ITALIA	ITALY
regione: Sicilia	Sicily
città metropolitana: Messina

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Messina is located on the northeastern tip of the island of Sicily on the Strait of Messina. The distance to the Italian Peninsula is only 3 kilometers at the narrowest point. About 90 kilometers to the south is Catania and about 230 kilometers to the west is the capital of Sicily, Palermo. Etna, the highest volcano in Europe at over 3,300 m, is about 70 kilometers southwest of the city. Messina is the third largest city on the island of Sicily, and the 13th largest city in Italy, with a population of more than 230,000 (2019) inhabitants in the city proper. The harbour city is also the capital of the Metropolitan City of Messina.

Founded by Greek colonists in the 8th century BC, Messina was originally called Zancle (Greek: Ζάνκλη), from the Greek ζάνκλον meaning "scythe" because of the shape of its natural harbour. In the early 5th century BC, it was renamed Messene (Μεσσήνη) in honour of the Greek city Messene. In 264 BC, Roman troops were deployed to Sicily, the first time a Roman army acted outside the Italian Peninsula. At the end of the First Punic War (264–641 BC) it was a free city allied with Rome. In Roman times Messina, then known as Messana, had an important pharos (lighthouse). After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, the city was successively ruled by Goths from 476, then by the Byzantine Empire in 535, by the Arabs in 842, and in 1061 by the Normans. In 1347, Messina was one of the first points of entry for the black death into Western Europe: galleys from Genova travelling from the infected city of Kaffa carried the plague into the Messina ports. In 1548 St. Ignatius founded there the first Jesuit college in the world, which later gave birth to the Studium Generale (the current University of Messina). In 1783, an earthquake devastated much of the city, and it took decades to rebuild and rekindle the cultural life of Messina. In 1847 it was one of the first cities in Italy where Risorgimento riots broke out. In 1848 it rebelled openly against the reigning Bourbons, but was heavily suppressed again. Only in 1860, after the Battle of Milazzo, the Garibaldine troops occupied the city. One of the main figures of the unification of Italy, Giuseppe Mazzini, was elected deputy at Messina in the general elections of 1866. Another earthquake of less intensity damaged the city on 16 November 1894. The city was almost entirely destroyed by an earthquake and associated tsunami on the morning of 28 December 1908, killing about 100,000 people and destroying most of the ancient architecture. The city was largely rebuilt in the following years. Messina incurred further damage from the massive Allied air bombardments of 1943; before and during the Allied invasion of Sicily. Messina, owing to its strategic importance as a transit point for Axis troops and supplies sent to Sicily from mainland Italy, was a prime target for the British and American air forces. These raids destroyed one-third of the city. The city was awarded a Gold Medal of Military Valor and one for Civil Valor by the Italian government in memory of the event and the subsequent effort of reconstruction. In June 1955, Messina was the location of the Messina Conference of Western European foreign ministers which led to the creation of the European Economic Community (see map). The city is home to a small Greek-speaking minority, which arrived from the Peloponnese between 1533 and 1534 when fleeing the expansion of the Ottoman Empire. They were officially recognised in 2012.

Messina Cathedral (Duomo di Messina; Basilica Cattedrale metropolitana di Santa Maria Assunta) is the episcopal seat of the diocese of Messina. Built by the Normans, it was consecrated in 1197. The current building is the final result of some 20thh-century reconstructions, which took place following the disastrous earthquake that struck Messina on 28 December 1908 and the considerable damage that resulted from the heavy aerial bombardment in World War II. Only the perimeter walls, the Gothic portal and an apse remained standing after the catastrophic earthquake which also destroyed surrounding edifices in Piazza Duomo. In 1943 incendiary bombs fell on the restored roof destroying much of its interior. Only an original mosaic and statue survived. The tower houses the Messina astronomical clock, the largest astronomical clock in the world. The new cathedral was consecrated in 1947 and at this occasion received the papal title of a 'basilica minor' (see list of other basilicae minores depicted on glasses of this collection). The picture on glass no. 4215 [left] shows a view of the cathedral prior to the 1908 earthquake but was made after that date as the picture is labeled Facciata del Duomo / Messina prima del 28 Dicembre 1908.

[https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Messina, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Messina]