Charming views of Messina town
After the rough day on the sea visiting Capri island, the following morning MSC Preziosa took us to Sicily, the island of 11 volcanoes which together with other mountains form 80% of the island. Not counting the flights I had to operate to when I worked as a stewardess a few years ago, I only visited Sicily once properly for unforgettable sunsets.
This time I woke up after 6 am when we were reaching the 1,700 m deep strait of Messina. Just 2 miles of the sea that divide Sicily island from the Italian land. I loved waking up on board every morning in a different port. A new place with new memories.
MSC Preziosa arriving into the port of Messina
Virgin Mary statue greeting us
beautiful morning in the Messina port
Already from my balcony in the Yacht club I could see the beauty of Messina, the 3rd largest city of Sicily founded by the Greeks in the 8th century BC and originally called Zancle. Its famous golden Madonna statue (Virgin Mary) greeted us from far when we reached the port.
Unfortunately, the earthquake and tsunami in 1908 destroyed 100% of Messina town and out of 150,000 inhabitants of that time up to 80,000 died so what we could see now from Messina were the new low rebuilt buildings and wide streets.
Nowadays around 250,000 people live in Messina town. We didn’t have time to explore much of it and only crossed the town on the way to Taormina. But the views of the town, its 12th century Cathedral, alike buildings and high streets will be always left in my mind.
Messina town
disembarking in the port
low buildings
the Cathedral of Messina
Disembarking in Messina town and taking a trip to Taormina was part of the press trip organized by the MSC cruises. All the opinions in this post are strictly my own.
Crazy Sexy Fun Traveler
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Comment@ flip:
And imagine waking up to this :)
flip
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Wow! Gorgeous view!
Odin
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Wow! Great photos. Thanks for sharing. :)
Crazy sexy fun traveler
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Comment@ Jason:
Thanks, Jason! Messina was super cool, hope to see more of the town next time.
Piotr
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Nice pics. The boat seems to be huge !
Crazy Sexy Fun Traveler
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You meant the cruise ship? It is :D
Jason
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great photos. Glad you’re still enjoying it all.