Piazza del Duomo is home to Messina's cathedral and its curious campanile (bell tower). Soaring 60m into the sky, the tower incorporates an astronomical clock, said to be the world's largest. Built in Strasbourg in 1733, it strikes at noon, setting in motion a procession of bronze automata that sets off a comical roaring lion and crowing cockerel. Facing the tower is the 1553 marble Fontana di Orione. Created by Florentine sculptor Giovanni Angelo Montorsoli (pupil to Michelangelo), it commemorates Orion, the mythical founder of Messina.
Nearby, just off Piazza Catalani, the 12th-century Chiesa della Santissima Annunziata dei Catalani is a fine example of Arab-Norman construction.