Messina

After a consistent decrease in population recorded between the censuses of 1981 and 1991, Messina has experienced, since the last decade of the 20th century, a recovery thanks to which, matured a high level of tertiarization, has begun to diversify, both urban and functional qualifications. The industry is active in the shipbuilding, chemical, engineering and food branches.

75% of the territory of Messina is in a special protection area and contains two sites of Community importance. Messina, with its strait and its characteristic lighthouse, evokes the Homeric epic, offering cultural visits and excursions. Among the main attractions are:

1. The Cathedral Bell Tower, which rises some 60 meters with its majestic mechanical clock, added to the bell tower in 1933, boasting the record of being the largest astronomical clock in the world reproducing the signs of the zodiac.
2. The picturesque cathedral, with its typically Norman structure.
3. The numerous villages around the town.
4. The Church of Santissima Annunziata dei Catalani.

Economy

Farming and stockbreeding activities are still practiced in the countryside of the villages in the municipality of Messina. Among the agricultural products, the most important are citrus fruits, vines and beer. The tertiary sector is the 'driving force' of the city's economy. This is partly due to the presence of the port, which in the past was an important port of export for local products (wine, silk, and, above all, citrus derivatives) and is still an important port of call for goods (in particular, raw materials and processed materials from/to the processing industries in the area).

Interests and Future Goals

In 2018, the city of Messina began a development path geared towards becoming a "Smart City". Among the initiatives envisaged by the growth programme, implemented also thanks to the PON Metro European Funds, the following are particularly relevant:

• MEsM@RT: The main objective of the project is the creation of a digital 'ecosystem' to improve the management of territorial monitoring and control processes. The implementation of the project will make it possible to create a single, cooperative and interoperable system for the collection and processing of basic information on the urban territory.
• ImpleME: The objective of the project is to strengthen and introduce solutions that allow the pursuit of macro-objectives that are crucial for the efficiency and quality of services in the metropolitan area through the development of integrated and interoperable modules for the management of SUAP, Commerce and Tax procedures.
• Agora: The main objectives of the project are the design of the Digital Identity of the Municipality of Messina, the digitalization of the commercial/artisan and tourist/cultural offer of the metropolitan territory of the City of Messina.
• Urbamid+: The main objective of the project is the development and integration of the IT tools necessary for an innovative and automated management of the design, assessment and implementation phases of public and private building projects operating in the Municipality of Messina and the municipalities participating in the initiative.