Welcome to Messina
Welcome to Messina - the city of the Bell tower and astronomical clock
Messina was founded in 750 b.c. and its first name was Zancle which meaning was "sickle" and it was chosen probabily for the shape of the port. The name is also connected with the name of the legendary king, who built the harbour, whose name was said to be Zanclus. Aragon dynasty made Messina the capital of the kingdom of Sicily and recognised its value and potential as a port. The city was destroyed by the eartquake that happened in 1908 and was rebuilt becoming a modern city. Nowdays is the gateway to Sicily. If you are planning a trip to Sicily you can't miss some days in this unique city to see the impressive Cathedral the astronomical clock or simply to visit some beaches. Messina is remarkable because you can have the entertainment and the sightseeing of a city but also the relax of the seaside.
Information and facts
Night-life
Messina offered a lot of possibilities for the entertainments during the night, and even if it is a place that offer more possibilities in summer, it is an University city then you can discover nice pubs, bars and discos also during the winter. During the summer you can walk in the promenade, drinking the the tipical sicilian slush.
Shopping
If you walk toward the city centre you will meet the main area where you can do shopping. There are a lot of different stores in which you can buy various things. Messina is known for its delicacies from the "arancini" or the "cassata" to the lemons that are famous throughout Sicily. If you want to buy souvenirs there aren't only the delicacies indeed Messina, and Sicily in general, is famous for local pottery, ceramics, arts or leather goods. Even if Sicily is an island, it is still Italy, so you can shop for fashion brands if local genuine artifacts are not what you are looking for.
Sightseeing
Messina is a wonderful city and if you go there you can't miss neither the Cathedral nor the Bell tower with astronomical clock, they are really interesting and need to be visited. Near these two monuments there is also the "Santissima Annunziata dei Catalani" church that is really big and remarkable. Two fountains are famous the Neptune one and the Orione one both beautiful and interesting. Don't forget that Messina is in Sicily then you can visit those monuments that are really interesting but you can also visit beaches and relax especially during the summer.
Time
Standard time zone: UTC/GMT +1 hour
Climate
Messina is a city with Mediterranean climate, during the summer the temperature is very high but during the winter the climate is never too cold. During the spring and the autumn the climate is perfect not too hot but never too cold and best months to visit probabily are September and October when the city is not crowed but the climate permit yet to enjoy your stay.
Public transport
Messina has a good transport system that permit to all people to move from one place to another; the most important means of trasport are buses that serve the entire city you can check the timetable in the website: http://www.atmmessina.it/linea_bus.asp?id=2. In the web site you will find also the tram timetable and every destination.