Protesters staunchly oppose the Strait of Messina Bridge project over its scale, earthquake threats, environmental impact and the specter of mafia interference. The proposed bridge would reduce the time to cross the strait by ferry from nearly 100 minutes to 10 minutes by car.

The 2.3 mile Strait of Messina Bridge had been held up for decades over mafia infiltration, earthquake, and financial concerns.

MILAN: Italy cleared the way Wednesday to build the world’s largest suspension bridge linking the Italian mainland with Sicily in a massive 13.5 billion euro ($15.5 billion)…