List of stratigoti and governors of Messina

The office of Stratigoti (also called Straticò, Stratigò, Stradigò, or Stratigoto) dates back to the Byzantine era and had a purely military character. With the birth of the County of Sicily and then of the Kingdom of Sicily, the figure of the strategoto remained at the head of Messina, who, together with his curia, had as his main task that of enforcing the laws and administering justice. Furthermore, the strategoto intervened in the election of the city officials (jurors, piazza masters, sea consuls and others). Even the transfers of real estate had to be done through his curia. The number of judges of the Curia Straticoziale, initially fluctuating between 3 and 5, was fixed at three in the 16th century. The Curia Straticoziale was competent in both civil and criminal matters: its jurisdiction included, between the 12th and 13th centuries, in addition to the territory of Messina, all the territory from Lentini to Patti, and then, after 1302, was restricted to the district from Milazzo to Taormina. The strategote remained in office for one year. After the anti-Spanish revolt of Messina from 1674 to 1678, the office of strategote was abolished and replaced with that of governor.