The Messina Strait Bridge: When Uncle Scrooge Foresaw the Future… or Not?

Did You Know That Uncle Scrooge Wanted to Build the Bridge Across the Strait of Messina?

Did you know that an issue of Mickey Mouse from the 1980s talked about the construction of a bridge over the Strait of Messina ? And it is no coincidence that Matteo Salvini , Minister of Infrastructure, showed that very issue in one of his Instagram videos, calling it “an 1982 Mickey Mouse celebrating the construction sites for the bridge over the Strait of Messina”.

But that's not exactly how it is. Do you want to know what that story was really about?

The story in question is titled Uncle Scrooge and the Messina Bridge , published in issue 1401 of Topolino on October 3, 1982. It does not celebrate the bridge project at all, but is one of Uncle Scrooge 's many impossible feats.

In the plot, Uncle decides to use all his resources to build the much-discussed bridge, coming up with some truly crazy solutions: a single-span bridge, one supported by hot air balloons, and even an underwater rubber tunnel. And guess what? All these ideas end badly!

Finally, the real twist is the proposal to build a bridge made of coral – yes, you read that right, coral ! But, as in every classic Scrooge adventure, this plan is also destined to fail, thanks to the machinations of Rockerduck , the eternal rival.

Did you know that behind this story there is also a real event? That comic was published on the occasion of the Minimarcia di Paperino , a running event that would take place in Messina a few days later. A creative way to connect a fantastic story to a local event.

And that's not all! The cover of issue 1401 , drawn by Marco Rota , showed Scrooge proudly looking at his bridge, but in the end, as scriptwriter Francesco Artibani reminds us, "in the story the bridge couldn't be built".

Did you know? Now you know.