Placed in a site of exceptional beauty, guard of the straits, appearing like a magic lake surrounded by the sloping mountains of Sicily and Calabria, Messina is world­ known through the backgrounds of the paintings of Antonello, who was the extraordinary ambassador of Messina. The key of Sicily, as defined by medieval chroni­ cles, Messina has lived its bimillenial vicissitude around its port which is among the most welcoming natural har­ bours in the Mediterranean. It is set in a strategic position both for economics and war and was founded around the middle of the 8th century B.C. by a Chalcidian pirate by 3 the name of "Zancle", perhaps a suggestion derived from the form of the port which appears to be a scythe ('zanclon' in the Sicilian language). It was renamed 'Messina' by Messeni colonists, who repopulated it in the 5th century B.C., and prospered in the Greek and Roman ages, so much so it was defined by Cicerone "Civitas maxima et locupletissima", (the biggest and richest of cities). The Arabs conquered in 843, which was one of the darkest moments in its history, because every activity in the port ceased and the centre became almost depopulated. Christianity was recovered in 1061 with the Normans and a new life rose again, becoming one of the most frequented Empires of the Mediterranean and welcoming within its walls a population composed of workers directed by an elite which was formed by minor nobles and bureaucrats. From 1500 Messina became a seat of a flowring silk industry, commercialised during the mid-August festival, and rose to a European dimension, but it rebelled against Spain in 1674-78 and was severly punished. The economic, social and civil recovery was halted by the epidemic of 'the pest' in 1743 and especially by the earthquake in 1783 that claimed thousands of victims. In the 19th century Messina was reconstructed and a new impetus was given to the port It was almost totally destroyed by the earthquake in 28th December 1908, which killed more than 70,000 of its 160,000 inhabitants and between the years of 1910 and 1930 it was rebuilt on the base of a rational plan. The economy of the city became redefined by a transformation: the activities of the port underwent a reshaping and the city addressed itself progressively towards the tertiary. During the second world war the furious bombardments of 1943 disfigured the face of Messina and yet again Messina was forced to suffer another reconstruction. Today the inhabitants of Messina are more than 250,000.

The city presents a modern urban design in which the architecture that survived the earthquake and bombing is set. The architecture of the reconstruction after the earthquake of 1908 had long been considered as an expression of minor art and devoid of value. Today it is realised that the buildings in the 'liberty' (art noveau) or 'eclectic' style offer a testimony to an architectural civilization to be respected. Many buildings in the Via Garibaldi and the Corso Cavour, the villini Drago, the Palazzo di Giustizia and the Camera di Commercio, the Municipio, the Galleria, the Dogana are very dignified.