Messina

Famous to be the gate to Sicily, Messina is after Palermo and Catania the third largest city on the island of Sicily, playing a very important role in ancient times, once being one of the most powerful cities of the Mediterranean Sea due to its strategic position and to its port, which welcomes nowadays thousands and tousands of travellers every year. Messina has got merely interesting main sights, no matter if you prefer culture (the historical centre with the Museo Regionale, hosting masterpieces of Antonello and Caravaggio), natural sights and beauties, as the Capo Peloro, the Ganzirri lakes and the Peloritani mountains or if you want to simply enjoy the crystal clear water of the sea and the amazing beaches. The city survived a tremendous earthquake in 1908, nevertheless, important monuments and churches are well preserved, witnessing the majesty of Messina, as the main Cathedral, whose belltower holds the largest astronomical clock in the world, the Annunzata dei Cataliani and the famous Santa Maria degli Allemanni, which is a rare example of purely Gothic church in Sicily.