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The longest suspension bridge in the world is to be built between the Italian mainland and Sicily. But the building divided the spirits at the Straits of Messina.
Torre Faro is a pretty outskirts of Messina. The view goes over the deep blue sea, falls on single-family houses, idyllic gardens and two small lakes. This is exactly where the Sicilian pillar of the three-kilometre-long suspension bridge is to stand.
I don’t want to imagine that at all.
Daniele Ialacqua lives in Torre Faro and says: «It would be terrible. I don’t want to imagine that at all.” Because the pillars of the Ponte sullo Stretto would be almost 400 meters high on each side of the strait. They would be around 70 meters higher than the Eiffel Tower. Ialacqua’s little house would stand in the shadow of that giant.
Legend:
Daniele Ialacqua lives in Torre Faro. He is not at all enthusiastic that one day a 400 meter high bridge pillar will cloud his view.
Franco Battle
Suspension ropes at the cemetery
Ialacqua takes us on a tour of the neighborhood in his car: “You can see our cemetery over there. First they planned to anchor the bridge’s supporting cables deep in the ground exactly where our dead lie.” An adapted, new project now at least protects the cemetery. But it is clear to him that this popular residential area with this bridge would hardly offer any quality of life.
Legend:
View of the Strait between Sicily and Calabria from Messina.
Franco Battle
The point where by far the longest suspension bridge in the world would reach Sicily is a few kilometers northeast of central Messina.
For the people of the straits, this bridge has been an issue for decades. Various Italian heads of government promised to build them: Romano Prodi, Silvio Berlusconi and Matteo Renzi. But Giorgia Meloni’s right-wing government now seems to be serious. Groundbreaking is expected to take place next year.
Opinions are mixed
On the Piazza Cairoli in the center of Messina, one hears very different opinions. Some of the boys who sit in the shade after school say: “Great, this bridge is important for Italy and all of Europe”. Others counter: “No, they’re just kidding us, they’ll never build the bridge.” And a student objects: “It would be a shame about the wonderful landscape if the bridge were actually built.”
We believe in science and technical progress.
Santi Trovato is the President of the Association of Engineers of Messina. He does not share the concerns – on the contrary. “We believe in science and technical progress.”
Legend:
Engineer Santi Trovato has high hopes for the construction project. It is intended to benefit the city of Messina in various areas.
Franco Battle
This bridge would be far more than just a connection between Calabria and Sicily. This bridge would be a kind of medicine for this city and for the whole region. Santi Trovato calls it “urban acupuncture”.
Legend:
This is what the Ponte sullo Stretto should look like one day.
Reuters/Tony Gentile
Because of the approximately 13 billion euros that the bridge is expected to cost, four billion will be invested in the bridge and a total of nine billion in the access routes: for new roads, new tracks, new train stations. Engineer Trovato and all supporters hope for thousands of new jobs.
«A technical venture»
In Torre Faro, where the Sicilian pillar is supposed to rise, Daniele Ialacqua shakes his head. Not only has he been an activist against this bridge from the very beginning, but he was also a member of Messina’s city government for five years. He knows the plans and states: “To date, there is no implementation project”.
Ialacqua and opponents say the bridge will mar the protected landscape. In addition, it poses a technical risk. Because the materials needed to build such a long bridge in a stable manner did not yet exist. The opponents also refer to the risk of earthquakes.
Legend:
Opponents protest in Messina against the project. (Picture from 06.06.2023)
Keystone/AP Photo/Francesco Saya (stock image 2006)
The devastating earthquake of 1908
Messina is well over 2000 years old and was founded by the ancient Greeks. And yet you hardly see a house in Messina today that is more than 100 years old. This has to do with the fact that the earth often trembles here. In 1908, a severe earthquake and subsequent tsunami reduced Messina to rubble and ashes. The opponents therefore say: This is the worst possible place to build such a bridge.
Engineer Santi Trovato disagrees. He argues that the architects and experts designed this bridge to withstand even an earthquake as powerful as that of 1908. Statement stands against statement – as is so often the case when it comes to this bridge.
Implementation project by the end of the year
Meanwhile, one of the big ferries has docked at the port of Messina. Dozens of cars and trucks roll out of the ship’s thick belly. But the days of such ferries should now be numbered. The concrete implementation project should be available by the end of the year. And after final checks and adjustments, construction should begin by the middle of next year.
Legend:
Instead of taking the ferry, Sicily will in future be accessible via the Ponte sullo Stretto suspension bridge.
Franco Battle
Giorgia Meloni’s government has a sufficiently large majority in parliament and has more than four years until the next elections to take this project of the century a decisive step forward.