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altrodove
tour operator
Tales of Sicily
Messina
and province
Food and Wine
The food and wine of the province of Messina is a fascinating blend of maritime and mountain culture, marked by the millennia-old passage of peoples across the Strait.
It's a border cuisine that looks to Calabria but remains profoundly Sicilian, capable of combining the refinement of swordfish with the robust flavors of the Nebrodi Mountains.
Messina's culinary tradition revolves around swordfish hunting, an ancient practice that has made this ingredient the king of the table, along with other rotisserie specialties.
Indeed, moving away from the Strait, the territory offers internationally recognized land and sea excellences such as capers and Malvasia from the Aeolian Islands and the meat of the black pig of the Nebrodi.
Nature
The nature of the province of Messina is a unique geographical mosaic, characterized by the meeting of two seas and the presence of mountain ranges that plunge directly into the blue.
It is the most forested province in Sicily, a land where water—fresh, salt, or sulfurous—is the element that shapes every landscape.
The Nebrodi Park represents the lungs of northern Sicily. With its rounded peaks and broad plateaus, it is home to dense forests of beech, cork, and oak trees. Here, nature manifests itself in all its pristine beauty through mountain lakes such as Lake Biviere and Lake Maulazzo, wetlands of exceptional biodiversity value where it is not uncommon to spot griffon vultures in flight.
Declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Aeolian Islands are a showcase of living geology. Each island tells a different volcanic story: from the incessant activity of Stromboli, with its lava flows pouring into the Sciara del Fuoco, to the fumaroles of Vulcano, to the wild nature of Alicudi and Filicudi. The seabeds of these islands are a paradise for diving, thanks to the clarity of the water and the richness of underwater flora and fauna.
The Strait of Messina: A point of convergence between the Ionian and Tyrrhenian Seas, it is a unique marine ecosystem, characterized by strong currents that rise from the depths, bringing nutrients and extremely rare deep-sea species to the surface.
At the southern border of the province, the Alcantara River flows between walls of basalt lava. The sudden cooling of ancient flows has created stone prisms with spectacular geometric shapes, through which the icy water carves corridors of rare beauty.
Rising above the city of Messina are the Peloritani Mountains, sharp ridges offering a dual view of both seas. Along the coast, nature reserves like Marinello a Patti—with its brackish lakes that change shape with the tides—and the promontory of Capo Milazzo protect precious patches of Mediterranean scrub and sheer cliffs.
Popular Culture
The popular culture of the province of Messina is a fascinating legacy, suspended between the myth of the Strait of Messina and the solemnity of mountain traditions. It is a culture shaped by its proximity to the sea, which has given rise to age-old legends and collective rituals of extraordinary visual power.
Messina's identity is deeply tied to the geography of its stretch of sea. The myth of Colapesce, the young man who decided to remain at the bottom of the abyss to support one of Sicily's three pillars as it was about to collapse, is a symbol of sacrifice and attachment to one's homeland.
Added to this are the Homeric tales of Scylla and Charybdis, the monsters who personified the fearsome currents of the Strait, transforming the sea into a sacred and mysterious place.
The popular celebrations in Messina and its province are among the most impressive in Sicily:
Every year in August, the Giants—two enormous papier-mâché equestrian statues—are carried in procession. They represent the city's mythical founders and symbolize the union between the Sicilian and Saracen races, in an atmosphere of incredible emotion.
Moving inland and towards the islands, popular culture takes on different nuances:
The Carnival of Novara di Sicilia: Famous for the "Torneo del Maiorchino," where participants roll large wheels of pecorino cheese down the sloping streets of the village.
The Jews of San Fratello: During Holy Week, the figures dressed in red jackets and grotesque masks disrupt religious rites with trumpets and noise, in a singular combination of the sacred and the profane.
Aeolian Rites: On the smaller islands, traditions linked to the protection of sailors and patronal festivals survive, where volcanic fire and the sea become the protagonists of the celebrations.
The manual skill of the Messina area is expressed in the construction of Passarelle (special boats for fishing swordfish), in the production of fabrics and embroidery in the mountain villages, and in the art of the shepherds of the Nebrodi, who still today produce traditional musical instruments and everyday objects carved from wood.
This culture reflects a people who inhabit a "gateway" between different worlds, capable of guarding stories as ancient as the Mediterranean.
Solidarity trips
Solidarity trips in the province of Messina offer a profound and conscious way to explore an area where the sea meets the most wooded mountains of Sicily.
Choosing this approach means transforming the journey into an act of support for the resilience of local communities and the protection of fragile ecosystems, from the peaks of the Nebrodi to the coasts of the Aeolian Islands.
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