For the improvement of electric power supply of Sicilia, an enormous overhead power-line crossing was built in 1979. The line has a span-width of 3646 meters carried by two 226-meter tall towers, one north of Messina in Sicily, and one north of Reggio. The pylons of this line, whose stability was tested by firing small rockets on the top, were the tallest electricity pylons in the world until the mid-70s.

However at the beginning of the 1990s the powerline crossing could not keep up with the changing times and was replaced by a submarine cable.

Today, the pylons have been declared national monuments, and are used for high-altitude rescue exercises, meteorological measurements and radio services.. The pylon on the Sicilian shore is illuminated at night and tourists can visit it and have a look over Messina Strait from its top. However, one must scale the tower's 1250 steps, which might be the tallest public staircase in Europe.