[1] In 1535, Emperor Charles V (who was also King of Sicily) ordered the strengthening of Messina's fortifications.

A new defensive system of bastioned fortifications was built between 1536 and 1538, to a design of the military engineers Antonio Ferramolino and Francesco Maurolico.

During the Sicilian revolution of 1848, rebels managed to capture most of the fortifications, with the exception of the Real Cittadella and Forte del Santissimo Salvatore.

[4] The fortifications remained in active use until the 1850s, when the government of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies began dismantling some of the walls, including the city's main gates.

[1] Despite this, the Real Cittadella and some other forts remained in use, and saw action during Garibaldi's Expedition of the Thousand in 1860–61, when they capitulated to Piedmontese forces after a siege.