The city of Messina has a long history. Ancient Zancle, a toponym derived from the Greek Ζὰγκλης, meaning “sickle”, was founded by Cumans and Chalcidian settlers in the 8th century B.C., as testified by the historian Thucydides1. The name certainly derives from the shape of San Ranieri peninsula, where today is the city’s port.
“Was originally founded by pirates from Cuma, the Chalcidian town in the country of the Opicans: afterwards, however, large numbers came, from Chalcis and the rest of Euboea […]”.
Thucydides, The history of the Peloponnesian War, VI, Chapter XVIII. Translation by Richard Crawley, E. P. Dutton & Co., New York, 1950.
Brief historical background of the city of Messina
The city was later occupied by the Sami and Milesians Ionians. They fled from the Persians after their defeat at the Battle of Lade in 494 B.C., following the tyrant of Rhegion Anaxilaus. After exterminated part of the inhabitants, he repopulated the place with Doric citizens from Messenia, since he was a native of that place. Thus, the city took on the name Messana. This gave rise to today’s toponym of Messina.
The Punic Wars and Roman rule
The city fought on the side of the Syracusans against the Carthaginians. In fact, from the time of tyrant Hieron I (478 B.C.-466 B.C.), it was under the influence of the Arethusian power. From 405 B.C. it entered the possessions of the tyrant Dionysius I, who proclaimed himself Archon of Sicily.
Messana remained under the control of the Syracusans until 288 B.C.. Then, it was occupied by the legions of the Mamertines, Italic mercenaries from Campania, who made it the base of their pirate raids. As soon as disagreements arose with Hieron II of Syracuse2, the tyrant having won an important victory at Longano torrent near the Campi Milesi (270 B.C.), the Mamertines requested the help of Carthage, which took possession of part of the city. However, they then turned to the Romans to repel their cumbersome presence, an event that led to the outbreak of the Punic Wars. A military expedition led by consul Appius Claudius Caudex crossed the Strait and occupied Messina in 264 B.C.3, and from then on the city was considered Roman. Until the Augustan age, it experienced a period of demographic expansion and moderate wealth.
Until year 1000
Messina was a bishopric during the Byzantine period and a stronghold of the Goths. In 843 Arabs conquered it, an event followed by almost two centuries of Muslim domination.
In 1061, the Norman Roger of Altavilla finally freed Messina from the Middle Eastern invaders. So, the city began to boost maritime and commercial traffic, especially thanks to its large port area. Under the Swabian emperor Henry VI, who granted it extensive privileges, Messina reached the peak of economic and social progress. At the turn of the 13th century, the city represented a fundamental reference point for maritime traffic in the Mediterranean.
The city of Messina from the Middle Ages to the present day
Messina then passed into the hands of Frederick II of Swabia and later Manfred (1258). During the Sicilian Vespers (1282) it rebelled against Angevin rule. Hence, it obtained the rank of capital by the Aragonese, having the privilege to print money. In 1347, some Genoese ships from Caffa landed at the city port, introducing into Europe the terrible disease called the Black Death. The city of Messina was unfortunately the first to witness.
From the 16th century, Messina became part of the Spanish Empire, suffering the same fate as the rest of Sicily. The Iberians extended the port and founded the University (1548), as well as building the city’s important military arsenal.
In 1674, the city rebelled against the Spanish and resisted a long siege. Nonetheless, although supported by French allies, it finally had to submit to the invaders, who imposed harsh conditions. From that moment on, the city entered a deep economic crisis that dragged on for decades, exacerbated by the plague of 1743 and the earthquake of 1783, which devastated also the cathedral.
The city of Messina fought strenuously against Napoleonic invaders. Further, during the Bourbon restoration, it participated in the 1848 uprisings, for which it suffered heavy bombardment. It entered the new Kingdom of Italy in 1860, having to surrender to the advance of Giuseppe Garibaldi’s troops.
The earthquake of 1908 and the bombings
On the morning of 28 December 1908, a devastating earthquake hit Messina. It is, perhaps, the most tragic seismic event ever to affect the Italian peninsula. The city was completely razed to the ground and about eighty thousand people perished. It is estimated that the earthquake lasted for thirty-seven endless seconds and was of magnitude 7.1. Moreover, it caused a catastrophic tidal wave to hit Messina, with waves six to twelve metres high.
Once rebuilt, during the Second World War the Allies destroyed Messina. The chronicles recount that it was probably the city most affected by aerial bombardment. The buildings, reconstructed with earthquake-proof criteria following the 1908 earthquake, were in fact reluctant to collapse. This is the reason they were targeted most insistently.
The Treasure of the Teutonic Knights is in the city of Messina?
There is a special church in Messina, one of the few that survived the 1908 earthquake. It is Santa Maria Alemanna or ‘degli Alemanni’, so called in honour of the priory to which it belonged for long decades: the Teutonic Knights4. Nevertheless, the building has older origins. It is probable that the early structures belonged to the Cistercian Order. Only at the behest of Emperor Henry VI of Swabia were they handed over to the “Brothers of the Hospitaller House of St. Mary of the Teutonic Knights of Jerusalem“.
A few years later, in 1220, Frederick II annexed a hospital to give shelter and refreshment to the Knights returning from the Crusades in the Holy Land. The complex of Santa Maria degli Alemanni belonged to the Teutonic Knights until 1485. It is still referred to today as the highest expression of Gothic art in southern Italy. After the Battle of Lepanto (1571), even the Spanish Miguel de Cervantes, author of the famous work Don Quijote de la Mancha, found refreshment there.
According to popular tradition, the Teutonic Knights buried their treasure in the basem*nt of Santa Maria degli Alemanni. Legend says that some workers discovered numerous gold coins during restoration work. Also, under the church there could be chambers, many metres deep and enclosed by strong iron doors, to which no one has gained access. The entrance to the underground passages, in fact, was lost in time and forgotten forever.
The legend of the Fata Morgana
The Fata Morgana is an optical phenomenon, much like a mirage, often documented on the shores of the Strait of Messina. The name recalls the legendary Celtic witch who, in mythology tales, caused visions at sea of castles and enormous ships, in order to capture unsuspecting sailors attempting to reach them. Optical distortion manifests itself through the magnification of the perceived image, under conditions of strong temperature gradients between different air layers. On the Strait of Messina, it is the strip of sea that takes on uncertain and changing contours, making houses, from one shore to the other, to appear so enlarged that they seem close. The phenomenon can also clearly affect the boats that often cross it, so much so that they appear rarefied like mythological ghost ships, such as the Flying Dutchman.
According to myth, the Fata Morgana often appeared to help the city of Messina. Legends tell of a first visit when a barbarian king vowed to invade Sicily. Having reached the Strait and deceived by the tremendous optical spell, the ruler apparently saw the other shore much closer than it actually was. He probably dived in, convinced that he could swim to the island. But the more he strove forward, the farther the shore receded, so that finally he drowned miserably. Furthermore, the Fata Morgana supposedly led along the waters a shining chariot, drawn by horses, at the side of Roger of Altavilla, who was about to liberate Sicily from the Arabs.
The mysteries of Antonello da Messina
Antonello da Messina was perhaps the most important Renaissance painter of 15th-century Sicily. The combination of artistic dictates of Flemish taste and an astonishing artistic and psychological depth characterize his style. In this aspect lies the Messina painter’s extraordinary aura of mystery. This is revealed through famous paintings, such as the Portrait of an Unknown Sailor.
Who was this man? Was it a sailor of the time, or rather a nobleman? The work has inspired the most diverse interpretations because of its enigmatic smile, like Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa. Seductive, prickly, ironic, mocking, etc. Is this about a man who knew an inconvenient truth? He has the smile of one who “knows much and has seen much,” as Vincenzo Consolo had to say in 19765. But who he really was is a mystery shrouded in fog.
Another famous painting by Antonello da Messina, is the Virgin Annunciate. The work is special because, contrary to typical Renaissance iconography, it lacks an undisputed protagonist of the scene: archangel Gabriel.
Again, the painting manifests the strong psychological characterization of the protagonist. Mary, with a spirit of deep acceptance, seems to listen and welcome the words of the Archangel. However… he is not there!
The sunken city of Risa
A legend, revived in recent years, tells of a lost sunken city located beneath Torre Faro lake in Messina. The settlement, named after the princess who ruled it, is said to be called Risa. It perhaps existed before the coming of the Greeks to Sicily. A terrible earthquake in antiquity submerged it forever, and this village still lies under the Lago Piccolo di Ganzirri, the extreme eastern tip of Messina. The remains of the settlement, according to some, are still visible when the water is particularly clear. Moreover, approaching the surface of the lake during the onset of a storm, we can clearly heard the tolling of a bell: that of the submerged city of Risa.
Also, legend tells that a temple dedicated to the God Neptune was located near it. Nevertheless, due to the presence of a frightening sea monster, it was abandoned. Is this perhaps the mythological and gigantic Charybdis, which sank ships in transit by means of terrible sea whirlpools, and which mythology places near the Strait of Messina?
Was Shakespeare from the city of Messina?
In early 2000s a resounding hypothesis about William Shakespeare‘s true identity began to circulate, following publications by scholar Martino Iuvara6. The great playwright and poet, in fact, could not be English as official historiography claims, but Sicilian! In particular, according to Iuvara, his origins could be found in the city of Messina. The writer’s real name supposedly corresponded to that of Michelagnolo Florio Crollalanza, son of physician Giovanni Florio and Guglielma Crollalanza. The Sicilian Michelagnolo would convert to Protestantism and, to escape the Inquisition, forced to take refuge in England. Here he would take on his mother’s name, which in English can be translated as William Shakespeare.
A tangible evidence of the author’s Messina identity would be the play Much Ado About Nothing, set in the Sicilian city. The translation “Tantu trafficu pe’ nnenti” is a typical expressionon the Straits. Shakespeare, moreover, showed that he was very familiar with the customs, geography and even sayings of the city of Messina. It is indeed the case to say “Mìzzeca!” to quote Shakespeare with the words of Commander Carruba.
Samuele Corrente Naso
Map of the places
Note
- Thucydides, The history of the Peloponnesian War, 5th century B.C. ↩︎
- Polybius, The histories, 1:9.7-9.8. ↩︎
- Polybius, The histories, 1:11.3. ↩︎
- G. Agnello, L’architettura civile e religiosa in Sicilia nell’età sveva, 1961. ↩︎
- V. Consolo, Il sorriso dell’ignoto marinaio, Einaudi, 1976. ↩︎
- M. Iuvara,Shakespeare era italiano, Ispica 2002. ↩︎
