Milazzo

Coordinates: 38°13′15″N 15°14′29″E / 38.22083°N 15.24139°E / 38.22083; 15.24139
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Milazzo
Milazzu (Sicilian)
Comune di Milazzo
View of the Castle, Old Cathedral, Ancient "Borgo", and part of waterfront of the city center.
View of the Castle, Old Cathedral, Ancient "Borgo", and part of waterfront of the city center.
Coat of arms of Milazzo
Nickname: 
The cape town
Milazzo within the Province of Messina
Milazzo within the Province of Messina
Location of Milazzo
Map
St. Stephen
Saint dayFirst Sunday of September
WebsiteOfficial website

Milazzo (

romanized: Mýlai) is a municipality (comune) in the Metropolitan City of Messina, Sicily, southern Italy; it is the largest commune in the Metropolitan City after Messina and Barcellona Pozzo di Gotto
. The town has a population of around 31,500 inhabitants.

History

Several civilizations settled in Milazzo and left signs of their presence from the Neolithic age. In Homer's Odyssey Milazzo is presumably the place where Ulysses is shipwrecked and meets Polyphemus.

Historically, the town originated as the ancient Greek Mylae (

Zancle, occupied before 648 BC, perhaps as early as 716 BC.[4][5]
It was taken by the Athenians in 426 BC. The people of
Tyndaris; but Dionysius soon took it. In the bay Gaius Duilius won the first Roman naval victory over the Carthaginians
(260 BC).

In 36 BC the naval

Marcus Agrippa, engaged that of Sextus Pompey. While the battle was nearly a draw, Sextus could not replace his losses, and was thus weaker at the following Battle of Naulochus (36 BC), where he was utterly defeated.[6]

After the fall of the

Byzantines
, the town became one of the first episcopal seats of Sicily. In the 9th century Milazzo was conquered by the Arabs, who built the first nucleus of the castle here.
Frederick II of Hohenstaufen further fortified the town and created a personal hunting park. The castle was later mostly rebuilt in the age of Charles V of Spain.

Milazzo was also the seat of

Kingdom of Two Sicilies during his Expedition of the Thousand
.

Geography

Milazzo borders with the municipalities of Barcellona Pozzo di Gotto, Merì and San Filippo del Mela.[7]

Milazzo is the point of reference of a vast territory, from Villafranca Tirrena to Patti (over 200,000 inhabitants). Is also, an important centre of the Strait of Messina Metropolitan Area (who also includes areas of Reggio Calabria), with the nearby town Barcellona Pozzo di Gotto. Located at the base of a peninsula that juts into the Tyrrhenian Sea with a small promontory, the town is 43 kilometres (27 mi) from the city of Messina.[citation needed]

Main sights

The church of the Carmine.

Other sights include:

  • the Church of Our Lady of Mount Carmel
  • the Baroque Church of the Holy Crucifix (1629), housing a wooden canopy from the 18th century and a wooden crucifix from the early 17th century.
  • Rock church of St. Anthony of Padua
  • Sanctuary of St. Francis of Paola

Economy

Over time, the town is moving forward towards the sea by recording a continuous development of

industrial
.

Transportation

Port of Milazzo 2016

The port of Milazzo is a departure point for ferries to the Aeolian Islands and Naples.

See also

References

  1. ^ "Superficie di Comuni Province e Regioni italiane al 9 ottobre 2011". Italian National Institute of Statistics. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
  2. Istat
    2011
  3. ), Map 47, notes.)
  4. ^ E. A. Freeman, History of Sicily, I., pp. 395, 587
  5. ^ Thucydides, Peloponnesian War, §3.90
  6. ^ Dio 49.1–18
  7. ^ 39568 (x a j h) Milazzo on OpenStreetMap

External links