Messina, Italy cruise port guide
Messina may well be your first sight of Sicily, and – from your MSC holiday cruise ship – it’s a fine one, the glittering town spread up the hillside beyond its sickle-shaped Mediterranean harbour. On a shore excursion you can discover Messina’s most important monument, the Duomo, which epitomizes the city’s phoenix-like ability to re-create itself from the ashes of its last disaster. It’s the reconstruction of a twelfth-century cathedral erected by Roger II, one of a series of great Norman churches of Sicily that include the sumptuous cathedrals of Palermo and Cefalù. The Duomo’s detached campanile, or bell tower, claims to be the largest astronomical clock in the world, and puts on its best show at noon every day, when a bronze lion (Messina’s ancient emblem) unleashes a mighty roar over the city that can be quite alarming if you’re not expecting it! Just back from the Duomo, the truncated section of the twelfth-century Chiesa Annunziata dei Catalani squats below pavement level, and is Messina’s only surviving example of Arab/Norman church-building. When you are cruising the Mediterranean Sea with MSC Cruises, the most obvious excursion from Messina is to the almost too charming hill town of Taormina, spectacularly located on a rocky bluff between the Ionian Sea and the soaring peak of Mount Etna, whose summit with its bleak lava wilderness is one of the most memorable landscapes Italy has to offer. Once the beloved retreat of poets and writers, Taormina is now the most illustrious resort on the entire island, captivating its visitors with its famous ancient theatre, grand hotels and engaging small-town charm.
About Messina, Italy
The Port of Messina is a major cruise port in northeastern Sicily, located on the western shore of the Strait of Messina. The natural harbour covers approximately 820,000 m² with an average basin depth of 40 metres, enabling large cruise ships to dock. The port saw significant cruise growth in the 21st century, rising from 260,000 cruise passengers in 2006 to 405,000 in 2009. The port area covers 50 hectares and the harbour entrance in the northwest is approximately 400 metres wide.
Quick facts
Cruises visiting Messina, Italy
Prices per person · incl. taxes & fees.
Sailing soonest
7 nights Western Mediterranean from Naples (Pompeii)
MSC World Europa · Mediterranean · 7 nights
from $831
$118 / night
Adriatic and Western Mediterranean
Queen Victoria · Adriatic · 21 nights
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Adriatic and Western Mediterranean
Queen Victoria · Europe · 14 nights
from $2,119
$151 / night
Italy, France and Spain
Queen Victoria · Europe · 7 nights
from $689
$98 / night
7 nights Western Mediterranean from Messina (Taormina)
MSC World Europa · Europe · 7 nights
from $894
$127 / night
Adriatic & Mediterranean Sojourn Istanbul to Rome
Viking Vesta · Europe · 21 nights
from $12,397
$590 / night
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