Messina

Messina
/me see"neuh/, n.
1. a seaport in NE Sicily. 265,918.
2. Strait of, a strait between Sicily and Italy. 21/2 mi. (4 km) wide.

* * *

ancient Zankle

City (pop., 2001 prelim.: 236,621), northeastern Sicily, Italy.

Founded by Greeks in the 8th century BC, it was destroyed by Carthaginians in 397 BC. The Romans took the rebuilt city in 264 BC, precipitating the First Punic War. After the war it became a free city allied with Rome. It was taken successively by the Goths, Byzantines, Arabs, Normans, Spaniards, and finally (in 1860) Italians. Heavily bombed during World War II, it was rebuilt. It is now an important Italian port. Sites of interest include the cathedral and the university (founded 1548).

* * *

Italy
Greek  Zankle , Latin  Messana 

      city and port, extreme northeastern Sicily, Italy, on the lower slopes of the Peloritani Mountains, on the Strait of Messina opposite Reggio di Calabria. It was an ancient Siculan colony, first mentioned about 730 BC, founded by settlers from Chalcis, who called it Zankle (“Sickle”), from the shape of the harbour.

      In the early 5th century BC it was occupied by Greek fugitives from Persian-occupied Miletus and Samos. The fugitives were assisted by Anaxilas, tyrant of Rhegium (Reggio di Calabria), who then ruled over Rhegium and Zankle, the name of which he changed to Messene in honour of his native region of Messenia in the Peloponnese. After regaining its independence, the city was destroyed by the Carthaginian Himilco in 396 BC. It was reconquered and rebuilt by the Syracusan tyrant Dionysius and was later involved in the war between the Carthaginians and the Syracusan tyrant Agathocles. It fell in 289 BC to the Mamertini, Campanian mercenaries in the service of Agathocles, who made it the centre for their domination of Sicily. Pressed by Syracuse and the Carthaginians (Carthage), the Mamertini allied themselves with the Romans (ancient Rome) in 264 BC; Roman intervention led to the First Punic War, at the end of which Messene was a free city and an ally of Rome.

      When the western Roman Empire fell, Messana was taken successively by the Goths, the Byzantines (Byzantine Empire) (AD 535), and the Arabs (842). The city suffered severe damage when the Byzantines attempted to reconquer it. Liberated in 1061 by the Norman leader Robert Guiscard (later Count Roger I of Sicily), the city prospered under the Normans as a commercial and cultural centre. The Swabian Holy Roman emperor Henry VI died there in 1197. When the Swabian dynasty ended with the death of Manfred in 1266, Messina passed to the Angevins (house of Anjou) of France and later, with the rest of Sicily, to the Aragonese and then to the Spanish Bourbons. It participated in the Risorgimento (movement for Italian political unity) risings in 1821, 1847, and 1848 and was liberated with the rest of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies in 1860.

      Severely damaged by an earthquake in 1783 and almost totally destroyed by another quake in 1908, Messina was rebuilt in modern style with wide streets and low, reinforced-concrete buildings. Notable surviving or restored landmarks include the cathedral and the Church of Annunciata dei Catalani, possibly of Byzantine origin, both rebuilt by the Normans in the 12th century. The National Museum houses works of art saved from the 1908 earthquake. Among numerous noteworthy modern buildings is the campanile adjacent to the cathedral. Messina has a university founded in 1548, a marine biological institute, and botanical gardens.

      The contemporary city is an important port, and in 1943 it was the principal point used by the Axis Powers to reinforce its troops and supplies to counter the Allied invasion of Sicily. It is connected with the Italian mainland by ferry service (including train ferry and hydrofoil boats) across the strait to Reggio di Calabria and Villa San Giovanni; Messina also has rail service to Palermo and Syracuse. The city's principal occupations are trade, citrus fruit industries, the manufacture of chemicals, pharmaceutical products, foodstuffs and preserves, and the operation of the port and dockyards. Its exports include fruit, wine, olive oil, chemical and pharmaceutical products, medicinal articles, and building materials. Pop. (2004 est.) 248,616.

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем сделать НИР

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Messina — Messina …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Messina — Messina,   Name von geographischen Objekten:    1) Messina, Hauptstadt der Provinz Messina, Italien, im Nordosten Siziliens auf Küstenterrassen am Fuß des Peloritanischen Gebirges, 261 100 Einwohner; Erzbischofssitz; Universität (gegründet 1548) …   Universal-Lexikon

  • MESSINA — MESSINA, seaport in Sicily. Around the year 1171, benjamin of tudela found 200 (families of?) Jews in Messina. Between 1279 and 1282 the community received the famous kabbalist abraham abulafia , who gave instruction there to two disciples,… …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

  • Messīna [2] — Messīna, Hauptstadt der gleichnamigen ital. Provinz (s. oben), nach Palermo die bedeutendste Stadt Siziliens, zugleich einer der hervorragendsten Handelsplätze Italiens und wichtige Festung, liegt malerisch am Fuß des Peloritanischen Gebirges, an …   Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon

  • Messina — [mə sē′nə] 1. seaport in NE Sicily, on the Strait of Messina: pop. 233,000 2. Strait of strait between Sicily & Italy: 2 12 mi (3 19 km) wide; 20 mi (32 km) long …   English World dictionary

  • Messina [1] — Messina, 1) Provinz auf der Insel Sicilien, begreift den nordöstlichen Theil der Insel u. liegt am Ätna, der Meerenge von M. (zwischen Italien u. Sicilien, verbindet das Ionische Meer mit dem Tyrrhenischen, hat heftige Strömung gegen Süden, einen …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

  • Messina [2] — Messina, Antonello da M., s. Antonello …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

  • Messina [3] — Messina, ein aus Saragossa in Spanien stammendes Geschlecht, welches von dort nach Burgund, Italien, Tyrol u. zuletzt nach Baiern kam, wo es 1808 der Freiherrenklasse zugeschrieben wurde. Jetziger Chef ist: Freiherr Severin, geb. 1818; ist… …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

  • Messīna [1] — Messīna, ital. Provinz mit gleichnamiger Hauptstadt auf Sizilien, grenzt an das Tyrrhenische und Ionische Meer und die Provinzen Catania und Palermo und hat 3225 qkm (58,6 QM.) mit (1901) 543,809 Einw. (168 auf 1 qkm). Die Provinz, zu der die… …   Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon

  • Messina — Messīna, Hauptstadt der ital. Prov. M. auf Sizilien [Karte: Italien I, 7] (3226 qkm, 1905: 563.719 E.), an der Straße von M. (Faro di M.), (1901) 149.778 E., stark befestigt, Dom (1098 begonnen), Kirche Sta. Maddalena, Universität (1538… …   Kleines Konversations-Lexikon

  • Messina [2] — Messīna, Straße von (Faro di M.), Meerenge zwischen Süditalien und Sizilien, 30 km lg., 3,5 22 km br …   Kleines Konversations-Lexikon

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”