New Year's Eve Messina

There aren’t particular reasons to visit Messina, separated from Italy by only 5 sea kilometres, if only for the fact that is one of the main departure points for visiting the Eolian Islands.
The legend tells that the Strait of Messina is controlled by two monstrous beings, namely Scylla and Charybdis.
Its history has very old origins: in the VIIIth century B.C. its name was Zancle, due to the particular shape of the port, sickle-shaped precisely.
First Messina was dominated by the Romans, followed by the Byzantines and finally by a long Norman domination and a Sveva one.
Unfortunately, the fate of the city was not very lucky: Messina was completely destroyed by two earthquakes, the first in 1783 and the second in 1908, as well as by the bombing of the Second World War.
Despite this, we can still admire many monuments: let's start our visit of the city from the Cathedral, built in Norman times, but rebuilt after the 1908 earthquake.
Very particular is its bell tower, 60 metres high, on which it may be observed the astronomical clock: at midday to put it in motion there are a series of figures, moving with a music on the background.
In the centre of the Duomo square we can observe the beautiful Orion fountain, dating back to the XVIth century.
Other religious buildings to visit are the St. John of Malta church, dating back to the end of the 1500; the St. Francis of Assisi church, rebuilt after the last earthquake; the Santissima Annunziata of Catalani church and finally, the St. Maria Alemanna church, of which are conserved few ruins: the church, in fact, has no longer nor facade or roof.
Finally, we can visit the Regional Museum inside which are preserved the many paintings and statues, in addition to the bas-relieves, capitals and much more.