When Italy’s prosecutors temporarily blocked construction of the bridge connecting Sicily with the mainland on October 29, the decision immediately shook the government.
The project is both a strategic infrastructure priority and a test of the right-wing coalition’s cohesion.
It has become closely tied to interior minister and Lega party leader Matteo Salvini and its outcome could shape the trajectory of his party — and the executive itself.
The idea of a bridge over the Strait of Messina has been debated for decades. Governments repeatedly shelved it over technical, financial, and environmental concerns, as well as the risk of mafia infiltration.
Today, the executive is preparing to begin construction despite the temporary halt, which was ordered by an independent authority over costs, legality, and transparency.
Intentions are clear: The bridge will be built, with work expected to start before the current administration ends in 2027.
Unlike in the past, today’s determination reflects a shift in Italy’s — and the broader Mediterranean region’s — geopolitical posture.
“Thirty years ago the bridge was a project to create jobs in the South,” says Lorenzo Castellani, political scientist at Rome’s Luiss University.
“Today it has strategic significance: it reinforces Italy’s central role in the Mediterranean and keeps the sea a key European hub. With Arctic trade routes opening, the Mediterranean risks decline in commercial relevance.
“To counter this competition, Mediterranean countries need to strengthen trade routes between the two shores, making the Mediterranean a key link connecting Europe on one side with Africa and the Suez Canal on the other,” said Castellani.
“A bridge would provide a land connection between Europe’s southern ports in Sicily and the continent, strengthening European supply chains and cementing Italy’s role as a crucial EU player,”
Since becoming interior minister in 2022 under Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Salvini has taken personal control of the Messina bridge dossier to reaffirm the League’s relevance.
Once the main nationwide force, Lega’s support has fallen from 34 per cent in 2019 to just 8 per cent today, as many voters shifted to Fratelli d’Italia, led by Meloni. Lega’s base is now largely concentrated in the north.
“Meloni presents herself as a more credible leader to right-wing voters,” Castellani notes.
“While sharing many positions with the League, she balances nationalism with respect for institutions, including European ones. Salvini, though an ally, suffers from his party’s marginalisation.”
In response, Castellani says, the Messina bridge has become a personal cause.
“For him, two stakes are on the line,” the political scientist says.
“First, to reaffirm the Lega’s national stature as a force addressing strategic geopolitical issues. Second, to leave a lasting legacy as the man who finally built an infrastructure long considered impossible —so much so that he envisions naming it the ‘Salvini Bridge’.”
Salvini’s ambitions echo past efforts to cement political legacies. When former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, the father of modern Italian right-wing coalitions, died in 2023, Milan’s Malpensa Airport was renamed in his honour — a move Salvini championed.
