Messina Cathedral was built by the Normans and consecrated in 1197 by Archbishop Berardo, with Henry VI and Constance I present. A Gothic portal survives from the original. The Messina earthquake of 1908 left only the perimeter walls, the Gothic portal and an apse standing, and incendiary bombs in 1943 destroyed much of the interior.
The bell tower rises over 213 feet (65 meters), with a cusp-shaped roof and paired mullioned windows. The article says it holds the largest astronomical clock in the world, an animated clock commissioned in 1933 by Archbishop Angelo Paino from the Ungerer company of Strasbourg. Eight bells cast in 1929 by the Colbachini foundry of Padua form the largest bell concert in Sicily.
The tower was rebuilt on its original site after 1908. Pope Pius XII granted the cathedral minor basilica status in 1947.
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