Pylon of the Strait of Messina
The Pylon of Torre di Messina, together with its Calabrian twin, form the so-called pillars of the Strait. They are disused pylons of the 220 kV high voltage electricity line that crossed the Strait of Messina between Calabria and Sicily. These are two independent steel towers, one located on the Sicilian shore and the other on the Calabrian one.
The Sicilian trellis, inaugurated in May 1956, is 225 meters high, plus eight of the reinforced concrete base that supports it. , for a total of 233 meters.
Until the pylons on the Elbe River in Germany were completed, the Torre Faro pylon held the record for the tallest pylon in the world. However, the strong wind that constantly blows over the Strait led the technicians to use high-strength steel cables with low electrical conductivity, so that over the years the cables proved to be insufficient to meet the energy demand and in 1994 opted for their removal and activation of submarine cables.
Today the pylon remains a source of tourist attraction, particularly suggestive at night when the steel structure reflects the lights at the base and stands out as a luminous cone emerging from the dark waters of the strait.
Although they no longer have any practical function, the pylons have not yet been demolished, and today, with the status of protected historical monuments, they are used for meteorological measurements, recovery exercises at height and telecommunications. Since 2006, the Torre Faro pylon has been open to the public for a couple of seasons; the visit required climbing a ladder of 2,240 steps to reach the highest platform. To date it is not possible to reach the top.
