Messina, Sicily

 The city of Messina is located on a beautiful natural harbor  and is the the closest city to the mainland of Italy, with only about 3 km across open water. 

It is most well known for it's cathedral which was first built in the 1100's, and it's intricate mechanical clock tower. The cathedral has been destroyed several times, and was last rebuilt after the second world war. Several original elements have been preserved.

This statue of John the Baptist is the only statue that survived from the original cathedral.

The mechanical clock which was built in the 1930's is very fascinating. It performs for 10 minutes each day at 12:00 noon, and attracts a large crowd. It has many sections which illustrate several of the legends of Messina.  The mechanical Lion raises it's arm and tail and roars three times, the rooster flaps its wings and crows three times, and most characters move in a circle around their various sections while Ave Maria plays in the background. 

One important legend of Messina is the legend of the "Virgin of Letters" It is believed that the Apostle Paul accompanied some citizens of Messina to visit the Virgin Mary at Ephesus in the year 42 AD. She gave them a letter blessing the citizens of Messina, and a lock of her hair, The original  cathedral was destroyed by fire in the 1100's, and the letter was lost, but her hair was preserved. Each year, her letter is still celebrated, and the relic is shown on a parade through the streets of Messina.

She is also revered as watching over the harbor, and her statue sits atop the pedestal on display as ships enter the harbor, blessing the ships and sailors.

The statue of the Virgin Mary at the entrance to the harbor.

This section of the clock tower shows an angel delivering the letter to Mary, then the citizens of Messina move around Mary to receive the letter.

In this section of the clock tower Mary and the apostles raise their arms at Pentecost and tongues of flame rise out of their heads.