Strait of Messina
Satellite photo of the Strait of Messina, taken June 2002. Image courtesy of NASA
The Strait of Messina is the narrow section of water between the eastern tip of Sicily and the southern tip of Italy. A natural whirlpool forms there, which has been inaccurately linked to the legend of Charybdis.
A ferry connects Messina (Sicily) with the mainland at Villa San Giovanni in Calabria. There is also a hydrofoil service from Messina to Reggio di Calabria.
Every five or ten years, major debates ensue in Italy about building a bridge that would connect the island of Sicily to the mainland. If ever built it would be the longest single arch bridge in the world, with a span of 3,300 m (about 2 miles). However, each time advances in technologies make the actual thing more and more probable. The current design is scheduled to start work in 2005 and completing the bridge in six years, at a projected cost of 4.6 billion euro (about 5 billion dollars).