Geography of Messina
Messina, Italy, a city in northeastern Sicily, 125 miles (200 km) east of Palermo. The Strait of Messina separates the city from the mainland. Olive oil and wine are among the exports of Messina's port. It is an industrial city, with food processing, ship-building, and other industries. Its university was founded in the 1500's.
Greek colonists, who arrived after 800 B.C., knew the site as Zancle (“Sickle,” for its sickle-shaped harbor). It was held by the Carthaginians, Romans, Saracens, Normans, and others before it became part of Italy in 1861. In 1908 an earthquake nearly leveled Messina and caused more than 80,000 deaths. The last German stronghold on Sicily during World War II, Messina was heavily bombarded before the Allies entered it in August, 1943. Its buildings, constructed to withstand earthquakes, were little damaged.
Population: 262,224.