The permanent system of coastal batteries of the Strait of Messina was erected in the late nineteenth century according to newly discovered plans of the defences of the Kingdom of Italy. Already conceptually obsolete during construction and progressively decommissioned, it was barely used for over half a century, and at the outbreak of World War II was replaced by a new defensive system. Today, it represents a significant and valuable example of Italian military architecture that has not yet been sufficiently analysed and documented.