Dina and Clarenza are two women connected in legend with the historical siege of

Messina Messina (, also , ) is a harbour city and the capital of the Italian Metropolitan City of Messina. It is the third largest city on the island of Sicily, and the 13th largest city in Italy, with a population of more than 219,000 inhabitants in ...

Charles I of Anjou Charles I (early 1226/12277 January 1285), commonly called Charles of Anjou, was a member of the royal Capetian dynasty and the founder of the Capetian House of Anjou, second House of Anjou. He was Count of Provence (1246–85) and County of Fo ...

during the

Sicilian Vespers The Sicilian Vespers ( it, Vespri siciliani; scn, Vespiri siciliani) was a successful rebellion on the island of Sicily that broke out at Easter 1282 against the rule of the French-born king Charles I of Anjou, who had ruled the Kingdom of S ...

in August 1282.

The legend

Dina and Clarenza, two Messinese women, were heroines who, in legend, opposed the assaults of the Angevin forces.

Historical background

The Vespers rebellion, begun in

Palermo Palermo ( , ; scn, Palermu , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan ...

Easter Monday Easter Monday refers to the day after Easter Sunday in either the Eastern or Western Christian traditions. It is a public holiday in some countries. It is the second day of Eastertide. In Western Christianity, it marks the second day of the Octa ...

, 30 March 1282, outside the Church of the Holy Spirit, spread quickly all over the island.

tried in vain to put down the uprising with the promise of many reforms. Finally he decided to intervene militarily. With 75,000 men and two hundred ships, in late May 1282 he landed between

Catona Catona (in the local dialect ''A Catùna'') is an urban district (independent municipality until 1927) of Reggio Calabria, Italy, as part of the 8th district with neighborhoods Salice, Villa San Giuseppe and Rosalì. With about 15,000 inhabita ...

and Gallico (north of Reggio), on the coast of

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opposite Messina, to begin the siege of Messina and to block the flow of support from Reggio to the Sicilian city. The city of the

Strait A strait is an oceanic landform connecting two seas or two other large areas of water. The surface water generally flows at the same elevation on both sides and through the strait in either direction. Most commonly, it is a narrow ocean channe ...

was being governed by . He was made

Captain of the People Captain of the People ( it, Capitano del popolo, Lombard: ''Capitani del Popol'') was an administrative title used in Italy during the Middle Ages, established essentially to balance the power and authority of the noble families of the Italian c ...

and organized the resistance in the city. Charles laid

siege A siege is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition warfare, attrition, or a well-prepared assault. This derives from la, sedere, lit=to sit. Siege warfare is a form of constant, low-intensity con ...

to Messina in vain until September, and in his attempt to conquer and occupy the city he spared no civilians, not old people, nor women, nor children. The city, although in its turn exhausted by the siege, repelled the continual attacks with the participation of the whole population.

The heroines

During the night of 8 August there was a sneak attack by a combined Italian-French

Guelph Guelph ( ; 2021 Canadian Census population 143,740) is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. Known as "The Royal City", Guelph is roughly east of Kitchener and west of Downtown Toronto, at the intersection of Highway 6, Highway 7 and Wel ...

force on the city. Charles's troops tried to invade the city from the hills. The two women were standing guard on the wall. As soon as they saw the enemies, they did all they could to repel the attack. While Dina continually hurled rocks down on the enemy soldiers, Clarenza rang the bells in the

campanile A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells even if it has none. Such a tower commonly serves as part of a Christian church, and will contain church bells, but there are also many secular bell tower ...

of the

Duomo ''Duomo'' (, ) is an Italian term for a church with the features of, or having been built to serve as, a cathedral, whether or not it currently plays this role. Monza Cathedral, for example, has never been a diocesan seat and is by definition not ...

, from which she awakened the whole city. Thus the Messinese rushed to the defense of their city and repelled the attack.

Legacy

The heroines have become symbols of courage and of the Messinese civilians' devotion to their city. Today, Dina and Clarenza are found portrayed in Messina at Palazzo Zanca (the city hall) and on the campanile of the Duomo. The 4th

Ward Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a pris ...

(formerly the 8th

Quarter A quarter is one-fourth, , 25% or 0.25. Quarter or quarters may refer to: Places * Quarter (urban subdivision), a section or area, usually of a town Placenames * Quarter, South Lanarkshire, a settlement in Scotland * Le Quartier, a settlement ...

) of Messina, the oldest and central part of the city, is named for them.

The legend

Historical background

The heroines

Legacy

References

Further reading

See also