The Strait of Messina

Sailed into the port of Messina where this statue of the Virgin Mary greets all who enter the port with a blessing. The city itself has been destroyed by earthquake numerous times through the centuries. In 1908 a 7.5 earthquake and resulting tidal wave destroyed the city and both coasts. Eighty thousand people perished with over 90 per cent of Messina obliterated. Not only the buildings but the streets themselves disappeared in the rubble as the mountainside slipped down into the sea.