Strait of Messina 79564 222118222 2008-06-27T17:20:42Z Chobot 259798 robot Adding: [[ko:메시나 해협]] {{unreferenced|date=December 2007}} [[Image:MessinaStrait.jpg|thumb|250px|Satellite photo of the Strait of Messina with names. NASA image.]] The '''Strait of Messina''' ('''''Strittu di Missina''''' in [[sicilian language|sicilian]]) is the narrow section of water between the eastern tip of [[Sicily]] and the southern tip of [[Calabria]] in the country of [[Italy]]. At its narrowest point it measures 3.1 km (1.9 miles) in breadth, though near the town of [[Messina, Italy|Messina]] the breadth is more on the order of 5.1 km (3.2 miles). A natural [[whirlpool]] forms in the strait, which has been linked to the legend of [[Scylla]] and [[Charybdis]]. A ferry connects Messina on Sicily with the mainland at [[Villa San Giovanni]] and [[Reggio Calabria|Reggio]] in [[Calabria]]. There is also a [[hydrofoil]] service from Messina to Reggio. [[Image:Pilone di Torre Faro, Messina, Italy.jpg|thumb|left|The former electricity pylon on the Sicilian site of Messina Strait ("Torre Faro")]] In [[1957]] a 220-[[volt|kV]] [[overhead powerline]] was built across the Strait of Messina. Its [[pylons]] are among the highest in the world. This powerline has since been replaced by a [[submarine power cable]], but the pylons are still there because they are protected as national monuments. (See [[Pylons of Messina]].) [[Image:Straitmess.jpg|thumb|right|240px|The Strait is so narrow that the mainland can be seen quite clearly from Sicily]] 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. As recently as 2006, plans were underway, but these have now been scrapped (see [[Strait of Messina Bridge]]). [[Image:Stretto di messina incisione.jpg|thumb|left|250px|The two cities of the strait in an old German engraving.]] The bridge was planned to connect [[Reggio Calabria]] to [[Messina, Italy|Messina]], the two cities which face each other on either side of the strait, and form a single city. This ambitious urban project was called ''Area Metropolitana integrata dello Stretto (Integrated Metropolitan Area of the Strait)'' or simply ''Città dello Stretto (City of the Strait)''. Some controversy surrounded both the building of the bridge, from environmental and economic viewpoints, and the formation of the new city itself. The latter was especially opposed by various Sicilian nationalist groups. ==References== <references /> == Further reading == * Fabio Spadi (2001) [http://iclq.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/reprint/50/2/411 "The Bridge on the Strait of Messina: 'Lowering' the Right of Innocent Passage?"] ''International and Comparative Law Quarterly'' 50: 411 ff. * Mary Spicuzza (2004) [http://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/fellows/sicily0404/intro.html "Sicily: A Bridge Too Far?"] PBS Frontline/World Fellows. * "From Rome to Sicily: Plane or Train?" [http://travelqa.blogs.nytimes.com/tag/sicily/ Expert Travel Advice, The New York Times, Feb. 7, 2008] The New York Times. {{coor title dms|38|14|45|N|15|37|57|E|type:waterbody}} [[Category:Straits of Italy|Messina]] [[Category:Geography of Sicily]] [[Category:Messina]] [[ar:مضيق ميسينا]] [[bg:Месински пролив]] [[ca:Estret de Messina]] [[cs:Messinská úžina]] [[co:Strettu di Messina]] [[cy:Culfor Messina]] [[da:Messinastrædet]] [[de:Straße von Messina]] [[et:Messina väin]] [[es:Estrecho de Mesina]] [[eo:Mesina Markolo]] [[eu:Messinako itsasartea]] [[fr:Détroit de Messine]] [[gl:Estreito de Messina]] [[ko:메시나 해협]] [[hi:मेसिना जलसन्धि]] [[id:Selat Messina]] [[is:Messínasund]] [[it:Stretto di Messina]] [[he:מצר מסינה]] [[ku:Tengava Messina]] [[lb:Strooss vu Messina]] [[lt:Mesinos sąsiauris]] [[hu:Messinai-szoros]] [[nl:Straat van Messina]] [[new:मेसिना जलसन्धि]] [[ja:メッシーナ海峡]] [[no:Messinastredet]] [[nn:Messinasundet]] [[pl:Cieśnina Mesyńska]] [[pt:Estreito de Messina]] [[ro:Strâmtoarea Messina]] [[ru:Мессинский пролив]] [[scn:Strittu di Missina]] [[sk:Messinský prieliv]] [[sl:Mesinska ožina]] [[sr:Месински мореуз]] [[fi:Messinansalmi]] [[sv:Messinasundet]] [[tr:Messina Boğazı]] [[uk:Мессинська протока]] [[zh:墨西拿海峡]]