The Pylons of Messina are two free-standing steel towers, the Sicilian one in Torre Faro and the Calabrian one in Villa San Giovanni.

After their completion, the oscillation of the structures and their maximum deflections were determined in a very unusual manner: engineers mounted three rockets with a thrust of 9800 kilonewtons on top of the pylons and ignited them.

Normal overhead lines use conducting cables with a larger aluminium portion but these do not have the tensile strength needed for this span.

In 1985 a 380 kV three-phase AC submarine cable with a maximum transmission capacity of 1000 MW was laid underneath the Strait of Messina.

After the removal of the power lines, the pylons remain with protected status as historical monuments and are used for meteorological measurements, high distance rescue training and telecommunications.

On July 10, 2024, Estonian athlete Jaan Roose crossed the Strait of Messina on a slackline spanned between the two towers.

[8] In May 2016 a double-circuit 380 kV HVAC (high voltage alternating current) land and submarine cable system was handed over to the utility company.

It was installed along a total route of approximately 44 km between the power stations of Villafranca Tirrena in Sicily and Scilla in Calabria.