Print This Page Messina, with a population of about 270,000, is
the third largest city on the island of Sicily, Italy and the
capital of the province of Messina. It is located at 38°11’24 N,
15°33’0 E, near the North-East corner of Sicily, at the Strait
of Messina. Inhabitants of Messina in Italian are referred to as
Messinesi or poetically Peloritani. Founded by Greek colonists
in the 8th century BC, Messina was originally called Zancle
(scythe) because of the shape of its natural harbour. In the
early 5th century, Anaxilas of Rhegium renamed it Messene in
honor of the Greek city Messene. The city was sacked in 396 BC
by the Carthaginians, then reconquered by Dionysius I of
Syracuse. At the end of the first Punic War it was a free city
allied with Rome. In Roman times Messina, then known as Messana,
had an important pharos (lighthouse). Messana was the base of
Sextus Pompeius, during his war against Octavian. After the fall
of the Roman Empire, the city was successively conquered by the
Goths, followed by th