Milazzo, town (1991 pop. 31,541), NE Sicily, Italy, on a peninsula in the Tyrrhenian Sea. It is the ancient Mylae. The town is a wine-trade and tuna-fishing center and is the gateway to the nearby Lipari Islands. Garibaldi completed his conquest of Sicily by defeating (June, 1860) the Bourbon troops there. Milazzo has an imposing 13th-century castle (now a prison) and a 16th-century cathedral.

Milazzo (Latin: Mylae) is a town of on the north coast of Sicily, Italy. It lies 50 km from Messina, just north of the road to Palermo. It is located on a peninsula called Capo di Milazzo.

History

Several civilisations settled in Milazzo and left signs of their presence from the Neolithic age.

The finds discovered range over the Greco-Roman period to Byzantine age, go through Arabs, Normans and Spanish domination and arrive at the Italian Risorgimento.

In the historical texts Milazzo is present from the 9th-8th century B.C., after the Greco-Roman period, became with the Byzantines one of the first episcopal seats of Sicily. c Through the centuries, several historical personalities, like Frederick II and Charles d’Anjou, were present in Milazzo.

Furthermore, Homer's 'Odyssey' says that Milazzo was the land where Odysseus (Ulysses) was shipwrecked and met the mythic Cyclops Polyphemus. In fact ancient historians placed the town's foundation in 716 B.C. in a region so rich and temperate that it was called the "Sun Peninsula."

Milazzo, as it was in antiquity, is the gateway port to the "seven sisters," the Aeolian Islands, named for Aeolus, god of winds, nymphs and satyrs. A natural paradise rich in history and art.

Main sights

Two of the most well-known attractions in Milazzo are the Milazzo castle and the sanctuary of St Anthony of Padua, a little church built in a cave where the saint took refuge after his shipwreck.

Transportation

Its port is a departure point for ferries to the Aeolian Islands (Italian Eolie) and Naples.

References