In Messina, we have 2 different tour plans. Most of our friends went on a tour to visit Taormina. Since we visited this beautiful village in 2019, therefore we decided just to do a self touring in Messina. It was raining when we got off the ship, however, it didn’t stop us and we visited all the attractions by walking in the rain.
First, we walked to Chiesa Santissima Annunziata dei Catalani to visit this church with miracle history. When the Messinese saw their beloved church on this square after the 1908 earthquake, they called it a miracle. The earthquake stripped away much of the latter-day alterations and additions to the church, leaving its original 12th- and 13th-century architectural style intact.
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| Chiesa Santissima Annunziata dei Catalani |
We just admired the church and took photos of its exterior, then we moved on to the main attraction Basilica Cathedrale di Santa Maria Assunta.
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| Basilica Cathedrale di Santa Maria Assunta |
Basilica Cathedrale di Santa Maria Assunta is a Roman Catholic cathedral and is a fine example of Sicilian Norman architecture. Built by the Normans, it was consecrated in 1197 by the Archbishop Berardo. The current building is the final result of some twentieth-century reconstructions, which took place following the disastrous earthquake that struck Messina in 1908 and the considerable damage that resulted from the heavy aerial bombardment in World War II.
It is free to visit this famous cathedral. The interior of the Cathedral has three naves, separated by two rows of thirteen columns. These are made of reinforced concrete faced with artificial marble. The columns which have capitals in various styles, culminate in a series of arches. At the end of each nave is a chapel and altar. The central nave has the main altar. Both the left and the right nave contain a beautiful chapel and altar. We took many phots here.
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| Right nave |
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| Left nave |
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| Center Nave |
There is a Bell Tower and Astronomical Clock (Orologio Astronomico) next to the cathedral. This clock, designed by Ungerer of Strasbourg, France, is the largest and most complex clock of its kind in the world. We climbed to the top and we had a wonderful 360 degrees view of the whole Messina and it's port.
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| Astronomical Clock |
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| Clock on top of the Bell Tower |
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| View from the top of Bell Tower |
The most popular thing to do in Messina is to watch this Astronomical clock’s 12-minute-long performance at Noon. It is composed of various carousels and moving statues that makes the watcher feel completely hypnotized while Schubert’s Ave Maria propagates through the air. The performance narrates biblical and allegorical scenes linked to the history of the city.
There is also a famous Orion Fountain next to the cathedral.
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| Orion Fountain |
Then, we walked to Galleria Vittorio Emanuele III which is a mall with a lot of restaurants. We thought that we might be able to do some shopping there, however, they do not have any shops open except restaurants.
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| Galleria Vittorio Emanuele III |
Then, we moved along to visit Tempio Votivo di Cristo Re (Votive Temple of Christ the King). On the way there, we were surprised to ran into the famous artist lane. We saw this beautiful spot on Youtube, however, we could not find out the exact location of this artist lane. Therefore, it definitely was a bonus for us. It has a stair going up to the temple with a lot of beautiful statues on each sides. That was Kodak moment for us.
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| Artist Lane |
Then, we got on top of the temple. It was a beautiful spot to view the whole Messina, even better than the top of the Bell Tower.
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| Tempio Votivo di Cristo Re (Votive Temple of Christ the King) |
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| View from the top of Tempio Votive di Cristo Re |
When we ready to leave, someone told us that they are going to Santuario Parrocchia S.Maria Di Montalto. Originally we planned to skip this spot, since they are going, so we just followed them and walked another 10 minutes to find it. We did not go inside and we just checked it from outside and took some photos.
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| Santuario Parrocchia S.Maria Di Montalto |
At this point, the raining was coming down harder, therefore, we decided to call off the day and to walk toward the cruise port. On the way, we got to a nice spot to see Stele della Madonna della Lettera. At this spot we took nice photos with this statues as backdrop.
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| Stele della Madonna della Lettera |
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