To mark the 70th anniversary of the Messina and Taormina Conference, a special exhibition titled “70 Years Since the Messina Conference: Its Legacy for Today’s Europe” has been installed in the atrium of Palazzo Zanca in Messina, Italy. The exhibit was curated by the Historical Archives of the European Union in collaboration with Italy’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, the Sicilian Region, the municipalities of Messina and Taormina, the Historical Archive of the Italian Senate, and the National Archives of the Netherlands.
This exhibition builds on the 2017 display “Ever Closer Union: The Legacy of the Treaties of Rome for Today’s Europe”, created for the 60th anniversary of the Treaties of Rome, which laid the foundations for the European Economic Community (EEC) and the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom). That earlier exhibit was a joint effort by several European institutions, including the European Parliament, the European Council, the European Commission, and Italy’s Presidency of the Council of Ministers, and it remains accessible online at www.rometreaties.eu.
The current exhibit aims to honor the pivotal role of the 1955 Messina Conference, which was a turning point in the journey toward European integration. Through historical documents and photos, the exhibition highlights how the foundations laid in Messina helped shape the vision of a peaceful, united, and cohesive Europe.
The exhibition, in both English and Italian, will remain open to the public at Palazzo Zanca until June 30. A digital version of the exhibit catalogue will soon be made available.