Messina
The port of Messina, among the largest and most important in the Mediterranean, is now, with more than 10 million passengers transported per year, the number one in Italy in the sector.
The port, which opens on the western shore of the Strait of Messina, consists of a wide inlet enclosed by the typical natural crescent, which bounds a port area of about 820,000 m². The port areas on land, on the other hand, occupy about 50 hectares. The city of Messina overlooks the harbor with its historic center, which has developed since before the time of Greek colonization on the edge of the harbor, so much so that the city's original Sicilian name, Zancle ("sickle") recalls precisely the shape of the harbor arm.
The mouth of the port, oriented NW, is about 400 meters wide and stretches between Fort St. Savior and the operational headquarters of the harbor master's office.
The average depth of the dock (about 100 meters from the docks) is 40 meters, while the depths at the dock are between 6.5 and 11 meters; this allows access and docking for even large tonnage ships.
The eleven docks, equipped with cranes, fixed and mobile, and equipped with tracks for rail connections, extend a total of about 1,770 meters.
The port of Messina is also among the Mediterranean's leading tourist ports, with a growing annual traffic of cruise passengers: 260,000 in 2006, 300,000 in 2007, 355,000 in 2008 and 405,000 in 2009.
Messina's port area also includes the San Francesco roadstead landings, used for boarding motor vehicles on ferries to Villa San Giovanni; the Tremestieri landings, used for boarding heavy vehicles to Villa San Giovanni and Reggio Calabria; and the "Marina del Nettuno" tourist port, with an availability of 160 berths.
Cross-strait rail services are fulfilled by Messina Marittima Station, which is contiguous to Messina Central Station. The Nuremberg Pier, the largest of those in the Messina port, on the other hand, is intended for docking ships on the Sea Highway to Salerno and extends into the area of the remains of the Citadel.
