L’Aire Metropolitaine du Detroit de messine et le contexte europeen:etudes, politiques, perspectives, in Resche C, Resche S. (a cura di), “Ecritures n.8” Entre Charybde et Scylla – Art, mythes et societè au pays des monstres oublies Presses Universitaires de Paris ouest

For several decades now, there has been talk of the creation of an integrated area of the Strait of Messina, but, in reality, this new territorial entity does not yet exist. There are several aspects of the question that, over time, have emerged and which, in one way or another, have hindered this process, among them: the criteria for delimiting the area, the coexistence of administrative realities belonging to regions various (one of which has a Special Statute), the weakness of the connecting infrastructures. Today, however, the guidelines of the European Space Development Scheme make it essential to structure the territories facing each other on both sides of the Strait in a single large Metropolitan Area, capable of competing with other European realities of equal rank. The first step to take is, therefore, to increase the level of attractiveness of the Strait Area by highlighting all those identity factors of its own, today little valued, which would increase its competitiveness.