The passage of the Olympic torchlight procession through the city of Messina has concluded. The torchbearers’ race started from Viale Principe Umberto, a few tens of meters from the walls of Charles V. There were 36 torchbearers involved, each of whom ran just over 200 metres. The caravan of vehicles, approximately 700 meters long, crossed the entire viale Principe Umberto and then entered via Tommaso Cannizzaro, where it arrived around 3pm. Subsequently the torchlight procession turned onto via Cesare Battisti, continuing up to viale Europa. Around 3.30 pm the torchbearers walked along the tram lane of Viale San Martino, giving rise to the most evocative moment of the day, with the meeting of the sportsmen involved in the Sports Night.
The authorities greeted each other in Piazza Cairoli, then the torchlight procession continued along Via Garibaldi on the sea side until the intersection with Viale Giostra, where the arrival took place at 4.10pm. Closing the route was the last torchbearer, the Messina cycling champion Vincenzo Nibali. It was the third time that the symbol of the Olympics crossed Messina, an honor reserved for cities that have a significant weight in the history of sport. The city of the Strait has thus confirmed its role in an event of great symbolic value.
The Olympic flame, which left Greece and headed towards Milan and Cortina, traveled over seven kilometers of streets in the city center before embarking towards Calabria. The convoy, including support vehicles, left at 2.40pm from viale Principe Umberto (intersection with via Varaita) and crossed viale Principe Umberto, via Tommaso Cannizzaro, via Cesare Battisti, the Boris Giuliano roundabout, viale Europa, viale San Martino and piazza Cairoli along the tramway, before returning to via Tommaso Cannizzaro and via Garibaldi, with final arrival at the intersection with viale Giostra.
With the crossing of the Strait, the Fiamma returns to the peninsula today, marking a key step in its journey towards Milano Cortina 2026. A journey made possible thanks to an organizational and mobility system capable of accompanying each stage with reliability, precision and respect for the value that the Fiamma represents. Now the journey continues in Calabria, where the Flame will continue to unite territories, people and stories, stage after stage.
