By Shobha Rao Smilemaker
During our previous visit to Italy, we were treated to some authentic Sicilian food by local friends, who told us that we must visit the beautiful Sicily some time if ever we could. Sevebteen years, when I watched our Cruise ship slowly entering the spectacular looking, strait of Messina, I was in a state of gratitude for this dream come true.
Unlike other major ports that are far away from the city centre, we hardly walked 5 minutes and seemed to be in the midst of the bustling centre with toy trains, gardens, statues and souvenir selling sales people around us.









Our first stop was at the Catalan Church, a medieval period structure that survived the devastating earthquake of 1908. It's Norman style architecture blended other styles like having a central dome, columns, porches and a semi-circular area called apse.
We walked towards the Cerruto Bisazza palace, whose iron balcony railings had the unique motif of the star of David. They are called palaces but without the opulent look that we associate with a palace. The next one called the Calapaj- Alcontres palace which looked more like an ancient aristocratic residence. Its central floor, seemed to be adorned with decorative sculpted festoons giving it an overall elegant look.
We then went to the famous Messina Cathedral, that was rebuilt after the 1908 earthquake. There were stalls selling colourful gummies nearby, and I reminded my adult children how they used to compete with each other to select the best gummies in the limited options they had as kids in the store.
Around noon we came to the most iconic landmark of Messina - the largest and most intricate astronomical clock tower in the world! Imagine for a whole 12 minutes, in four seperate floors of the clock tower, a number of different bronze characters like Gods, angels, humans, animals, birds etc. keep chiming with different sounds.
First the crowned lion waving the flag of Messina, moved and roared three times.
Next Dina and Clarenza - the idols of Messina, who ring the quarter hour bells, came out with a rooster that crowed three times.
Next we saw an angel handing a letter to the Madonna while St. Paul and the ambassadors bow their heads. Next we saw a Biblical scene about the Resurrection of Jesus with two soldiers keeping watch over his tomb.
We them saw, a dove flying in a circle as Madonna's sanctuary rose from the ground.
Also impressive was when four statues representing a child, a young man, a warrior, and an old man. passed in front of the skeletal figure of Death.
The last floor to chime was a corousel with 7 figures in motion representating the 7 days of the week.
I have never ever seen such a fantastic synchronised timepiece show in my life!
Next we slowly climbed the Caperrina Hill, and kept getting a superb birds eye view of the city. Finally we took a long break outside the Shrine of Christ with its octagonal layout and 8 bronze statues facing different directions. It also had a military memorial crypt with remains of 1288 World War soldiers. The huge bronze bell was made out of melted enemy cannons. We enjoyed both the panoramic views and also the antics of our infant grandchildren!
It was a long walk down the hill again and we took a well deserved rest at a garden watching my grandson chasing pigeons.
Our last sightseeing spot was at the Neptune fountain with the idol in a rotated position facing the sea, instead of the other way around at its earlier location.
Finally I walked again past the port on to the lively Guiseppe Garibaldi street and went to see the shopping area with its wide sidewalks, boutiques, restaurants etc.
Messina, another unique city, that give me a taste of Sicily with a smile.

Shobha Rao Smilemaker has a vision of living in a world where people use their ability to find and make smiles in any situation. She is a lawyer by qualification, a soft skills trainer by passion, a motivational speaker, a freelance journalist, a bestselling author, an avid traveler and founder of 'Smilemakers Trainings'. She can be contacted at www.shobhasmilemaker.com.