Map of Sicily Bookmark to your social network Map of Sicily Sicily may not be a part of the mainland but it is as much a part of Italy as any other area in Italy, although Sicilians sometimes like to proudly think of their region as being special, particularly with its separate land mass from the mainland. Where is Sicily Sicily is the largest island of the Mediterarranean. It is separated from the Italian penninsula by the Straits of Messina a mere 3 km and from Africa about 140 km away by the Siciliy Canal. It can be recognised by its triangular shape. Morphological description and maps of the Sicilian territory show a prevalence of hilly regions over mountainous or flat regions. In a category by it self is Mt Etna at aproximatly 3350 meters the highest peak in the island, the moast important active volcano on the Old Continent and in spite of its apparent isolation, the tue pivot of the contours of the region.

Territory of Sicily The so-called Sicilian Appenines are an extension of the Calabrian Appenines and can be devided, from east to west into the ranges of the Peloritani, Nebrodi-Caroni and Madonie. Sicilia being in the centre of the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily has been invaded, during the last 4,000 years by many populations from different parts of Europe (Greeks, Romans, Arabs, Norman, Germans, French Spanish and others). Thus, there are swarthy people with dark eyes and dark hair or with blue or green eyes and fair hair and skin and even some red haired people. Food in Sicily The variety and complexity of the culinary art in Sicily is the result of thousands of years of history, the amassing over the centuries of innumerable different layers of civilization and culture. While Sicilian cuisine is already rich an elaborate in itself, contributions to it from distant places are not to be neglected. There is, in fact, in almost every dish some ingredient from outside the island; the influences may be Greek, Latin, Arab-Norman, Franco-Hispano-Bourbon.

The ancient Greek roots of this cuisine, celebrated by various authors of the period (Trimalchio of Syracuse, Atheneus, Archestratus of Gela), are revealed in simple, natural foods consisting basically of very fresh fish and natural herbs, since special spices and condiments still had to be imported. The Greek cuisine remained true to itself during the time of the Roman occupation, when the island was the 'granary' of the Empire. The Greek gods in Sicily ACIS: god of the river of the same name and lover of Galatea (see ACIREALE). ALEOLUS: son of Poseidon, god of the winds and lord of Aeolian Islands. ALPHEUS:god of the river of the same name in the Peloponnese. He fell in love with the water nymph Arethusa and followed her to Sicily (see SIRACUSA). APHRODITE: (Venus): goddess of love and wife oh Hephaestus, much worshipped in Erice. CHARYBDIS: a monster who inhabited the Sicilian shore of the Straits of Messina.

Three times a day the monster swallowed huge amounts of water, creating dangerous whirlpools, including one which trapped Ulysses' ship. COCALUS: Sicilian king who offered refuge to Dedalus; the latter was pursued by Minos after helping Theseus to escape from Minos' labyrinth (see p 127). DEMETER (Ceres): goddess of the harvest, who fought with Hephaestus for control of Sicily. ERYX: son of Aphrodite and Butes (or Poseidon). He challenged Heracles and was killed by him. ETNA: a Sicilian nymph who intervened in the dispute between Demeter and Hephaestus over the possession of Sicily. One legedn recounts that the Palici were born her union with Hephaestus. GALATEA: a nymph who was loved by the monster Polyphemus and was in love wihth Acis (see ACIREALE). GIANTS: son of Gaia (the Earth) and Uranus, enemies of the Olympic gods, and particualarly of Zeus and Athena. HADES (Pluto): brother of Zeus; lord of the kingdom of the dead.

He abducted Demeter's daughter, Proserpina, on the banks of Lake Pergusa. HELIOS: god of the sun. He owned a herd of cattle in Sicily, some of which were eaten by Ulysses' companions, thus incurring the wrath of the god. HEPHAESTUS: god of fire and lord of the volcanoes, in which he worked with his helpers, the Cyclops. HERACLES: a hero during his earthly life and a god after his death. One of his 12 Labours, that of the cattle of Geryon, took place in Sicily. PALICI: twin sons of Zeus and the muse Thalia or, according to another tradition, oh Hephaestus and Etna, born in the waters of Lake Naftia, near Palagonia. PERSEPHONE(Proserpina): goddess of the Underworld and wife of Hades. TYPHON: a giant who fought with Zeus and Athena. He escaped by crossing the Sicilian sea, but was then crushed when Zeus hurled the island of Sicily on top of him.

As well as the dishes already mentioned, the following are typical of Sicilian cuisine: as hors d'oeuvres, stuffed tomatoes, vegetable caponata, stuffed or crushed olives; as first course, pasta with sardines, pasta 'ncasciata, pasta A la Norma, crispeddi, sfincioni. As main and side dishes we should mention swordfish A la ghiotta, aubergines prepared in various ways, sardines a beccafico, broccoli affogati, falsomagro and a great varety of cheeses, from pecorino to tuma to primosale. From the vast array of sweets and cakes we will mention cannoli, frutti di Martorana, agnello pasquale, pignolata and a great variety of granite. Sicilian wines are many different kinds and undoubtedly of high quality, pure and strong with a punch in them and often a touch of Marsala quality.

As well as the various types of Marsala, we will mention Bianco di Alcamo, Regaleali, Corvo di Salaparuta, various kinds of Moscato and Passito (Pantelleria), the excellent wines of the Etna district (white, rose and red), Malvasia delle Lipari, Ambrato di Comiso and Faro di Messina. The use of chick- peas with pasta, dressed with oil or in other combinations, recalls the events connected with the revolt of the Sicilian Vespers. It is to the Spanish who ruled Sicily from the fifteenth to the eighteenth century that Sicilians owe the introduction of raw materials and condiments from the New World, as well as typically Spanish food customs. With the importation of peppers, tomatoes, auberigines and potaotes, new tastes were added to the cuisine already existing, giving rise to new blends of foods and combining well chosen ingredients, while at the same time Hispanic usages and customs still deeply rooted in the life of the Sicilians were spreading.

In the age of the Bourbons it was the turn of the haute cuisine of the nobles and priests, which created its own version of the simple, popular food of the island traditions, while maintaining its ancient splendours. Legend of Sicily Legend relates how Alpheus, god of the river Alpheus in the Peloponnese, was wandering across the greek region of Arcadia, when he came across Arethusa, one of Artemis water nymphs. The river god fell in love with the nymph, but as he tried to seize her, she changed into a stream, slipping from him into Ionian Sea only remerge as a spring in Siracusa. Alpheus pursued Arethusa to Sicily, where his waters mingled with those of the nymph. This myth, diffused among the Greek population of Sicily, was taken to symbolise the transference of the Greek civilisation from the motherland to Sicily. Bridging the Strait of Messina - Best of Sicily Magazine ... Best of Sicily presents... Best of Sicily Magazine. ... Dedicated to Sicilian art, culture, history, people, places and all things Sicilian.

Bridging the Strait of Messina by Carlo Trabia Map of Sicily With the exception of Sardinia, Sicily is the only region of Italy which cannot be serviced by the country's fastest "Eurostar" trains. That's because there's no bridge or tunnel across the Strait of Messina. (Presently, trains are loaded onto ferries for the crossing.) The national government recently announced "definitively" that the project would be begun "soon" and completed in about eleven years. According to specifications, it will be the world's longest suspension bridge of its particular kind (between two towers), its centre span, at 3,300 metres, eclipsing those of Japan's Akashi Kaikyo (at 1,991) and Denmark's Great Bealt (1,624), as well as the Verrazano Narrows and Golden Gate. This length is necessary to avoid the strait's phenomenal depths, and the design allows the structure to withstand earthquakes measuring as high as 7.1 on the Richter scale, a seismic action greater than that which destroyed most of Messina in 1908. The bridge will have twelve lanes for vehicle traffic and two train tracks.

A total ferry transit time of as much as an hour for trains, somewhat less for cars (the actual nautical crossing takes as little as 25 minutes), will be reduced by the 3.7 kilometre total span. It will be the last great architectural feat of Western Europe, making it possible to drive directly (without need of ferries) from a point in Sicily south of certain parts of northern Africa to a point almost on the Arctic Circle --or northern Scotland or the heart of Russia. Amid popular pleas to avoid assigning construction contracts to Mafia-controlled companies (a problem prevalent throughout southern Italy but worse in Sicily and Calabria), politicians promised strict review procedures to ensure that corruption might be avoided. Among northern firms bidding on such contracts, simple bribes ("tangenti") are more frequent than organised crime per se. Only since the 1980s has the bridge proposal been studied seriously. Apart from endemic political corruption, potential special interests and plain indifference, environmental factors have been cited as a reason for not building the bridge.

However, environmentalists rarely explain precisely how a bridge would, in itself, threaten wildlife or the coastline moreso than the current maritime traffic, and reasonably reliable environmental studies indicate that the bridge will cause no undue damage. The possibility of earthquakes is sometimes mentioned, but San Francisco's bridge has thus far withstood seismic events and poses no obvious environmental threat. On the contrary, it is well integrated into the marine and coastal environments. The Sicily-Calabria bridge is not a new concept. Bridges and tunnels have been proposed since the 1930s. Even Benito Mussolini voiced the idea, dismissed as an idle boast. The dictator's inept government lacked the technical expertise and money needed to complete such a project successfully (having erected a few ugly government buildings but failing to provide most parts of Sicily with modern roads, running water or even electricity). But in the post-war era, the technology and money to complete the bridge clearly existed elsewhere. At one point, the American firm that designed the Verrazano Narrows bridge reportedly proposed a Sicily-Calabria project.

Today, the undertaking of certain civil engineering projects by foreign firms (the Palermo-Catania Motorway is an example) is attributed to many factors, but not usually to questions of professional competence, which in today's Italy is not lacking. A very real problem with projects of this magnitude is that delay is costly; everything becomes more expensive with passing time, the enemy of progress. The cost of the bridge will be astounding, necessitating investment from various quarters, including foreign ones. The Italian government simply cannot afford the billions required to finance it, though national sources of funding may have been sufficient as recently as 1980. Whether the bridge improves the Sicilian economy is open to debate. Trucks and trains certainly manage to get across the Strait without excessive difficulty, even though the bridge will be a great convenience. Ferry strikes will no longer be a problem. Charybdis and Scylla, the forces that menaced Odysseus (Ulysses) at the Strait of Messina, may finally be subdued. The whirlpools, though much smaller than those of myth, are very real, if not dangerous for motorised vessels, and Scylla gave a nearby Calabrian coastal town its name.

Nobody has seen any sea monsters recently, and one hopes the bridge does not become an unwieldly economic beast. In Sicily, the greatest natural wonder of Europe and the Mediterranean, Mount Etna, will be joined by the region's greatest technological wonder. It is the longest-awaited civil engineering project in Italian history, but for now the bridge dwells in the realm of hypothesis. It will be interesting to see. Finally. About the Author: Architect Carlo Trabia has written for various magazines and professional journals. Strait of Messina, Italy - ASTER Image Gallery Strait of Messina, Italy Click on Image to Enlarge (JPG) Strait of Messina, Italy (4,484,167 bytes) ( 3,870 x 6,000 ) The Strait of Messina is a narrow channel separating the island of Sicily from the Italian peninsula, connecting the Ionian Sea with the Tyrrhenian Sea. In the Strait, strong tidal currents occur, which interact with the shallow sill located in its center. The mean depth of the Strait is only 80 m, compared to depths of over 800 m to the south.

Internal wave trains of solitary waves can be generated, and these show up as sea surface manifestations because they are associated with variable surface currents that modify the surface roughness. ASTER sees these as dark (smooth) and light (rough) patterns when the solar illumination is at the correct angle relative to the orientation of the satellite. The ASTER images were acquired August 11, 2003, cover an area of 58 x 90 km, and are centered near 37.9 degrees north latitude, 15.3 degrees east longitude. Click on thumbnails below for full resolution images. Strait of Messina, Italy The straits of Messina: diary of a fighter commander; (Book, 1971) [WorldCat.org] The E-mail message field is required. Please enter the message. E-mail Message: I thought you might be interested in this item at Title: The straits of Messina: diary of a fighter commander; Author: Johannes Steinhoff Publisher: London, Deutsch, 1971.

ISBN/ISSN: 0233963138 9780233963136 OCLC:227452 The ReCaptcha terms you entered were incorrect. Please try to match the 2 words shown in the window, or try the audio version. Sicily – Travel guide at Wikivoyage Understand[ edit ] Sicily has a long history of foreign domination, from the Greeks to the Romans, Arabs, Normans, Catalans. The result is a mixed culture where every single domination left something to see, to taste, to hear. Sicily is a huge island where every little city seems to have its own culture. You will find a great variety of local specialties in all cities over the island. The Sicilians are a proud people. Though most are somewhat conservative, they are open-minded to visitors. Talk[ edit ] Natives of Sicily speak Italian and modern schools teach English to students. Some people are also proficient in Sicilian, an ancient Romance language that is a separate language from Italian . By plane / airports[ edit ] Sicily's main airports are in Palermo and Catania .

Catania (CTA) is the larger/busiest airport, with domestic flights to most parts of Italy, some international routes and many charter flights. Palermo (PMO) is the second airport, with a good range of domestic flights and international budget flights. Trapani (TPS) is the third airport with a recent increase of traffic thanks to the low-cost Ryanair. Ragusa / Comiso Airport (CIY) is a new airport and should open in near future for low-cost and charter flights. There are also two other smaller airports in Sicily on the minor islands of Pantelleria (PNL) and Lampedusa (LMP) connected to Italy . Palermo-Boccadifalco (LICP) is a military airport open to national civil traffic. By train[ edit ] Sicily is linked to the main Italian train network at Messina . Long distance trains from Rome and Naples and Milano cross the Straits of Messina by railferry and continue on to Palermo and Catania . From Naples , it usually takes 8 hours, 10 from Rome , the train stops at Villa San Giovanni train station for about 10-15 minutes.

Then it's rolled down to the Villa S.G. ferry dock, where wait about 20 minutes before the train rolls onto one of the ferries. On the ferry, you should get on the deck and watch the sea. It's a wonderful view, but don't forget the number of your train.

The 2010 timetable offers these direct trains: IC Roma - Napoli - Messina - Palermo / Siracusa 2x daily ICN Roma - Palermo InterCity Notte: Nighttrain, Seats, Couchette and Sleeper ICN Roma - Siracusa InterCity Notte: Nighttrain, Seats, Couchette and Sleeper E Venezia - Bologna - Firenze - Palermo/Siracusa Espresso: Fast-Train with Sleeper and Couchette only E Milano - Bologna - Firenze - Palermo/Siracusa 'Espresso: Fast-Train with Sleeper and Couchette only E Turino - Genova - Palermo/Siracusa 'Espresso: Fast-Train with Sleeper and Couchette only E (Milano - ) Roma - Catania - Agrigento Espresso: Fast-Train only seating accommodation; from Milano 3x per week; from Roma daily But you don't have to take a direct train.

You can also take a train from Rome to Villa San Giovanni, and walk onboard the rail ferries (or another BLUVIA ferry), and take a local train from Messina centrale to Palermo and Catania Detailed information is available at: Trenitalia Car-train There are running car-trains from Venezia and Rome to Catania and Palermo. This is great offer for those who don't want to ride a car all day. you park your car onto a train. And some hours later, you can get your car at the Catania train station or Palermo, depends on what city you bought a ticket to. The car trains also run along with the night trains, so this is a great option. Be aware: some trains on the island are very slow, for example it takes more than 7 hours between Siracusa and Trapani and it's about 450 km. But the IC (InterCity) trains that travel between Sicily and other Italian cities, run at much greater speed.

By boat[ edit ] Large, cruise-ferries link Palermo with Civitavecchia , Naples , Genoa , Livorno , Sardinia and other Mediterranean destinations (Be sure to order place for your car, or yourself, if your a pedestrian.) Because only the Messina-straight ferries are open without reservation. There are also car ferries between Milazzo , the Aeolian Islands and Naples , and between Trapani and Tunis . From Catania you can reach Naples and Malta . From Messina you can reach Salerno . See all current ferry connections at TraghettiWeb.it [2] or Ferrylines.com [3] . Across the Straits of Messina, there are at least hourly ferries between Messina on Sicily and Villa San Giovanni on the mainland. There are at least twenty of them, so don't worry about timetables or waiting too long. If you only drive a car, you can also drive on-board the BLUVIA rail/train ferries. There are also several hydrofoils each day between Messina and Reggio di Calabria .

If you do worry about timetables, which is not necessary: This one takes you right into Messina city and connects you to the Palermo - Catania highway: [4] [dead link]. And this one takes you to Messina Sud (Tremestieri) And does also connect you to the highway. This route is more for the people driving towards Catania: [5] [dead link] And there are also ferries running from Reggio Di Calabria city, to Messina-Sud (Tremestieri): [6] There are Catamarans and ferries running to/ from Malta from Pozzallo (90 min) and Catania (3h). [7] Get around[ edit ] Be careful, although public transport is very good during the week, there are not many services on Sundays - check the timetable carefully and ask the locals. By car[ edit ] The main roads are good, with four motorways (Catania-Palermo, Palermo-Mazara and Catania-Noto which are toll-free and Messina-Palermo where you have to pay). Little roads, mainly in mountain zones, are slower but offer great views.

For some regions you need to have snow chains in your car. For instance around Mount Etna you need them on board from December 1 till March 31. These roads are marked "transito con catene". Fines start at €80. Motorways By train[ edit ] The railway network in Sicily is quite good and cheap. Regular, quite fast trains run on the main lines between Messina and Palermo and Catania , with fewer trains on the other routes. [8] Trains on some routes can be infrequent and slow so it's worth checking times in advance and having a plan B. Sometimes a service listed on a station timetable is actually a bus service leaving from outside the station. As in the rest of Italy, tickets must be validated in the yellow machines found at stations - conductors may be lenient to tourists who didn't know this, but not necessarily. By bus[ edit ] The bus network in Sicily is quite extensive and cheap. The main hubs are Palermo and Catania , but routes link most of the main towns frequently and most small towns at least once a day. From virtually any town you will be able to get a bus direct to Palermo.

For the AST company, go to the website [9] and click on 'Autolinee'. There is also Interbus [10] . By boat[ edit ] There are regular ferries and hydrofoils from Sicily to its Islands, although services are somewhat reduced during Spring and Autumn and even more so during Winter. Individual companies: SIREMAR [11] , Ustica Lines [12] and NGI [13] [dead link]. The main routes are: Do[ edit ] Trekking in Sicily is going to expand. The Parks and the Nature Reserve are not very well organized but for this reason you'll have the opportunity to enjoy and discover the Sicilian Mountains and Nature. There are some wonderful treks you can do to enjoy the beauty of the main Sicilian sites like Nebrodi mountains, Madonie mountains, Etna volcano, etc. Eat[ edit ] Fish market at Syracuse Making the most of its island coasts, Sicily has one of the world's best cuisines to offer. Much of the island's food is made with creatures of the sea. Unlike in the northern parts of Italy, cream and butter are hardly used for typical dishes in Sicily.

Instead, the natives usually substitute tomatoes, lard (rarely) or olive oil. The cuisine is very exotic and has many spices and unique flavors to offer. Sicilians cultivate a uniquely Sicilian type of olive tree, which they affectionately call the "saracena". The food is typically Mediterranean but there are strong hints of Arabic and Spanish flavor (Sicily was conquered by many peoples during its long history). Sicilians like spices and have particular affinity for almond, jasmine, rosemary, mint and basil. Sicilians notoriously have a sweet tooth and are among the best dessert-makers in Italy. Try 'cannoli' (tubular pastries filled with sweet ricotta cheese), 'granita' (ices mixed with real crushed fruit and juices), and their most famous export, 'cassata' (Arabic-inspired cake). Make sure not to pass up the pine-nut and almond biscuits, as they are always a crowd pleaser. 'Arancini' (sometimes Arancine), fried rice balls with fillings, is a Sicilian fast food that is relatively cheap. They can be hard to find outside Sicily, so try them while you're there.

Drink[ edit ] Sicilians are not big alcohol drinkers (Sicily has the lowest rate of alcoholism in all of Italy) despite the fact that the island is home to more vineyards than any other Italian region and has one of Italy's most progressive wine industries. Noted mainly in the past for strong bulk wines and often sweet Moscato and Marsala, the island has switched its emphasis toward lighter, fruitier white and red wines. Sicily is divided into three main producing wine districts: Trapani province in the west; Etna in the east; Noto and Ragusa on the South east tip. Best known Sicilian wines: Nero d'Avola, Bianco d'Alcamo, Malvasia, Passito di Pantelleria, Cerasuolo di Vittoria, Etna Rosso, Etna Bianco.

Some Sicilian wine producers: Planeta; Cusumano; Tasca d’Almerita; Tenuta di Donnafugata; Feudo Principi di Butera (Zonin); Morgante; Duca di Salaparuta; Benanti; Palari; Firriato; Marco De Batoli; Salvatore Murana; Icone ( [14] ). Sicilians enjoy a fruity lemon liqueur called Limoncello during the long, hot and dry summers. Stay safe[ edit ] As in most of Italy, you should be aware of pickpockets. The well-known mafia almost never attacks tourists. There is not too much violence, but some neighborhoods can be hazardous, especially some suburbs in big cities like Catania, Messina or Palermo. In the train, especially during the night, keep your wits about you, and try to stay with other travellers. Go next[ edit ] This region travel guide to Sicily is an outline and may need more content. It has a template , but there is not enough information present.

If there are Cities and Other destinations listed, they may not all be at usable status or there may not be a valid regional structure and a "Get in" section describing all of the typical ways to get here. Please plunge forward and help it grow ! Geographia: Italy Liguria is a coastal region of northwest Italy, the principal city being Genoa, which was small town called in Genua in ancient time. As far as I can tell, there were no ancient myth or legend, involving Genoa. However, ancient Liguria extend beyond the modern boundary of Italy, into southeastern France (Gaul), which included the modern French city of Marseille, which was then called Massalia or Massilia. By the time of Augustus, the part of the region of Liguria on the French side (southeastern Gaul or southeastern of modern France), became the Roman province Narbonensis, or more fully in Latin, Gallia Narbonensis. Narbonensis was named after the Roman legionary post. It was the first part of Gaul to become fully Romanized. Heracles , during his 10th labour passed through Liguria, and fought Ialebion and Dercynus, sons of Poseidon, near Massalia.

Zeus had sent showered stones, and Heracles used these stones, to repel a large force of Ligurians. The Ligurians actually spoke Ligurian, which is not classified under the Indo-European family of languagses. Gallia Narbonensis, Narbonensis Gaul, Provincia (Latin; French side of Liguria). Μασσαλία Massalia (Marseille) Massalia, or Massilia, the ancient name for the modern city, Marseille, now the 2nd largest city in France. The city is located on the coast of the Gulf of Lion, in the Provence region, or in Roman time, the region was called Provincia (which is where Provençal came from), and then later still as Gallia Narbonensis. Massalia was found in the 7th century BC, by the Phocaean Greek from Asia Minor. During the classical period, Massalia resides in a region in what is called Liguria. It remained independent city until Julius Caesar captured Massalia. According to Apollodorus, Heracles passed through Abderia and was near Massalia when he was attacked by Ialebion and Dercynos, both sons of Poseidon.

They tried to rob the hero's cattle, which Heracles had captured after killing the owner Geryon, in his 10th labour . The people who spoke the extinct Etrucan language, were called Etrucans by the Romans, but Tyrrhenians or Tyrrenians by the Greeks. The sea was named after the Etruscans - the Tyrrhenian Sea. Their land were called Etruria, a region that comprised of all of modern Tuscany and part of Lazio north of Rome and the Tibur river, all the way north to Liguria. However, their empire in the 6th century BC extends pass Latium, to south as far as Capua in Campania, a city founded by the Etruscans. Historically, the last 3 kings of Rome were of Etruscan desents. (See Tales of Rome). The Etruscans were teachers of Rome in engineering skills, such as the walls erected around the Capioline hill and the construction of the sewer, known as Cloaca Maxima.

Rome was also indebted to Etruscans because the Latin alphabets owe much to the Etruscan alphabets; many of the Latin letters were recognisably Etruscan; Rome had adopted 21 out of the 23 Etruscan letters. According to Virgil's Aeneid , the Etruscans existed in the time of Aeneas, and most likely before his time. The Etruscans had banished their king, Mezentius, because of his oppressive rule, so the exiled king became an ally of Turnus, king of the Rutulians. Mezentius died at the end of Aeneas' sword. Because of the hostility towards their former king, the Etruscans became Aeneas' largest ally instead of with Turnus. The Etrucans were under the leadership of Tarchon, whom seemed to be more of chieftain than a king. Ancient Latium correspond to the geographical region of Lazio. Tribe of Italic people living in this area, spokes the language Latin, which includes those living in the city of Rome . However, in classical mythology, Rome was not originally of Latin origin.

The Latin villages formed a federation, for defensive purpose against any hostile neighbour. This federation was known as the Latin League. Alba Longa was the chief city in the league, where Rome originally played minor role and didn't entered the league (493 BC) until shortly after the expulsion of Rome's last king (510 BC). In 358 BC, Rome gained leadership in the Latin League. Rome was not a popular choice, because some of the cities rebelled against Rome's leadership. The Latin League ended in 338 in a long protracted war; Rome had obviously won. According to the Aeneid, Virgil wrote that most of the Latin towns were against the Trojan presence, and sided with Turnus of Ardea. Latinus, king of Latium, favoured Aeneas to be his son-in-law over Turnus, but his wife Amata favoured the Rutalian leader. The hatred of Juno (Hera) for the Trojans drove the Latins and the Rutalians into war. War was fought around Laurentum, Latinus' city. Rome Rome (Roma) was a citystate on the banks of River Tiber, located in the region of ancient Latium.

Though, Rome is now larger than it was back then, Rome in ancient time, occupied the seven hills: Palatine, Capitoline, Quirinal, Viminal, Esquiline, Caelian, and Aventine. Historically Rome would later conquered the entire of Italian peninsula and then beyond, its empire covered the entire coast of the Mediterranean, which included the Syrian and north African coasts, through centuries of military campaigns and occupations of conquered territories. Rome (Roma) was a city said to be traditionally founded in 753 BC by Romulus. Romulus was a son of the Roman god of war, Mars (Ares), and Rhea Silvia daughter of Numitor, king of Alba Longa. He was twin brother of Remus. When they were young men, Romulus wanted to built a city, began piling rocks to build his wall. Remus mocked Romulus as leapt on to Romulus' waist wall. Romulus angrily murdered his brother for the mockery. Romulus would ruled, and then succeeded by 6 other kings, before the monarchy fell, and replaced by Republic in c. 510 BC.

Virgil, author of the epic Aeneid, alluded to Romulus and foundation of Rome. Romulus was to be descendant of Aeneas . This was the official legend of Rome's foundation told by the Roman Livy and the Greek biographer Plutarch, but there were others told by Greek historians, like Dionysius of Halicarnassus and Diodorus Sicilus. According to the Dionysius of Halicarnassus was not named after Romulus, but to a Trojan woman, Rhome, who journeyed to Italy in one of Aeneas' ships. Rhome had set fire to the Trojan ships, preventing them from travelling further. Two Greek writers, Hellanicus of Lesbos and Damastes of Sigeum, had actually named Aeneas himself as the founder of Rome. The story of Aeneas can be found in Aeneid , and that of legends of Romulus and other kings in the Tales of Rome . Cumae Cumae was ancient major port city in Campania, some 20 km west of Naples.

The city was found and colonised by the Greeks from the Chalcï¿½s, city on the island of Euboea, in mid-8th century BC; perhaps the earliest to be colonised by the Greeks in Italy. Cumae became involved in the war against Etruscans, whom have founded a city on the river Voltuma - Capua. In 524 BC, Aristodemus led the army of Cumaeans to defeat the Etruscans. Their success didn't last long, because Cumae was captured by the Samnites around 425 BC. The Italic language of Oscan became dominant in the city replacing the Greek dialect. Almost a century later, Cumae was in Rome's hand. According to Virgil in the Aeneid, Cumae was where Aeneas found the seeress, known as the Sibyl, who lived in a cave. She guided the Trojan hero into the Underworld, where the hero reunited with his father's shade and learned about his destiny and the future of his descendants.

In order to enter the Underworld, Aeneas must find the Golden Bough in Diana's Woods, and then he must enter the Underworld through lake Avernus, near Cumae. Samnium is the name of the region where the tribes known as the Samnites lived. The region are mountainous, in Abruzzo mountains, east of Latium, and north of Campania and Apulia. The Samnites were the largest group that spoke the Italic dialect - Oscan, and are probably related to the Sabines. The Samnites were warlike people, who later encroach into the regions of Campania, Apulia and Calabria. They became involved in 3 wars against Rome, known as the Samnite Wars, fought two in 2nd half of the 4th century BC and the 3rd war in early 3rd century BC. The Samnites were said to offshoot of the Sabines, or Sabini or Sabellians, a tribe that became involve with Rome's early history. The Sabines, like the Samnites, spoke Oscan, an Italic language. Sabinus was said to be the founding father of the Sabines.

The Roman god, Quirinus, may have been originally a Sabine war god, but the Romans later identified Quirinus as the deified Romulus. Argyripa Argyripa is ancient name for Arpi, a city in Apulia. A city found by the Argive hero, Diomedes , who had fought against the Trojans at Troy. According to the Aeneid , Virgil says that Diomedes migrated to Apulia when his wife Aegialeia took a lover Cometes, who drove him out of Argos. Diomedes arrived with some Argives followers. When emissary from Turnus of Ardea, arrived asking for aid in the war against Aeneas and the Trojans, Diomedes refused to fight another war; he had lost all desires for war against the Trojans. He advised Turnus should make peace with Aeneas. Diomedes had lost his wife and home due to Venus' (Aphrodite's) machination, because he had wounded the goddess and her son in Troy, so he didn't want to offend the goddess again.

Taras (Tarentum) Taras was a city founded by Spartan colonists; it was the only important colony of Sparta outside of Greece, during the great migration or colonisation period. The city became a focal point of resistance against Rome's hegamony in Italy; Taras welcomed King Pyrrhus of Epeirus. In the end, Taras fell into Roman dominance after Pyrrhus' defeat and withdrawal from Italy, and the city was renamed Tarentum. Today, the city is called Taranto. No important myth or legend is associated with Taras, though Virgil did mention it as being the town of Hercules (Heracles) in the Aeneid and Ovid mentioned Tarentum only in reference to the foundation of Croton, by Myscelus (Metamorphoses, book 15). Rhegion Rhegion, or in Latin Rhegium, was an ancient city at the "toe" of Italy in the region called Calabria, but the city is now called Reggio. The Strait of Messina separated this end of Italy from Sicily, and opposite to Rhegion is a city called Messina.

The Stait of Messina was said to be the place of the monster Scylla and Charybdis. Rhegion was the place where Heracles lost one of the bulls, trying to complete the 10th labour - to fetch the cattle of Geryon . In jumped into the water, and swam across the Strait of Messina to Sicily. Syracuse Syracuse was one of the Greek cities in Sicily. The city was found by the Corinthians in 734 BC, located on the east coast, partly on the island of Ortygia, flanked by the Lesser Harbour and Great Harbour. Syracuse proper is on the island of Ortygia. It is the island itself, not the city that was a source of myth about Alpheius and Arethusa, in Ovid's Metamorphoses. Alpheius a son of Oceanus and Tethys, hence he was the river-god and the name of river in the region of Elis. When one of Diana's nymph, Arethusa, bathed in his river after hunting in the forest of Stymphalus, the river-god saw and fell in love with her.

When he failed to seduce her, he tried to ravished her while he was in human form. She fled naked from his advances. Although she could run as fast as Alpheius, he was immortal, so she began to tire. In desperation, Arethusa called upon her goddess, Diana (Artemis) to save her. The goddess sent a thick cloud to hide Arethusa. The nymph was being transformed into water. This didn't escape his notice, and he tried to transformed himself into water and mingled with Arethusa's watery form. But Diana foresaw this, split the river bed, so Arethusa drained into the earth. The water of Arethusa traveled underground, under the Ionian Sea, until it reached the island of Ortygia, where she resurfaced. Historically, Syracuse was involved in a number of wars against Carthage, which occupied the western Sicily. Gelon, king of Gela, another Greek city, had captured Syracuse in 485 BC. Gelon moved into Syracuse, using its base as his capital. Gelon conquered other Greek cities.

When Carthage invaded west Sicily, Gelon defeated the Carthaginians at Himera in 480 BC. During the Peloponnesian War, Syracuse was a democracy, like Athens, but Athens sent a large fleet to take Syracuse in 415 BC. Because the city was a former colony of Corinth, Athens besieged the city. Syracuse called Sparta and Corinth for aid, and they sent small force under the leadership of the Spartan Gylippus. Gylippus managed to turn thing around so that the Athenians then became besieged. Gylippus led the Syracusans to a decisive victory, and reversed Athens' fortune in the Peloponnesian War. Dionysius the Elder became the tyrant of Syracuse (405-367 BC). Dionysius was involved in 3 separate wars against Carthage. His first two wars were successful, which included the capture of Motya, a Carthaginian stronghold. He also invaded southern Italy. Syracuse was also the home of Archimedes (c. 285-211 BC), the most famous of inventor and mathematician.

Rome captured the city in 211 BC, and Syracuse lost its independence, but only after a long siege. Messina Messina is the Greek city in northeast Sicily, that was originally called Zankle and found in 730 BC, by colonists from Chalcis. Its name was given to the strait that separate the toe of Italy from Sicily - the Strait of Messina. As far as I can tell there is no myth of the city itself, so the strait is more famous...at least mythical-wise. The Strait of Messina was the location of the journey of Odysseus and Jason on his ship Argo, where they face two possible perils - the six-headed monster Scylla and the whirlpool Charybdis. Thetis and the Nereid aided the Argonauts to pass safely through the strait. Odysseus lost men to the Scylla, and then days later he lost his last ship and whole crew to Charybdis. Odysseus was the sole survivor. Eryx A city in west Sicily, near Lilybaeum (modern Massala).

Eryx was founded by Eryx , son of Butes and Aphrodite . Eryx's father (Butes) was a former Argonaut, who would have died, lured to his death, by the Sirens' song. But the goddess of love saved his life, and she had child by Butes. A son was born in Lilybaeum, and they named him Eryx. When Eryx was older, he went east, inland, and founded his own city. Heracles came by Eryx, during his 10th labour , with the cattle of Geryon . One of the bull in Geryon's cattle ran off at Rhegion, crossing the strait of Messina, into Sicily, and west to Eryx. Heracles pursued it to Eryx, and demands its return. Eryx challenged the hero to a boxing match, to see who would keep the bull. Heracles killed him in the boxing match. Aeneas came to Eryx, in the Aeneid, and gave offering to Eryx as a hero. Lilybaeum A coastal city in west Sicily.

Historically, Lilybaeum (now Massala), was founded by the Carthaginians during the early 4th century BC. Lilybaeum was said to be the cult centre of Aphrodite . According to the Argonautica, Apollonius Rhodius wrote that Aphrodite saved the Argonaut, Butes , from the Sirens . Butes was the only who could hear the Sirens' song, while the other Argonauts couldn't. Butes jumped overboard, and swam towards his death. Aphrodite, however, spirited him away to Lilybaeum, and he became the goddess' lover. She bored him a son named, Eryx , who would grow up and found his own city, which was named after himself, near Lilybaeum. Sardinia is a large island west of Italy and south of the island of Corisca . According Apollodorus, Iolaus , nephew of Heracles , aided the Heraclids in migrating to Sardinia. These Heraclids were sons of Thespius' 49 daughters. Thespius was a king of Thespiae, a Boeotian city.

Before Heracles began his labours for Eurystheus, when he was age 18, he was looking after his father's flock (Amphitryon's) at Mount Cithaeron, when had killed a lion (known as the Cithaeron Lion) without a weapon. This deed so impressed the king, that he wanted grandchildren from the young hero, and sent his 50 daughters to mate with young Heracles. One daughter refused to so, but two of Thespius' daughters had twins, so Heracles had 51 sons. It was these sons who went to Sardinia with Iolaus' help. Aeaea The island of Aeaea was the home of the sorceress Circe. Homer never disclosed the location of the island, but later writers put it in the Tyrrhenian Sea, north off Sicily and southeast off Italy, probably on one of the Aeolian islands. Circe was a daughter of Helius and Perse, and sister of Aeetes and Pasiphae. She used her magic to turn men into animals of all sort, when they come into her home.

Odysseus, with the help of moly plant, made him immune to her magic. She took the hero as her lover, and he lived for 3 years on the island. According to later myth, Odysseus had Latinus and Telegonus. When Telegonus became a young man, he sought his father, but accidentally killed him. Telegonus returned with Penelope and Telemachus, where he married his stepmother, and Circe married Telemachus.

Constraints to the Cause of Three Historical Tsunamis (1908, 1783, and 1693) in the Messina Straits Region, Sicily, Southern Italy | Seismological Research Letters Open access policy You have accessRestricted access Constraints to the Cause of Three Historical Tsunamis (1908, 1783, and 1693) in the Messina Straits Region, Sicily, Southern Italy Andrea Billi, Liliana Minelli, Barbara Orecchio, Debora Presti DOI: 10.1785/gssrl.81.6.907 Published on November 2010, First Published on November 15, 2010 Andrea Billi © 2010 by the Seismological Society of America INTRODUCTION Identifying the cause of past tsunamis is of paramount importance to mitigate the risk connected with future events, but recognizing a landslide-tsunami when the mass failure is entirely submarine is very challenging because of the paucity of detectable evidence (e.g., Lynett et al. 1998 ; Tappin et al.

2001 ; Synolakis et al. 2002 ; Fritz et al. 2007 ). Efforts in this direction are, however, necessary because the arrival time of these tsunamis to the coast is commonly very short (i.e., they usually originate along the margin of the continental shelf) and the related runup and inundation may be locally very large ( Bardet et al. 2003 ; Okal et al. 2003 ; Scheffers and Kelletat 2003 ; Okal and Synolakis 2004 ; Tappin, Watts, and Grilli 2008 ; Fritz et al. 2007 ). At present, the only effective way to mitigate the risk connected with landslide-tsunamis is to identify areas prone to these tsunamis. This task can be accomplished by marine surveys (e.g., Tappin et al. 2001 ; Chiocci et al. 2008 ; Minisini and Trincardi 2009 ) or through the analysis of historical tsunamis where these events are adequately documented (e.g., Okal et al.

2003 , 2009 ; Marriner and Morhange 2007 ). Eastern Sicily and southern Calabria front the Messina Straits in southern Italy and have been affected by recent and historical destructive earthquakes and tsunamis ( Boschi et al. 2000 ; Tinti et al. 2004 ; Neri et al. 2006 ; Pareschi et al. 2006 ; Galli et al. 2008 ; Gerardi et al. 2008 ; Pantosti et al. 2008 ; De Martini et al. 2010 ). For several of these events, careful observations and data were collected (e.g., Mercalli 1897 , 1909 ; Omori 1909 ; Platania 1909 ; Baratta 1901 , 1910 ), so that Sicily and Calabria are probably among the best regions worldwide where historical studies on earthquakes and tsunamis can be accomplished (e.g., Boschi et al.

1995 , 2000 ; Guidoboni and Traina 1996 ; Barbano and Rigano 2001 ; Tinti et al. 2004 ; Pino et al. 2009 ). The aim of this paper is to contribute to the knowledge of tsunami hazard in the Messina Straits area ( Figure 1 ) by constraining the cause (i.e., seismic dislocation vs. mass failure) of three earthquake-related historical tsunamis (i.e., the 1908, 1783, and 1693 tsunamis; Table 1 ). To do so, we review previously published datasets. We analyze, in particular, historical datasets of tsunami runup to discriminate between earthquake- and landslide-tsunamis according to the method of Okal and Synolakis ( 2004 ). We acknowledge that some of the presented results were previously published ( Billi, Minelli et al. 2009 ), but here we use them to understand whether tsunamis are repeatedly excited by the same kind of source or whether multiple sources exist in the study region.

We also aim to make progress in recent debates concerning the cause of the studied tsunamis ( Table 1 ). Our results are important not only for knowledge of the local earthquake and tsunami hazard, but also for better comprehension of the causal relationship between earthquakes and tsunamis (e.g., earthquake size and tsunami potential; Lomax and Michelini 2009 ) and for improvement of the historical tsunami database, against which numerical and physical models should be validated ( Synolakis and Kânoğlu 2009 ). Moreover, as the causative faults of the studied earthquakes are still uncertain or unknown, identification of the tsunami sources will also be of help in searching for these faults. If, in fact, the tsunami sources are the coseismic dislocations of the seafloor, the causative faults must be located offshore or at least close to the sea, but if the tsunami sources are mass failures, then the earthquake causative faults can be searched for in both offshore and onshore areas.

Clearly, this notion implies that in the first case (tsunami caused by coseismic dislocation) the numerical simulation of tsunami data can be used as constraint of the earthquake causative faults, whereas in the second case (tsunami caused by mass failure), this kind of data should be disregarded to constrain the earthquake source. View this table: Download powerpoint Figure 1. ▴ Schematic tectonic map of southern Italy ( Minelli and Faccenna 2010 ). The three historical earthquakes studied in this paper occurred close to Messina and Reggio Calabria (1908), Scilla (1783), and Catania and Siracusa (1693) ( Table 1 ). A, B, and C along the eastern coast of Sicily indicate the track of diagrams shown in Figure 2 . METHOD, DATA, UNCERTAINTIES, AND RESULTS We study the tsunami source by best-fitting the available datasets of observed tsunami runup with a previously published empirical function (i.e., observed vs. expected runup distributions). This method is thoroughly explained in Okal and Synolakis ( 2004 ) and summarized as follows.

By numerical simulations validated against natural events, Okal and Synolakis ( 2004 ) recognized the following relationship as the function best-fitting both experimental and observed runup distributions: (1) where ζ is the runup along the linear distance y that approximates the real coastline and a, b, and c are optimized by bestfit and are, respectively, the lateral half-extent (a), maximum amplitude (b), and peak abscissa (c) of the runup distribution. Okal and Synolakis ( 2004 ) empirically demonstrated that when the ratio I2 between b and a is greater than 10–4, the main cause of the tsunami is a landslide, whereas when I2 is smaller than 10–4, the main cause of the tsunami is the seismic dislocation of the seafloor. Below, we apply the above-explained method to the runup datasets of the 1908, 1783, and 1693 tsunamis in the Messina Straits region ( Table 1 ).

For the 1908 tsunami, we analyze the original dataset provided by Platania ( 1909 ), whereas for the 1783 and 1693 tsunamis, we analyze the datasets that were compiled by Gerardi et al. ( 2008 ) by considering several historical sources. In some cases, Gerardi et al. ( 2008 ) integrated the historical runup data with runup values obtained by inverting the historical inundation data (i.e., observed inundation distances) into runup values through the formula of Hills and Mader ( 1997 ). The analyzed runup data are characterized by the uncertainties typical of all historical reports (e.g., Guidoboni and Ebel 2009 ) as discussed in previous papers ( Billi et al. 2008 ; Billi, Minelli et al. 2009 ; Gerardi et al. 2008 ). Moreover, Equation 1 was validated against several natural tsunamis ( Okal and Synolakis 2004 ), but this equation may not be suitable for all natural cases.

In particular, Equation 1 was created to work in the case of straight coasts with no major bays, coves, or islands. The eastern coast of Sicily is as straight as other natural coasts where this criterion was previously applied with success ( Okal and Synolakis 2004 ). Finally, the formula proposed by Hills and Mader ( 1997 ) to obtain tsunami runup data from the related inundation distances has still to be validated against modern tsunami events, for which runup and inundation (as well as the Manning's roughness coefficient of terrain) should be reliably measurable. We plotted the runup data for the three studied tsunamis against distance and determined the best-fits of these data using Equation 1 , which satisfactorily fits the runup spatial distributions as attested by the related values of the coefficient of determination R2 ( Figure 2 ). All best-fits are characterized by a significant amplitude (b) and a narrow lateral half-extent (a), so that their ratio (I) is greater than 10–4.

These results suggest that the 1908, 1783, and 1693 tsunamis were chiefly excited by mass failures. Results in Figure 2 are similar to those obtained by Gerardi et al. ( 2008 ) for the 1783 tsunami (i.e., landslide-tsunami), but different for the 1908 and 1693 tsunamis (i.e., landslide-tsunamis instead of earthquake-tsunamis). DISCUSSION The above-reported uncertainties imply that the runup distributions alone ( Figure 2 ) cannot be considered definitive in classifying the 1908, 1783, and 1693 tsunamis as landslide-tsunamis. Our results are, however, important clues to suggest that the Messina Straits region, including eastern Sicily and southern Calabria, is prone to landslide-tsunamis.

For the case of the 1908 tsunami, the landslide source hypothesis is supported by other evidence such as the interruption of submarine cables in the Ionian Sea ( Ryan and Heezen 1965 ), the pattern of delay times between the arrivals of the earthquake and tsunami waves to the coasts ( Billi et al. 2008 ), and the ratio, I1, between the measured maximum runup and the hypothetical coseismic slip (i.e., I1 is between 2.7 and 6.0; Billi, Minelli et al. 2009 ). In particular, the interruption of submarine cables and evidence of submarine turbidity current provided by Ryan and Heezen ( 1965 ) are primary in demonstrating that there was a massive underwater slump in 1908, thus clearly breaking the landslide vs. seismic dislocation case and leaving open other reasonable debates such as those concerning the landslide size and location or the minor role possibly played by the seismic dislocation on the tsunami generation and runup ( Table 1 ).

For the case of the 1783 tsunami, historical sources report that this tsunami was very likely generated by a huge earthquake-induced subaerial rockfall nucleated on the southwestern side of the Scilla beach, i.e., the Monte Paci, which then collapsed into the Messina Straits ( Tinti et al. 2004 ; Graziani et al. 2006 ). This information is consistent with the very short distance of runup decay (circa 10–15 km; Figure 2C ) typical of landslide-tsunamis (e.g., Okal and Synolakis 2004 ; Okal and Hébert 2007 ). For the case of the 1693 tsunami, at present no further evidence exists in support of the landslide source as inferred from the runup distribution ( Figure 2C ). The susceptibility to mass failures of the Messina Straits region is also largely demonstrated by several onshore studies (e.g., Pantano et al.

2002 and Tertulliani and Cucci 2009 , among others), three of which, at least, report on large sets of inland landslides triggered by the 1908, 1783, and 1693 earthquakes ( Murphy 1995 ; Keefer 2002 ; Nicoletti and Parise 2002 ). Although our results suggest that the studied tsunamis were generated by mass failures, we acknowledge that the method used does not allow us to detect the influence on the tsunami runup of possible coseismic seafloor dislocations. In the case of the 1908 tsunami, for instance, some recent studies based on numerical modeling ( Piatanesi et al. 2008 ; Tappin, Watts, Grilli et al. 2008 ; Favalli et al. 2009 ) propose a contribution of the coseismic seafloor dislocation on the tsunami runup, but this contribution should be less than circa 20% in terms of maximum observed runup ( Piatanesi et al. 2008 ; Favalli et al. 2009 ).

Download powerpoint Figure 2. ▴ Tsunami runup data (and related best-fits obtained applying Equation 1 ) plotted along a track parallel to the coast of eastern Sicily ( Figure 1 ). Note that the vertical scale is the same for the three diagrams, whereas the horizontal scale is different for the diagram in (B). a, b, and c are the parameters of Equation 1 . I2 is the b to a ratio. R2 is the coefficient of correlation of the best-fits. A) Runup distribution for the 1908 tsunami. Data were collected by Platania ( 1909 ). B) Runup distribution for the 1783 tsunami. Data were compiled by Gerardi et al. ( 2008 ) after historical sources. C) Runup distribution for the 1693 tsunami. Data were compiled by Gerardi et al. ( 2008 ) after historical sources. Results from this study provide new insights into the location of the three earthquake-causative faults (i.e., 1908, 1783, and 1693 earthquakes), which are still unknown or poorly constrained.

The evidence that the three tsunamis were likely excited by mass failures extends the potential location of the causative faults also to inland regions. For instance, Bianca et al. ( 1999 ) as well as several other studies ( Barbano and Rigano 2001 ; Sirovich and Pettenati 2001 ; Visini et al. 2009 ) ascribe the 1693 earthquake to an inland source. The causative fault system of the 1783 earthquake is commonly recognized as located in western Calabria (i.e., onshore; Jacques et al. 2001 ; Galli and Bosi 2002 ), whereas the causative fault of the 1908 earthquake is still unknown, but most studies indicate the narrow section of the Messina Straits (i.e., mostly offshore) as the probable location for this fault ( Pino et al. 2009 ). The abovecited studies that propose onshore causative faults for the 1783 and 1693 earthquakes inherently support the landslide source hypothesis for the related tsunamis.

BRIEF HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE OF LANDSLIDE-TSUNAMIS A brief historical perspective of rather well known landslide-tsunamis is here included to better understand the value of our results. The NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) world tsunami database (available online at ) reports, at present (March 2010), 30 definite tsunamis caused by landslides and 48 definite tsunamis caused by earthquake and landslide, but for most events the runup documentation is poor. In fact, only for 13 tsunamis ( Table 2 ) out of a total of 78 does the related runup documentation include more than five data with at least one datum greater than 2 m. View this table: View popup TABLE 3 Survey of some recent and historical, rather well-known landslide-tsunamis recently documented in the geophysical literature.

The cause of most listed tsunamis is still debated and, in several cases, is likely composite (i.e., landslide and earthquake; e.g., Turkey 1999, Alaska 1964, Greece 1956, Fiji 1953, and Alaska 1946). Compare this table with Table 2 . CONCLUSIONS We conclude that, given the recurrence in the study area of strong earthquakes ( Neri et al. 2006 ) and related mass failures ( Ryan and Heezen 1965 ; Murphy 1995 ; Keefer 2002 ; Tertulliani and Cucci 2009 ), the Messina Straits area is at risk of earthquake-related landslide-tsunamis. This conclusion is corroborated by historical evidence presented in this paper and previously about the 1908, 1783, and 1693 tsunamis (e.g., Tinti et al. 2004 ; Graziani et al. 2006 ; Billi et al. 2008 ).

Marine geological and geophysical surveys and an alert system should, therefore, be accomplished to better discern the susceptibility to landslide-tsunamis and attempt to mitigate the connected risk. The successful application of the method by Okal and Synolakis ( 2004 ) to the runup dataset of the 1783 landslide-tsunami (see also Gerardi et al. 2008 ), whose cause was documented by eyewitness accounts as being a subaerial rockfall ( Table 1 ), constitutes an important validation of this method for this type of tsunami. If our results are correct, then the studied tsunamis improve the statistics of Lomax and Michelini ( 2009 ), according to whom destructive earthquake-tsunamis are unlikely for earthquakes with M ≤ 7.5 (see also Rosenau et al. 2010 ), but this conclusion is valid only if the sources of the studied earthquakes are located offshore. The repetition of historical landslide-tsunamis addressed in this paper is unique worldwide.

As such, the Messina Straits region may constitute a natural laboratory for studies on landslide-tsunamis and for those researchers needing well-documented instances of landslide-tsunamis as benchmarks of numerical and physical models or as suitable case histories to be simulated. Acknowledgments This study was conceived and stimulated by Prof. Renato Funiciello during his last days of life. His love for historical studies and for the education of young scientists will be forever a model for us. We thank C. Faccenna and G. Neri for their encouragement, E. Okal for a thorough and constructive review, and L. Astiz and her staff for the editorial work.

Footnotes ↵ 1 Istituto di Geologia Ambientale e Geoingegneria, CNR, Rome, Italy ↵ 2 Dipartimento di Scienze Geologiche, Università Roma Tre, Rome, Italy ↵ 3 Now at Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Rome, Italy ↵ 4 Dipartimento di Fisica, Università della Calabria, Cosenza, Italy ↵ 5 Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università di Messina, Messina, Italy References Ambraseys, N. N. (1960). The seismic sea wave of July 9, 1956 in the Greek archipelago. Journal of Geophysical Research 65,1,257 -1,265. Ferry to Sicily: Whirlpools around Strait of Messina / 0 Comments /in Calabria , Catania , Messina , Notes , Reggio Calabria , Sicilia /by Mette Thoughts sitting on the deck of the Ferry to Sicily: A floating rust pile with a phenomenal view of Sicily and the Calabrian coast.

It is always a little stressful to arrive at Villa San Giovanni to catch the traghetta to Sicily. After hundreds of kilometres weird highway driving with non-stop stop / go traffic, locating the ferry seems suspiciously easy. The long waiting bays are eerily empty, but it does not dawns that there may be competition on the ferry crossing, before the ticket booth, where I am asked to choose between a single ticket costing 25 euros and a return ticket with 1 euro discount. I make the mistake of buying a return ticket, which means that we will have to find a specific ferry berth at the port of Messina, when we are going back to the mainland, but that pleasure is fortunately far in the future. Right now the challenge is to find an open bow door. We manage with help from a man, who sticks his smoking torso through the window to check the ticket. In his opinion we are just in time for the departing ferry, but we have to hurry. This will save us a twenty-minute wait. An electric cable and five men, who are deeply involved in some kind of repair, block access to the ferry.

But after a few minutes with no eye contact, a pair of wheels over water and a pair of wheels on land, we drive over the cable. This does not seem to bother the workers in charge of the tool at the end of the cable, but the man standing at the opposite end, authorizing loading in the nearly empty ferry, becomes furious. No one should drive back or forth, without him giving the go ahead, and it takes a load of excuses to make him smile again. Five minutes later, we are sitting on the deck of a floating rust pile, enjoying the phenomenal view of Sicily and the Calabrian coast. Crossing the Strait of Messina is just as beautiful as a trip over Bospherus, despite the lack of tespits, tea serving and dolphins. Instead there is an imaginary shadow of Mount Etna and the other boats that all make a detour to the north, before they sail along the coast of Sicily. After a good half hour the ferry reaches port, and the effort of finding a way out of Messina provides a nice opportunity for sightseeing. Some days later the return trip offers new challenges.

First it is difficult to identify the right ferry, and then the signs disappear in dense rows of parked cars. Below a bridge the road misses half a metre of asphalt, and the sound of the chassis hitting asphalt hurts tax-ridden Danish car owners. Immediately afterwards tears start running, when we pass the smelly, black smoke from a tire burn. And down at the ferry berth there is still no end or ferry in sight, but a friendly port worker says, we just have to cross the railway lines, and drive through build up container rows to reach the car ferry. Transport logistics are not the strongest point in these parts. It may well be, that Homer in The Iliad and The Odyssey exaggerated his description of Scylla, the many headed monster that guarded the entrance to the Strait of Messina and ate sailors, who came close to shore, while the whirlpool Charybdis pulled one vessel down after the other, but strong currents do make the Strait of Messina dangerous and unpredictable. Just like signs and access ways challenge tourists trying to navigate the harbour area before boarding a ferry. Other things to see than the ferry to Sicily MESSINA: A CITY WITHOUT MEMORY? - YouTube MESSINA: A CITY WITHOUT MEMORY?

Want to watch this again later? Sign in to add this video to a playlist. Need to report the video? Sign in to report inappropriate content. The interactive transcript could not be loaded. Loading... Rating is available when the video has been rented. This feature is not available right now. Please try again later. Published on Apr 4, 2013 On 28 December 1908 the most lethal seismic event in the history of the western world struck the cities either side of the Straits that separate Sicily from the Italian mainland. This documentary investigates the historical memory of the catastrophe in the Sicilian city of Messina. By John Dickie and Dan Sayer. Made as part of a research project at University College London funded by the AHRB.

Question: Name the straits which separate Italy and Sicily?
Answer: Messina