Strait of Messina
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Satellite photo of the Strait of Messina with names. Image courtesy of NASA. |
The
Strait of Messina is the narrow section of water between the eastern tip of
Sicily and the southern tip of
Calabria. A natural
whirlpool forms there, which has been linked to the legend of
Scylla and
Charybdis.
A ferry connects
Messina (
Sicily) with the mainland at
Villa San Giovanni and
Reggio in
Calabria. There is also a
hydrofoil service from Messina to
Reggio di Calabria.
In
1957 a 220-
kV overhead powerline was built across the Strait of Messina. Its
pylons are among the highest of the world. This powerline has since been replaced by an underwater cable, but the pylons are still there because they are under monumental protection. (See
Pylons of Messina.)
Every five or ten years, major debates have ensued in Italy about building a
bridge that would connect the island of Sicily to the mainland. In recent years advances in technologies have made the construction of the bridge possible. A bridge has been planned and designed. If built, the
Strait of Messina Bridge would be the largest single-span bridge in the world, with a span of 3,300
metres (about 2
miles), at a projected cost of 4.6 billion
euro. The project was supported and promoted by former prime minister
Silvio Berlusconi.
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The two cities of the strait in an old German incision. |
Over the ensuing years the bridge was planned to merge
Reggio Calabria and
Messina, the two cities which face each other on either side of the strait, to form a single city. This ambitious urban project is called
Area Metropolitana integrata dello Stretto (Integrated Metropolitan Area of the Strait) or simply
Città dello Stretto (City of the Strait). Some controversy surrounds both the building of the bridge, from both environmental and economic view points, and the formation of the new city itself. The latter is especially opposed by various Sicilian nationalist groups.
In May 2006, the bridge building project was cancelled by the newly elected
Romano Prodi.
