Travel blog: CELEBRITY INFINITY Cruise - Day 1

Lemayee
21 jan 2020
2 minuten om te lezen

Messina, Italy

After settling in, in our Balcony State Room onboard the Celebrity Infinity, we headed to Café al Bacio for a good cup of Italian Espresso. The ship headed to Messina (Sicilian: Missina) a city in the northeast of Sicily, Italy. It's the capital of the province of the same name, and lies on the Mediterranean Sea. Messina is often called the "Gate to Sicily" The port of Messina has a difficult approach, so a local pilot was shipped in before entering the port. We got a good view from the pilot approaching the ship from our balcony.

Because of its port, Messina has been an important city for Sicily over the centuries. The main sources of income for the city are seaports (commercial and military shipyards), cruise tourism, trade and agriculture (wine production and the cultivation of lemons, oranges, mandarins and oranges and olives)

We focussed on doing the most popular sights in Messina. We walked up to the Sicilian Baroque-style Temple of Christ the King. Located high up on the Viale Principe Umberto, this monument offers fantastic panoramic views across to the Mediterranean sea and the whole of Messina. On our way up we passed some really interesting locations as well.

The second sight we visited, was the Messina Cathedral. As the main Catholic church in Messina, the Duomo has stood since 1551 and was originally constructed by a renowned architect from Florence who was actually a protégé of Michelangelo. During the second World War, the Cathedral was hugely damaged, and the version you see today is a reconstruction that stays true to its original design and materials.

The Cathedral is located on the Piazza del Duomo. This beautiful square is undoubtedly one of the main attractions in Messina – located in close proximity to the port and where the cruise ships dock, it is usually one of the first areas tourists head for. Contained within the square are the Bell Tower and the Fontana di Orione which is an ornate water fountain with many detailed sculptures. We decided to climb up the bell tower and it was worth the effort. We had some beautiful views of Messina and got to see the interior of the Bell Tower as well.

Our next stop was the Galleria Vittorio Emanuelle III. The shops inside were closed unfortunately, but we were able to admire the inside of the building. The Galleria Vittorio Emanuele III in Messina, is built in the same style as the famous gallery in Milan, has a fantastic design and a large central promenade covered with a glass roof. The exterior of this building has a beautiful facade with various columns and ornate arches and the name of the gallery is engraved in bold lettering.