2 Best Sights in Mount Etna and Eastern Sicily, Sicily

The reconstruction of Messina's Norman and Romanesque cathedral, originally built by the Norman king Roger II and consecrated in 1197, has retained much of the original plan—including a handsome crown of Norman battlements, an enormous apse containing glittering mosaics, and a splendid wood-beamed ceiling. The adjoining bell tower contains one of the largest and most complex mechanical clocks in the world: constructed in 1933, it has a host of gilded automatons (a roaring lion and crowing rooster among them) that spring into action every day at the stroke of noon, lasting for 12 minutes. Don't miss the chance to climb the bell tower itself. As you head up the internal stairs, you'll see the system of levers and counterweights that operates the movements of the gilded bronze statues that parade through the open facade high over the Duomo's square. At the top, an open-air terrace offers 360-degree views of Messina and the strait.

Built in the 13th century, this church was renovated at the end of the 15th century, the beginning of the 18th century (perhaps due to damage from an earthquake), and most recently in 1981. From the Middle Ages up through the 19th century, it offered a final resting place to common citizens of Savoca. It's also known as the Chiesa di Santa Lucia, because of the silver statue of St. Lucia it houses, in addition to other sculptures and paintings from the nearby 15th-century church of St. Lucia that collapsed in a landslide in 1880. In popular culture, it's best known as the church where Michael Corleone wed Apollonia in The Godfather.