Editing Strait of Messina

{{Short description|Strait between Calabria and Sicilia, Italy}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2017}}
{{Expand Italian|topic=geo|date=February 2018}}
{{Infobox body of water
| name               = Strait of Messina
| native_name        = {{native name list
 |tag1=it
 |name1=Stretto di Messina
 |tag2=scn
 |name2=Strittu di Missina}}
| other_name         = 
| image              = MessinaStrait.jpg
| alt                = 
| caption            = Satellite photo of the Strait of Messina with names. NASA image.
| image_bathymetry   = 
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| location           =  [[Tyrrhenian Sea]]–[[Ionian Sea]]
| group              = 
| coordinates        = {{coord|38|14|45|N|15|37|57|E|type:waterbody|display=inline,title}}
| type               = [[Strait]]
| etymology          = 
| part_of            = 
| inflow             = 
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| oceans             = 
| catchment          = 
| basin_countries    = [[Italy]]
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| date-built         = <!-- {{Start date|YYYY|MM|DD}} For man-made and other recent bodies of water -->
| engineer           = 
| date-flooded       = <!-- {{Start date|YYYY|MM|DD}} For man-made and other recent bodies of water -->
| length             = 
| width              =
| min_width          = {{cvt|3.1|km}}
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| frozen             = 
| islands            = 
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| sections           = 
| trenches           = 
| benches            = 
| cities             = [[Messina]], [[Villa San Giovanni]], [[Reggio Calabria]], [[Scilla, Calabria]]
| pushpin_map             = Sicily#Italy Calabria#Italy#Mediterranean
| pushpin_label_position  = <!-- left, right, top or bottom -->
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}}

The '''Strait of Messina''' ({{langx|it|Stretto di Messina}}; {{langx|scn|Strittu di Missina}}) is a narrow [[strait]] between the eastern tip of [[Sicily]] ([[Punta del Faro]]) and the western tip of [[Calabria]] ([[Punta Pezzo]]) in [[Southern Italy]]. It connects the [[Tyrrhenian Sea]] to the north with the [[Ionian Sea]] to the south, within the central [[Mediterranean Sea|Mediterranean]]. At its narrowest point, between Torre Faro and [[Villa San Giovanni]], it is {{convert|3.1|km|mi|abbr=on}} wide. At the city of [[Messina, Italy|Messina]], it is {{convert|5.1|km|mi|abbr=on}} wide. The strait's maximum depth is about {{cvt|250|m}}.

The strait has strong tidal currents that create a [[Marine Life of the Straits of Messina|unique marine ecosystem]].<ref>Archived at [https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/aPyGZEGXm9Q Ghostarchive]{{cbignore}} and the [https://web.archive.org/web/20200223081404/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPyGZEGXm9Q&gl=US&hl=en Wayback Machine]{{cbignore}}: {{Citation|last=TheSanti63|title=Correnti nello Stretto di Messina|date=2010-08-25|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPyGZEGXm9Q}}{{cbignore}}</ref> The rock in the town of [[Scilla, Calabria]] at the north of the strait and a natural [[whirlpool]] in the northern portion of the strait have been linked to the Greek legend of [[Scylla]] and [[Charybdis]].<ref name="Andrews2000">{{cite book|last=Andrews|first=Tamra |title=Dictionary of Nature Myths: Legends of the Earth, Sea, and Sky|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7jS65aClvFEC&pg=PA171|year=2000|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-513677-7|page=171|access-date=25 May 2016}}</ref> In some circumstances, the mirage of [[Fata Morgana (mirage)|Fata Morgana]] can be observed when looking at Sicily from Calabria. With its bottleneck shape, it is also a compulsory point of transit in the [[Migration (birds)|migration]] of many [[bird]] species.

In 1957, a 220&nbsp;[[volt|kV]] [[overhead power line]] was built across the Strait of Messina. Its [[Electricity pylon|pylons]] are among the highest in the world. This power line has since been replaced by a [[submarine power cable]], but the pylons remain and are protected as historical monuments (see [[Pylons of Messina]]).

On July 10, 2024, [[Estonia]]n athlete Jaan Roose crossed the Strait of Messina on a [[Slacklining|slackline]] spanned between the two Messina pylons. He surpassed the previous longest slackline walk of 2,710 meters and completed a distance of 3,600 meters.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-07-10 |title=Jaan Roose attempts Messina Strait - on a slackline! |url=https://www.redbull.com/int-en/jaan-roose-slacklines-messina-strait-worlds-first |access-date=2024-07-10 |website=Red Bull |language=en}}</ref>

==Bird migration==
[[File:Stretto di messina - bottleneck, sicilia, from the peloritani.jpg|thumbnail|The strait seen from [[Monte Dinnammare|Mount Dinnammare]], [[Peloritani]]]]
The Strait of Messina is a focal point in the [[Bird migration|migrations]] of birds every year, who mainly cross the strait to reach their breeding grounds in northern Europe. Due to this form of bottleneck more than 300 species are recorded in the area, which is a major European hot spot for [[Raptor (bird)|raptors]], with a record of 35,000 in one spring.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.surfbirds.com/mb/Features/messina/messina-0302.html|title=European Birding Hot Spot: The Strait of Messina, southern Italy|last=Corso|first=Andrea|website=www.surfbirds.com}}</ref>

Among them the [[European honey buzzard]] and the [[marsh harrier]] are the most frequent, and species like [[Bonelli's eagle]] and [[Egyptian vulture]] are less frequent but regular. In the coastal salt lakes of the Strait of Messina species like [[glossy ibis]], [[flamingos]] and [[black-winged stilt]] stop to rest. The site is also favorable for observing [[storks]]. The [[Monte Dinnammare]] and the other [[Peloritani]] mountains overlooking the Strait are a natural theatre for [[birdwatching]].

==Marine life==
{{Main|Marine life of the Strait of Messina}}
Due to its unique hydrogeological conditions{{elucidate|date=November 2018}} the Strait of Messina has high levels of biodiversity and multiple [[endemic]] species. In its waters there is a strong presence of [[deep sea fish]] like the [[Sloane's viperfish]] which, due to the particular and peculiar currents of the strait, are occasionally found stranded on the shore at sunrise. The strait is also an important point of [[Fish migration|migration]] of many species of fish in the [[Mediterranean Sea]].

==Transportation==
{{Main|Strait of Messina Bridge}}
[[File:Strait of Messina 21-1-2016.jpg|thumb|Strait of Messina and the Messina panorama as viewed from the ferry]]
A ferry service connects [[Messina]] on Sicily with the mainland at [[Villa San Giovanni]], which lies several kilometers north of the large city of [[Reggio Calabria]]; the ferries hold the cars (carriages) of the mainline train service between Palermo and Naples. There is also a [[hydrofoil]] service between Messina and Reggio Calabria.

For decades, the possibility of building a bridge across the Messina Strait has been under discussion. In 2006, under Prime Minister [[Romano Prodi]] the project was cancelled.<ref name="plans-dropped-bbc">{{cite web |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6043626.stm |publisher=BBC News |title=Italy drops Sicily bridge plans |date=12 October 2006}}</ref> On 6 March 2009, however, as part of a massive new public works program, [[Silvio Berlusconi]]'s government announced that plans to construct the [[Messina Bridge]] had been fully revived, pledging €1.3 billion as a contribution to its estimated cost of €6.1 billion<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7928949.stm Italy revives Sicily bridge plan from BBC News]. Retrieved 8 March 2009.</ref> Some 3.3&nbsp;km long and 60 m wide, the bridge would be supported by two 382 m pillars, each higher than the [[Empire State Building]], and accommodate six freeway lanes, a railway (for up to 200 trains a day), and two walkways.

Supporters perceive the bridge as an opportunity for job creation and potential for an increase in tourism to the island. Opponents see it as an ecological disaster, a structure at risk due to especially strong winds and earthquakes (the area having an intense seismic record), and a potential increase in Sicilian and Calabrian organized crime. Berlusconi claimed in 2009 that work would be completed by 2016 although in February 2013, the project was cancelled again.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20110817040635/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article5864671.ece Sicily to get longest bridge from TimesOnline]. Retrieved 8 March 2009.</ref>

Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni revived the project with a decree in 2022, with the laying of the first stone planned for 2024; opponents of the project cited an estimate that of the 4.3 million birds that fly through the strait annually, between 17 and 46% risked colliding with the proposed bridge.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-04-14 |title=Is history repeating as Italy resurrects Messina bridge plan? |url=https://www.euronews.com/my-europe/2023/04/14/italy-is-resurrecting-a-plan-for-the-messina-bridge-but-is-this-just-history-repeating-its |access-date=2023-07-07 |website=euronews |language=en}} </ref>

[[File:Reggio calabria panorama dal fortino.jpg|centre|thumb|750px|The strait seen from the hill of "Pentimele", near Reggio Calabria. In the distance is the snow-covered volcano [[Mount Etna]].]]

==See also==
*[[Between Scylla and Charybdis]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

== Further reading ==
{{Commons category}}
* Fabio Spadi (2001) [http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=1522152&fulltextType=RA&fileId=S0020589300065192 "The Bridge on the Strait of Messina: 'Lowering' the Right of Innocent Passage?"] ''International and Comparative Law Quarterly'' 50: 411 ff.
* "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.

{{Messina}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Strait Of Messina}}
[[Category:Straits of Messina| ]]
[[Category:Straits of Italy]]
[[Category:Straits of the Mediterranean Sea]]
[[Category:Landforms of Calabria]]
[[Category:Landforms of Sicily]]
[[Category:Messina]]
[[Category:Ionian Sea]]
[[Category:Landforms of the Tyrrhenian Sea]]