Italy is resurrecting a plan for the Messina bridge

Rome: Plans to connect Sicily to the Italian mainland have come and gone for decades, with a bridge over the Messina Strait turning into an infamous myth for most Sicilians.

Twice a suspension bridge came close to construction in 2005 and 2011 under Silvio Berlusconi’s governments, but it was halted following protest from the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and the European Commission as well as an economic crisis and political instability.

Now, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has revived this project with a decree, in force since last March, backed by infrastructure minister and League party leader Matteo Salvini, with the laying of the first stone planned for 2024.

The plan has always been a nightmare for environmental activists: the Messina bridge would run through a natural reserve, a seismic area, and the construction site would lead to seizures of private land.

Even those who support the project, like Messina Mayor Federico Basile, are wary that this may be yet another empty promise. Many Sicilians see it as an ordeal that is about to start all over again.