Welcome to the Cruise Port Guide – Messina, Italy. Messina is a town at the north east tip of the island of Sicily, just 2 miles from the toe of the Italian mainland. Strategically placed in the middle of the strait of Messina between Italy’s mainland and island. The strait of Messina has been an extremely valuable body of water for millennia because whoever could control it would could control the trading passage. Messina’s port has therefore been shaped and destroyed by kingdoms and empires that would come and go for centuries. Messina is definitely not the most historical part of Sicily. On December 28, 1908 an earthquake destroyed the town. 2/3rd of the cities inhabitants were killed and the city was nothing more than a pile of dust. Though Messina might be one of the “newer” places on the island, there are places close by that stand witness to the great history the island has to offer. Greek, Roman, Norman, French, Spanish and Italian. Sicily has been a melting pot of different civilisations making it much different from the mainland. Find the most unique places of Italy here.