After decades of dreams, Italy has once again set its sights on building the world’s longest suspension bridge, linking mainland Italy to Sicily. Their vision is for a bridge that would stretch some 3,300 meters (10,800 feet) across the Strait of Messina, a narrow stretch of water between the “toe” of Italy’s boot in Calabria and the Sicilian capital Messina.
Once built, its suspension span will be approximately 60% longer than the world’s currently longest suspension bridge, the 2,023-meter (6,637-foot) Canakkale Bridge, built in Turkey in 1915.
However, we need to focus on the “what if”. Discussions about linking Sicily with Italy have been whispered about since the time of the Romans, but little real progress has been made since then.
Pliny the Elder, a Roman thinker and military commander who died in the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD, is often quoted as writing that in 251 BC, he was sent to Messina to transport captured war elephants from Carthage. It is claimed that a temporary bridge has been installed across the strait. in North Africa. Whether it’s just a legend or not, this idea has never gone away.
The project was first re-envisioned in the 1860s during Italian unification and continued to capture the imagination of Italian politicians throughout the second half of the 20th century.
In 2002, the late media mogul and prime minister Silvio Berlusconi renewed his call for the construction of the grand bridge, boldly declaring that the first stone would be laid in 2004 and that it would be completed by 2010. Spoiler alert: This bridge was never built. Berlusconi reintroduced the idea in 2009, but it was scrapped in 2013 due to budget cuts.
More recently, dreams of the Strait of Messina Bridge have been revived by a series of right-wing populist governments that have come to power in Italy.
In one of the more important steps, the bridge construction project was officially revived in March 2023 with a decree by Giorgia Meloni’s cabinet.
Describing it as a “historic day for all of Italy”, the government said the infrastructure improvements would create tens of thousands of jobs and provide more economic opportunities for Italy’s southernmost region. They believe they can realize this project in just 15 years. The budget is 12 billion euros ($12.9 billion).
As ever, the plan remains controversial. Opposition parties claim there is a lack of transparency behind the project’s funding, with some critics raising concerns about possible mafia involvement. Environmentalists and some scientists also say the proposal is dangerous because the area is a hotspot for seismic activity and is prone to earthquakes.
The government is moving forward with good plans, never letting reality or history get in the way.
“Let the left get over it. The bridge will be built and it will be the pride of all Italy,” Matteo Salvini, Italy’s infrastructure minister and leader of the far-right coalition party League, recently said, according to ANSA news agency. .
“Full speed ahead!” he boasted.