Italy - The Straits of Messina - Between Sicily And Calabria (108/151)

Italy - The Straits of Messina - Between Sicily And Calabria (108/151)

The Straits of Messina have been a strategic flash point ever since antiquity, connecting the Ionian and Tyrrhenian Sea between Sicily and the "toe" of the Italian "boot". At its narrowest point between Capo Peloro and Punta Pezzo in the north, the "Stretto" is no more than three kilometers (2 miles) wide, widening to 16 kilometers (10 miles) in the south. The coastal road on either side, which connects Messina to the Peloritani Mountains in the Sicilian hinterlands, and Reggio di Calabria with the jagged cliffs of the Aspromonte on the mainland side, passes historic sites and spectacular sights. In late May, the Sicilian fishermen of Ganzini and the Calabrian swordfish-anglers of Scilla in their elegant Passerelle boats ply the "Stretto", providing magical views of an almost archaic beauty. On their boats with the high observation towers and long bow outriggers, the anglers still bag the coveted swordfish with harpoons. They know well the perils of these waters, which Homer sang of, and are still very real and deadly. Due to the tides, there is an elevation difference between the two great waters of up to a half a meter at times, leading to irresistibly powerful currents in the strait. Currents and countercurrents vie with each other, resulting in an incomparable spectacle, which shapes the strait, the humans on it and the way they make their living.