Missina) is a narrow strait between the eastern tip of Sicily (Punta del Faro) and the western tip of Calabria (Punta Pezzo) in Southern Italy. It connects the Tyrrhenian Sea to the north with the Ionian Sea to the south, within the central Mediterranean. At its narrowest point, between Torre Faro and Villa San Giovanni, it is 3.1 km (1.9 mi) wide. At the city of Messina, it is 5.1 km (3.2 mi) wide. The strait's maximum depth is about 250 m (820 ft). The strait has strong tidal currents that create a unique marine ecosystem. The rock in the town of Scilla, Calabria at the north of the strait and a natural whirlpool in the northern portion of the strait have been linked to the Greek legend of Scylla and Charybdis. In some circumstances, the mirage of Fata Morgana can be observed when looking at Sicily from Calabria. With its bottleneck shape, it is also a compulsory point of transit in the migration of many bird species. In 1957, a 220 kV overhead power line was built across the Strait of Messina. Its pylons are among the highest in the world. This power line has since been replaced by a submarine power cable, but the pylons remain and are protected as historical monuments (see Pylons of Messina).

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Strait of Messina (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Geographical coordinates (GPS)

Latitude Longitude
N 38.245833333333 ° E 15.6325 °
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Address

Punta Pezzo (Punta del Pezzo)


89018 , Pezzo Inferiore
Calabria, Italy
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Strait of Messina Bridge

The Strait of Messina Bridge (Italian: Ponte sullo stretto di Messina) is a planned 3.2-kilometer suspension bridge across the Strait of Messina, connecting Torre Faro in Sicily with Villa San Giovanni in the Italian Peninsula.The bridge has been controversial due to the impact of earthquakes, strong currents in the strait, concerns of disruption of bird migration routes, and the infiltration of mafia groups Cosa Nostra and 'Ndrangheta in area construction projects.While a bridge across the Strait of Messina had been proposed since ancient times, the first detailed plan was made in the 1990s for a suspension bridge. The project was cancelled in 2006 under Prime Minister Romano Prodi. On 6 March 2009, as part of a massive new public works programme, Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's government announced that construction of the Messina Bridge would indeed go ahead, pledging €1.3 billion as a contribution to the bridge's total cost, estimated at €6.1 billion. The project was cancelled again on 26 February 2013, by Prime Minister Mario Monti's government due to budget constraints. A decade later, the project was revived again with a decree by Giorgia Meloni's government on 16 March 2023, which received presidential approval on 31 March 2023.If fully approved, the bridge will be the longest suspension bridge in the world, 60% more than the main span of the 1915 Çanakkale Bridge in Turkey, the world's current longest span. The bridge could also potentially be part of the Berlin–Palermo railway axis (Line 1) of the Trans-European Transport Networks (TEN-T).