The Cathedral of Messina was opened on September 22, 1197 by Archbishop Berardo, in the presence of Emperor Henry VI. and his wife Constanze, daughter of the Norman King Roger II of Sicily. Over the course of history it was destroyed and rebuilt several times, so that hardly anything remains of the original structure.
The original beamed ceiling was destroyed in a fire in 1254. The laid-out body of the recently deceased Hohenstaufen King Conrad IV fell victim to this fire.
In the earthquakes of 1783 and 1908, the entire interior was destroyed by the collapsing walls. After the earthquake of 1783, the bell tower was demolished and two neo-Gothic towers were added to the two side apses next to the choir. After the earthquake of 1908, the cathedral was reconstructed in its medieval state from 1919 to 1923. In 1933 a free-standing bell tower was built next to the cathedral.
On the night of June 13, 1943, Messina fell victim to a bombardment and the cathedral burned down completely again. However, the free-standing bell tower was spared. The cathedral was opened in August 1947 under Pope Pius XII. consecrated again and received the title of a minor basilica. Until the new consecration, the co-cathedral of Santissimo Salvatore served as a temporary cathedral.
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