Coordinates: 37°30′N 14°00′E

Sicily
Sicily (Italian: Sicilia [siˈtʃiːlja]; Sicilian: Sicilia [sɪˈʃiːlja]) is the largest
island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the 20 regions of Italy. It is one of Sicily
the five Italian autonomous regions and is officially referred to as Regione Sicilia (Italian)
Siciliana. It has 5 million inhabitants. Autonomous region of Italy

Sicily is located in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian

Peninsula, from which it is separated by the narrow Strait of Messina. Its most
prominent landmark is Mount Etna, the tallest active volcano in Europe,[5] and
one of the most active in the world, currently 3,329 m (10,922 ft) high. The
Flag Coat of arms
island has a typical Mediterranean climate.
Anthem: Madreterra
The earliest archaeological evidence of human activity on the island dates from
as early as 12,000 BC.[6][7] By around 750 BC, Sicily had three Phoenician
and a dozen Greek colonies and it was later the site of the Sicilian Wars and the
Punic Wars. After the fall of the Roman Empire in the 5th century AD, Sicily
was ruled during the Early Middle Ages by the Vandals, the Ostrogoths, the
Byzantine Empire, and the Emirate of Sicily. The Norman conquest of
southern Italy led to the creation of the Kingdom of Sicily, which was
subsequently ruled by the Hohenstaufen, the Capetian House of Anjou, Spain,
and the House of Habsburg.[8] It was unified under the House of Bourbon
with the Kingdom of Naples as the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. It became
part of Italy in 1860 following the Expedition of the Thousand, a revolt led by
Giuseppe Garibaldi during the Italian unification, and a plebiscite. Sicily was
given special status as an autonomous region on 15 May 1946, 18 days before
the Italian constitutional referendum of 1946. However, much of the autonomy
still remains unapplied, especially financial autonomy, because the autonomy-
activating laws have been deferred to be approved by the joint committee (50%
Italian State, 50% Regione Siciliana), since 1946.
Country Italy
Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music,
literature, cuisine, and architecture. It is also home to important archaeological Capital Palermo
and ancient sites, such as the Necropolis of Pantalica, the Valley of the Government
Temples, Erice and Selinunte. • President Nello Musumeci (DB)
Area
• Total 25,711 km2
Contents (9,927 sq mi)
Population (2019)[1] (8.3% of Italy)
Geography
• Total 4,969,147
Rivers
• Density 190/km2 (500/sq mi)
Climate
Demonym(s) English: Sicilian
Flora and fauna Italian: Siciliano (man)
History Italian: Siciliana
(woman)
Prehistory
Antiquity Citizenship[2]
• Italian 98%
Byzantine period (535–965)
Arab Period (827–1091) Time zone UTC+1 (CET)
Norman Sicily (1038–1198) • Summer (DST) UTC+2 (CEST)

Kingdom of Sicily ISO 3166 code IT-82

Hohenstaufen dynasty GDP (nominal) €88.1 billion (2017)[3]
Sicily under Aragonese rule GDP per capita €17,500 (2017)[3]
Italian unification HDI (2017) 0.836[4]
very high · 21st of 21
20th and 21st centuries
NUTS Region ITG
Demographics Website http://pti.regione.sicilia.it
Emigration
Largest cities
Religion
Politics
Administrative divisions
Economy
Agriculture
Industry and manufacturing
Statistics
GDP growth
Economic sectors Sicily
Unemployment rate
Transport
Roads
Railways
Airports
Ports
Planned bridge
Tourism
UNESCO World Heritage Sites
Tentative Sites
Archeological sites
Castles
Coastal towers
Culture
Art and architecture
Sicilian Baroque
Music and film
Literature
Language
Science
Education
Cuisine
Sports
Popular culture
Traditional items
Flag and emblem
Notable people
See also
References
Further reading
External links

Geography
Sicily has a roughly triangular shape, earning it the name Trinacria. To the north-east, it is separated from Calabria and the rest of
the Italian mainland by the Strait of Messina, about 3 km (1.9 mi) wide in the north, and about 16 km (9.9 mi) wide in the
southern part.[9] The northern and southern coasts are each about 280 km (170 mi) long measured as a straight line, while the
 eastern coast measures around 180 km (110 mi); total coast length is estimated at
1,484 km (922 mi). The total area of the island is 25,711 km2 (9,927 sq mi),[10] while
the Autonomous Region of Sicily (which includes smaller surrounding islands) has an
area of 27,708 km2 (10,698 sq mi).[11]

The terrain of inland Sicily is mostly hilly and is

intensively cultivated wherever possible. Along
the northern coast, the mountain ranges of
Madonie, 2,000 m (6,600 ft), Nebrodi, 1,800 m
(5,900 ft), and Peloritani, 1,300 m (4,300 ft), are
Sicilian landscape
an extension of the mainland Apennines. The
cone of Mount Etna dominates the eastern coast.
In the southeast lie the lower Hyblaean
Mountains, 1,000 m (3,300 ft). [12] The mines of the Enna and Caltanissetta districts
were part of a leading sulphur-producing area throughout the 19th century, but have
declined since the 1950s.

Sicily and its surrounding small islands have some highly active volcanoes. Mount Etna
is the largest active volcano in Europe and still casts black ash over the island with its
ever-present eruptions. It currently stands 3,329 metres (10,922 ft) high, though this
The Rocca Salvatesta over
varies with summit eruptions; the mountain is 21 m (69 ft) lower now than it was in Fondachelli Fantina, Peloritani
1981. It is the highest mountain in Italy south of the Alps. Etna covers an area of mountains
1,190 km2 (459 sq mi) with a basal circumference of 140 km (87 mi). This makes it by
far the largest of the three active volcanoes in Italy, being about two and a half times the
height of the next largest, Mount Vesuvius. In Greek mythology, the deadly monster Typhon was trapped under the mountain by
Zeus, the god of the sky. Mount Etna is widely regarded as a cultural symbol and icon of Sicily.

Mount Etna rising over suburbs of Catania

The Aeolian Islands in the Tyrrhenian Sea, to the northeast of mainland Sicily form a volcanic complex, and include Stromboli.
The three volcanoes of Vulcano, Vulcanello and Lipari are also currently active, although the latter is usually dormant. Off the
southern coast of Sicily, the underwater volcano of Ferdinandea, which is part of the larger Empedocles volcano, last erupted in
1831. It is located between the coast of Agrigento and the island of Pantelleria (which itself is a dormant volcano).

The autonomous region also includes several neighbouring islands: the Aegadian Islands, the Aeolian Islands, Pantelleria and
Lampedusa.

Rivers

The island is drained by several rivers, most of which flow through the central area and enter the sea at the south of the island.
The Salso flows through parts of Enna and Caltanissetta before entering the Mediterranean Sea at the port of Licata. To the east,
the Alcantara flows through the province of Messina and enters the sea at Giardini Naxos, and the Simeto, which flows into the
Ionian Sea south of Catania. Other important rivers on the island are the Belice and Platani in the southwest.
 River Length
Salso 144 km (89 mi)
Simeto 113 km (70 mi)
Belice 107 km (66 mi)
Dittaino 105 km (65 mi)
Platani 103 km (64 mi)
Gornalunga 81 km (50 mi)
Gela 74 km (46 mi) View of the Ciane river

Salso Cimarosa 72 km (45 mi)

Torto 58 km (36 mi)
Irminio 57 km (35 mi)
Dirillo 54 km (34 mi)
Verdura 53 km (33 mi)
Alcantara 52 km (32 mi)
Tellaro 45 km (28 mi)
Anapo 40 km (25 mi)

Location of the Salso Simeto River The Simeto

near
Saraceni
Bridge

Location of the Alcantara Alcantara Canyon

Alcantara River

Climate

Sicily has a typical Mediterranean climate with mild and wet winters and hot, dry
summers with very changeable intermediate seasons. On the coasts, especially in the
south-west, the climate is affected by the African currents and summers can be
scorching.

Sicily is seen as an island of warm winters.

Snow falls above 900–1000 metres, but it can fall in the hills. The interior mountains,
especially Nebrodi, Madonie, and Etna, enjoy a full mountain climate, with heavy
snowfalls during winter. The summit of Mount Etna is usually snow-capped from Inner Sicily
October to May.
On the other hand, especially in the summer, it is not unusual that there is the sirocco, the wind from the Sahara. Rainfall is
scarce, and water proves deficient in some provinces where a water crisis can happen occasionally.

According to the Regional Agency for Waste and Water, on 10 August 1999, the weather station of Catenanuova (EN) recorded
a maximum temperature of 48.5 °C (119 °F).[13] The official European record – measured by minimum/maximum thermometers
– is held by Athens, Greece, which reported a maximum of 48.0 °C (118 °F) in 1977.[14] Total precipitation is highly variable,
generally increasing with elevation. In general, the southern and southeast coast receives the least rainfall (less than 50 cm
(20 in)), and the northern and northeastern highlands the most (over 100 cm (39 in)).

Flora and fauna

Sicily is an often-quoted example of man-made deforestation, which has occurred since
Roman times, when the island was turned into an agricultural region.[12] This gradually
dried the climate, leading to a decline in rainfall and the drying of rivers. The central and
southwest provinces are practically devoid of any forest.[15] In Northern Sicily, there are
three important forests; near Mount Etna, in the Nebrodi Mountains and in the Bosco
della Ficuzza's Natural Reserve near Palermo. The Nebrodi Mountains Regional Park,
established on 4 August 1993 and covering 86,000 hectares (210,000 acres), is the
largest protected natural area of Sicily; and contains the largest forest in Sicily, the
Caronia. The Hundred Horse Chestnut (Castagno dei Cento Cavalli), in Sant'Alfio, on Zingaro Natural Reserve
the eastern slopes of Mount Etna, is the largest and oldest known chestnut tree in the
world at 2,000 – 4,000 years old.[16]

Sicily has a wide variety of fauna. Species include red fox, least weasel, pine marten, roe
deer, girgentana, wild boar, crested porcupine, European hedgehog, common toad,
Vipera aspis, golden eagle, peregrine falcon, Eurasian hoopoe and black-winged stilt.[17]

The Zingaro Natural Reserve is one of the best examples of unspoiled coastal wilderness
in Sicily.[18]

Surrounding waters including the Strait of Messina are home to varieties of birds and
Sicilian wolf, an endemic wolf extinct
marine life, including larger species such as greater flamingo and fin whale.
in 20th century

History
The name Sicilia was given to the Roman province in 241 BC. It is derived from the name of the Sikeloi, who inhabited the
eastern part of the island. The ancient name of the island is Trinacria (Greek Τρινακρία "having three headlands") for its
triangular shape, likely a re-interpretation of earlier (Homeric) Thrinacia. The Greek name was rendered as Trīnācrĭa in classical
Latin (Virgil, Ovid).[19][20]

Prehistory

The original classical-era inhabitants of Sicily comprised three defined groups of the
ancient peoples of Italy. The most prominent and by far the earliest of these, the Sicani,
who (Thucydides writes) arrived from the Iberian Peninsula (perhaps Catalonia).[21][22]
Some modern scholars, however, suggest classifying the Sicani as possibly an Illyrian
tribe.[23] Important historical evidence has been discovered in the form of cave drawings
by the Sicani, dated from the end of the Pleistocene epoch around 8000 BC.[24] The
arrival of the first humans on the island correlates with the extinction of the Sicilian
Hippopotamus and the dwarf elephant. The Elymians, thought to have come from the
area of the Aegean Sea, became the next tribe to join the Sicanians on Sicily.[25]

Recent discoveries of dolmens on the island (dating to the second half of the third
Dolmen of Avola, east Sicily
millennium BC) seem to offer new insights into the culture of primitive Sicily. It is well
known that the Mediterranean region went through a quite intricate prehistory, so much
so that it is difficult to piece together the muddle of different peoples who have followed
each other. The impact of two influences is clear, however: the European one coming from the Northwest, and the Mediterranean
influence of a clear eastern heritage.[26][27]
No evidence survives of any warring between the tribes, but the Sicanians moved
eastwards when the Elymians settled in the northwest corner of the island. The Sicels are
thought [24] to have originated in Liguria; they arrived from mainland Italy in 1200 BC
and forced the Sicanians to move back across Sicily and to settle in the middle of the
island.[24] Other minor Italic groups who settled in Sicily included the Ausones (Aeolian
Islands, Milazzo) and the Morgetes of Morgantina.

Antiquity

The Phoenician settlements in the western part of the island predate the Greeks.[28] From
about 750 BC, the Greeks began to live in Sicily (Σικελία – Sikelia), establishing many
important settlements. The most important colony was in Syracuse; others were located
at Akragas, Selinunte, Gela, Himera and Zancle.[29] The native Sicani and Sicel peoples
were absorbed into the Hellenic culture with relative ease, and the area became part of
Magna Graecia along with the rest of southern Italy, which the Greeks had also
colonised. Sicily was very fertile, and the successful introduction of olives and grape Megaliths of Argimusco, Montalbano
vines created a great deal of profitable trading.[30] A significant part of Greek culture on Elicona.
the island was that of the Greek religion, and many temples were built throughout Sicily,
including several in the Valley of the Temples at
Agrigento.[31]

Politics on the island was intertwined with that

Ruins of the ancient Phoenician city
of Motya
of Greece; Syracuse became desired by the
Athenians who set out on the Sicilian
Expedition during the Peloponnesian War.
Syracuse gained Sparta and Corinth as allies
and, as a result, the Athenian expedition was
defeated. The Athenian army and ships were Dolmen of Monte Bubbonia, south
destroyed, with most of the survivors being sold Sicily
into slavery.[32]

Greek Syracuse controlled eastern

Sicily while Carthage controlled the West.[33] The two cultures began to clash,
leading to the Greek-Punic wars. Greece had begun to make peace with the
Roman Republic in 262 BC, and the Romans sought to annexe Sicily as their
republic's first province. Rome attacked Carthage's holdings in Sicily in the First
Punic War and won, making Sicily the first Roman province outside of the
Italian Peninsula by 242 BC.[34]

In the Second Punic War, the Carthaginians attempted to take back Sicily. Some
of the Greek cities on the island sided with the Carthaginians. Archimedes, who
lived in Syracuse, helped the Carthaginians, but was killed by the Romans after
they invaded Syracuse in 213 BC.[35] They failed, and Rome was even more Clockwise from top: temples of Concordia and
unrelenting in its annihilation of the invaders this time; Roman consul M. Hera Lacinia in Agrigento, the temple of
Segesta, and the Temple E in Selinunte.
Valerian told the Roman Senate in 210 BC that "no Carthaginian remains in
Sicily".[36]

As the empire's granary, Sicily was an important

province, divided into two quaestorships:
Syracuse to the east and Lilybaeum to the
west.[28] Some attempt was made under
Augustus to introduce the Latin language to the
island, but Sicily was allowed to remain largely
Greek in a cultural sense.[28] The once
prosperous and contented island went into sharp
Greco-Roman theatre at Taormina The Sicilian province in the Roman
decline when Verres became governor of Sicily.
In 70 BC, noted figure Cicero condemned the Empire
misgovernment of Verres in his oration In
Verrem.[37]
The island was used as a base of power numerous times, being occupied by slave insurgents during the First and Second Servile
Wars, and by Sextus Pompey during the Sicilian revolt. Christianity first appeared in Sicily during the years following AD 200;
between this time and AD 313, Constantine the Great finally lifted the prohibition on Christianity, but not before a significant
number of Sicilians had become martyrs, including Agatha, Christina, Lucy, and Euplius.[38] Christianity grew rapidly in Sicily
over the next two centuries. The period of history during which Sicily was a Roman province lasted for around 700 years.[38]

The Western Roman Empire began falling apart after the great invasion of Vandals, Alans, and Sueves across the Rhine on the
last day of 406. Eventually the Vandals, after roaming about western and southern Spain for 20 years moved to North Africa in
429. They occupied Carthage in 439 (The Franks moved south from Belgium. The Visigoths moved west and were eventually
settled in Aquitaine in 418; the Burgundians were settled in Savoy in 443). This put them in a position to threaten Sicily only 100
miles away.[39] After taking Carthage the Vandals personally led by King Gaiseric laid siege to Palermo in 440 as the opening act
in an attempt to wrest the island from Roman rule personally.[40] The Vandals made another attempt to take the island one year
after the sack of Rome in 455, at Agrigento, but were defeated decisively by Ricimir in a naval victory off Corsica in 456.[41]
The island remained under Roman rule until 469. The Vandal possession of the island was lost 8 years later in 477 to the East
Germanic tribe Ostrogoths who were in control of Italy and Dalmatia.[39] The island was returned for payment of tribute to
Odoacer, king of the Ostrogoths. He ruled Italy from 476–88 in the name of the Byzantine (Eastern Roman) Emperor. The
Vandals kept a toehold in Lilybaeum, a port on the west coast. They lost this in 491 after making one last attempt to conquer the
island from this port.[42] The Ostrogothic conquest of Sicily (and Italy as a whole) under Theodoric the Great began in 488. He
had been appointed viceroy of the emperor to rule in Italy. The Goths were Germanic, but Theodoric was supportive of Roman
culture and government and allowed freedom of religion.[43] In 461 from the age of seven or eight until 17 or 18 he was a
hostage; he resided in the great palace of Constantinople and was favored by Leo I and where he learned to read and write and
do arithmetic.[44]

Byzantine period (535–965)

After taking areas occupied by the Vandals in North Africa, Justinian decided to retake
Italy as an ambitious attempt to recover the lost provinces in the West. The re-conquests
marked an end to over 150 years of accommodationist policies with tribal invaders. His
first target was Sicily (known as the Gothic War (535–554) began between the
Ostrogoths and the Eastern Roman Empire, also known as the Byzantine Empire). His
general Belisarius was assigned the task.[45] Sicily was used as a base for the Byzantines
to conquer the rest of Italy, with Naples, Rome, Milan. It took five years before the
Ostrogoth capital Ravenna fell in 540.[46] However, the new Ostrogoth king Totila
counterattacked, moving down the Italian peninsula, plundering and conquering Sicily in
550. Totila was defeated and killed in the Battle of Taginae by Byzantine general Narses
in 552 but Italy was in ruins.[46]

At the time of the reconquest Greek was still the predominant language spoken on the
island. Sicily was invaded by the Arab forces of Caliph Uthman in 652, but the Arabs
failed to make any permanent gains. They returned to Syria with their booty.[47] Raids
seeking loot continued until the mid-8th century.[48]
Historic map of Sicily by Piri Reis
The Eastern Roman Emperor Constans II decided to move from Constantinople to
Syracuse in 660. The following year he launched an assault from Sicily against the
Lombard Duchy of Benevento, which occupied most of southern Italy.[49] Rumors that the capital of the empire was to be
moved to Syracuse probably cost Constans his life, as he was assassinated in 668.[49] His son Constantine IV succeeded him. A
brief usurpation in Sicily by Mezezius was quickly suppressed by this emperor. Contemporary accounts report that the Greek
language was widely spoken on the island during this period.[50] In 740 Emperor Leo III the Isaurian transferred Sicily from the
jurisdiction of the church of Rome to that of Constantinople, placing the island within the eastern branch of the Church.[51]

In 826 Euphemius, the Byzantine commander in Sicily, having apparently killed his wife, forced a nun to marry him. Emperor
Michael II caught wind of the matter and ordered general Constantine to end the marriage and cut off Euphemius' head.
Euphemius rose up, killed Constantine, and then occupied Syracuse; he, in turn, was defeated and driven out to North Africa.[52]
He offered the rule of Sicily to Ziyadat Allah, the Aghlabid Emir of Tunisia, in return for a position as a general and a place of
safety. A Muslim army was then sent to the island consisting of Arabs, Berbers, Cretans, and Persians.[52]

The Muslim conquest of Sicily was a see-saw affair and met with fierce resistance. It took over a century for Byzantine Sicily to
be conquered; the largest city, Syracuse, held out until 878 and the Greek city of Taormina fell in 962. It was not until 965 that all
of Sicily was conquered by the Arabs.[52] In the 11th-century Byzantine armies carried out a partial reconquest of the island
under George Maniakes, but it was their Norman mercenaries who would eventually complete the island's reconquest at the end
of the century.

Arab Period (827–1091)

The Arabs initiated land reforms, which increased productivity and encouraged the
growth of smallholdings, undermining the dominance of the latifundia. The Arabs
further improved irrigation systems. The language spoken in Sicily under Arab rule was
Siculo-Arabic and Arabic influence is still present in some Sicilian words today.
Although the language is extinct in Sicily, it has developed into what is now the Maltese
language on the islands of Malta today.

A description of Palermo was given by Ibn Hawqal,

an Arab merchant who visited Sicily in 950. A walled Arabesque on a wall in the Cuba
suburb, called the Al-Kasr (the palace), is the centre of Palace in Palermo
Palermo to this day, with the great Friday mosque on
the site of the later Roman cathedral. The suburb of al-
Khalisa (modern Kalsa) contained the Sultan's palace, baths, a mosque, government offices,
and a private prison. Ibn Hawqal reckoned 7,000 individual butchers trading in 150 shops.
Trilingual sign in Palermo in Palermo was initially ruled by the Aghlabids; later it was the centre of Emirate of Sicily under
Italian, Hebrew and Arabic the nominal suzerainty of the Fatimid Caliphate. During the reign of this dynasty revolts by
Byzantine Sicilians continuously occurred especially in the east where Greek-speaking
Christians predominated. Parts of the island were re-occupied before revolts were being
quashed. During Muslim rule agricultural products such as oranges, lemons, pistachio and sugarcane were brought to Sicily.[39]
Under the Arab rule the island was divided in three administrative regions, or "vals", roughly corresponding to the three "points"
of Sicily: Val di Mazara in the west; Val Demone in the northeast; and Val di Noto in the southeast. As dhimmis, that is as
members of a protected class of approved monotheists the Eastern Orthodox Christians were allowed freedom of religion, but
had to pay a tax, the jizya (in lieu of the obligatory alms tax, the zakat, paid by Muslims), and were restricted from active
participation in public affairs.

The Emirate of Sicily began to fragment as intra-dynastic quarreling fractured the Muslim regime.[52] During this time, there was
also a small Jewish presence.[53]

Norman Sicily (1038–1198)

In 1038, seventy years after losing their last cities in Sicily, the Byzantines under the
Greek general George Maniakes invaded the island together with their Varangian and
Norman mercenaries. Maniakes was killed in a Byzantine civil war in 1043 before
completing a reconquest and the Byzantines withdrew. The Normans invaded in
1061.[54] After taking Apulia and Calabria, Roger occupied Messina with an army of
700 knights. In 1068, Roger was victorious at Misilmeri. Most crucial was the siege of
Palermo, whose fall in 1071 eventually resulted in all Sicily coming under Norman
control.[55] The conquest was completed in 1091 when they captured Noto the last Arab
stronghold. Palermo continued to be the capital under the Normans.

The Norman Hauteville family, descendants of Vikings, appreciated and admired the
rich and layered culture in which they now found themselves. They also introduced their
own culture, customs, and politics in the region. Many Normans in Sicily adopted the Roger I conqueror and first count of
habits and comportment of Muslim rulers and their Byzantine subjects in dress, Sicily, depicted on a Trifollaris
language, literature, even to the extent of having palace eunuchs and, according to some
accounts, a harem.[56][57]

Kingdom of Sicily

Roger died in 1101. His wife Adelaide ruled until 1112 when their son Roger II of Sicily came of age.[54] Having succeeded his
brother Simon as Count of Sicily, Roger II was ultimately able to raise the status of the island to a kingdom in 1130, along with
his other holdings, which included the Maltese Islands and the Duchies of Apulia and Calabria.[55][58]
Roger II appointed the powerful Greek George of Antioch to be his "emir of emirs" and
continued the syncretism of his father. During this period, the Kingdom of Sicily was
prosperous and politically powerful, becoming one of the wealthiest states in all of
Europe—even wealthier than the Kingdom of England.[59]

The court of Roger II became the most luminous centre of culture in the Mediterranean,
both from Europe and the Middle East, like the multi-ethnic Caliphate of Córdoba, then
only just eclipsed. This attracted scholars, scientists, poets, artists, and artisans of all
kinds. Laws were issued in the language of the community to whom they were
addressed in Norman Sicily, at the time when the culture was still heavily Arab and The cathedral of Cefalù at night
Greek.[60][61] Governance was by rule of law which promoted justice. Muslims, Jews,
Byzantine Greeks, Lombards, and Normans worked together fairly amicably. During
this time many extraordinary buildings were constructed.[60]

However this situation changed as the Normans to secure the island imported immigrants
from Normandy, England, Lombardy, Piedmont, Provence and Campania.
Linguistically, the island shifted from being one-third Greek- and two-thirds Arabic-
speaking at the time of the Norman conquest to becoming fully Latinised.[61] In terms of
religion the island became completely Roman Catholic (bearing in mind that until 1054
the Churches owing allegiance to the Pope and the Patriarch of Constantinople belonged
to one Church); Sicily before the Norman conquest was under Eastern Orthodox
Patriarch.[62] After Pope Innocent III made him Papal Legate in 1098, Roger I created The Cathedral of Monreale.
several Catholic bishoprics while still allowing the construction of 12 Greek-speaking
monasteries (the Greek language, monasteries, and 1500 parishes continued to exist until
the adherents of the Greek Rite were forced in 1585 to convert to Catholicism or leave; a small pocket of Greek-speakers still live
in Messina).

Hohenstaufen dynasty

After a century, the Norman Hauteville dynasty died out; the last direct descendant and
heir of Roger, Constance, married Emperor Henry VI.[63] This eventually led to the
crown of Sicily being passed on to the Hohenstaufen Dynasty, who were Germans from
Swabia. The last of the Hohenstaufens, Frederick II, the only son of Constance, was one
of the greatest and most cultured men of the Middle Ages. His mother's will had asked
Pope Innocent III to undertake the guardianship of her son. Frederick was four when at
Palermo, he was crowned King of Sicily in 1198. Frederick received no systematic
education and was allowed to run free in the streets of Palermo. There he picked up the
many languages he heard spoken, such as Arabic and Greek, and learned some of the
Interior of Castello Maniace
lore of the Jewish community. At age twelve, he dismissed Innocent's deputy regent and
took over the government; at fifteen he married Constance of Aragon, and began his
reclamation of the imperial crown. Subsequently, due to Muslim rebellions, Frederick II
destroyed the remaining Muslim presence in Sicily, estimated at 60,000 persons, moving all to the city of Lucera in Apulia
between 1221 and 1226.[64]

Conflict between the Hohenstaufen house and the Papacy led, in 1266, to Pope Innocent IV crowning the French prince Charles,
count of Anjou and Provence, as the king of both Sicily and Naples.[63]

Sicily under Aragonese rule

Strong opposition to French officialdom due to mistreatment and taxation saw the local
peoples of Sicily rise up, leading in 1282 to an insurrection known as the War of the
Sicilian Vespers, which eventually saw almost the entire French population on the island
killed.[63] During the war, the Sicilians turned to Peter III of Aragon, son-in-law of the
last Hohenstaufen king, for support after being rejected by the Pope. Peter gained control
of Sicily from the French, who, however, retained control of the Kingdom of Naples. A
crusade was launched in August 1283 against Peter III and the Kingdom of Aragon by
Pope Martin IV (a pope from Île-de-France), but it failed. The wars continued until the
Depiction of the Sicilian Vespers
peace of Caltabellotta in 1302, which saw Peter's son Frederick III recognized as the
king of the Isle of Sicily, while Charles II was recognized as the king of Naples by Pope Boniface VIII.[63] Sicily was ruled as an
independent kingdom by relatives of the kings of Aragon until 1409 and then as part of the Crown of Aragon.[30] In October
1347, in Messina, Sicily, the Black Death first arrived in Europe.[65]

Between the 15th-18th centuries, waves of Greeks from the Peloponnese (such as the Maniots) and Arvanites migrated to Sicily
in large numbers to escape persecution after the Ottoman conquest of the Peloponnese. They brought with them Eastern
Orthodoxy as well as the Greek and Arvanitika languages to the island, once again adding onto the extensive Byzantine/Greek
influence.

The onset of the Spanish Inquisition in 1492 led to Ferdinand II decreeing the expulsion
of all Jews from Sicily.[63] The eastern part of the island was hit by very destructive
earthquakes in 1542 and 1693. Just a few years before the latter earthquake, the island
was struck by a ferocious plague.[63] The earthquake in 1693 took an estimated 60,000
lives.[66] There were revolts during the 17th century, but these were quelled with
significant force, especially the revolts of Palermo and Messina.[30] North African slave
raids discouraged settlement along the coast until the 19th century.[67][68] The Treaty of
Utrecht in 1713 saw Sicily assigned to the House of Savoy; however, this period of rule
lasted only seven years, as it was exchanged for the island of Sardinia with Emperor
Charles VI of the Austrian Habsburg Dynasty.[69]

While the Austrians were concerned with the War of the Polish Succession, a Bourbon
prince, Charles from Spain was able to conquer Sicily and Naples.[70] At first Sicily was
able to remain as an independent kingdom under personal union, while the Bourbons
ruled over both from Naples. However, the advent of Napoleon's First French Empire
saw Naples taken at the Battle of Campo Tenese and Bonapartist King of Naples were
installed. Ferdinand III the Bourbon was forced to retreat to Sicily which he was still in
complete control of with the help of British naval protection.[71]
Sicilian Baroque in Catania.
Following this, Sicily joined the Napoleonic Wars, and subsequently the British under
Lord William Bentinck established a military and diplomatic presence on the island to
protect against a French invasion. After the wars were won, Sicily and Naples formally merged as the Two Sicilies under the
Bourbons. Major revolutionary movements occurred in 1820 and 1848 against the Bourbon government with Sicily seeking
independence; the second of which, the 1848 revolution resulted in a short period of independence for Sicily. However, in 1849
the Bourbons retook control of the island and dominated it until 1860.[72]

Italian unification

The Expedition of the Thousand led by Giuseppe Garibaldi captured Sicily in 1860, as
part of the Risorgimento.[73] The conquest started at Marsala, and native Sicilians joined
him in the capture of the southern Italian peninsula. Garibaldi's march was completed
with the Siege of Gaeta, where the final Bourbons were expelled and Garibaldi
announced his dictatorship in the name of Victor Emmanuel II of Kingdom of
Sardinia.[74] Sicily became part of the Kingdom of Sardinia after a referendum where
more than 75% of Sicily voted in favour of the annexation on 21 October 1860 (but not
everyone was allowed to vote). As a result of the proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy,
The beginning of the Expedition of
Sicily became part of the kingdom on 17 March 1861. the Thousand, 1860

The Sicilian economy (and the wider mezzogiorno economy) remained relatively
underdeveloped after the Italian unification, in spite of the strong investments made by
the Kingdom of Italy in terms of modern infrastructure, and this caused an unprecedented wave of emigration.[73] In 1894,
organisations of workers and peasants known as the Fasci Siciliani protested against the bad social and economic conditions of
the island, but they were suppressed in a few days.[75][76] The Messina earthquake of 28 December 1908 killed more than
80,000 people.[77]

This period was also characterized by the first contact between the Sicilian mafia (the crime syndicate also known as Cosa
Nostra) and the Italian government. The Mafia's origins are still uncertain, but it is generally accepted that it emerged in the 18th
century initially in the role of private enforcers hired to protect the property of landowners and merchants from the groups of
bandits (Briganti) who frequently pillaged the countryside and towns. The battle against the Mafia made by the Kingdom of Italy
was controversial and ambiguous. The Carabinieri (the military police of Italy) and sometimes the Italian army were often
involved in terrible fights against the mafia members, but their efforts were frequently useless because of the secret co-operation
between the mafia and local government and also because of the weakness of the Italian judicial system.[78]

20th and 21st centuries

In the 1920s, the Fascist regime began a stronger military action against the Mafia,
which was led by prefect Cesare Mori, who was known as the "Iron Prefect" because of
his iron-fisted campaigns. This was the first time in which an operation against the
Sicilian mafia ended with considerable success.[73] There was an allied invasion of
Sicily during World War II starting on 10 July 1943. In preparation for the invasion, the
Allies revitalised the Mafia to aid them. The invasion of Sicily contributed to the 25 July
crisis; in general, the Allied victors were warmly embraced by Sicily.[79]

Italy became a Republic in 1946 and, as part of the Constitution of Italy, Sicily was one
of the five regions given special status as an autonomous region.[80] Both the partial Private Roy W. Humphrey of Toledo,
Italian land reform and special funding from the Italian government's Cassa per il Ohio is being given blood plasma
Mezzogiorno (Fund for the South) from 1950 to 1984 helped the Sicilian economy. after he was wounded by shrapnel in
During this period, the economic and social condition of the island was generally Sicily on 9 August 1943.
improved thanks to important investments on infrastructures such as motorways and
airports, and thanks to the creation of important industrial and commercial areas.[81] In
the 1980s, the Mafia was deeply weakened by a second important campaign led by magistrates Giovanni Falcone and Paolo
Borsellino.[82] Between 1990 and 2005, the unemployment rate fell from about 23% to 11%.[83][84]

The Cosa Nostra has traditionally been the most powerful group in Sicily, especially around Palermo.[85] A police investigation
in summer 2019 also confirmed strong links between the Palermo area Sicilian Mafia and American organized crime, particularly
the Gambino crime family.[86] According to La Repubblica, "Off they go, through the streets of Passo di Rigano, Boccadifalco,
Torretta and at the same time, Brooklyn, Staten Island, New Jersey. Because from Sicily to the US, the old mafia has
returned".[87]

Demographics
Sicily is a melting pot of a variety of different cultures and ethnicities, including the
original Italic people, the Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Greeks, Romans, Byzantines,
Arabs, Normans, Swabians, Aragonese, Lombards, Spaniards, French, and Albanians,
each contributing to the island's culture and genetic makeup. About five million people
live in Sicily, making it the fourth most populated region in Italy. In the first century after
the Italian unification, Sicily had one of the most negative net migration rates among the
regions of Italy because of the emigration of millions of people to other European
countries, North America, South America and Australia. Like the South of Italy and
The city of Palermo in 2005
Sardinia, immigration to the island is very low compared to other regions of Italy
because workers tend to head to Northern Italy instead, due to better employment and
industrial opportunities. According to ISTAT figures from 2017,[88] show around
175,000 immigrants out of the total 5,029,615 population;[89] Romanians with more
than 50,000 make up the most immigrants, followed by Tunisians, Moroccans, Sri
Lankans, Albanians, and others mostly from Eastern Europe. As in the rest of Italy, the
official language is Italian and the primary religion is Roman Catholicism.[90][91]

Emigration Syracuse view from the seafront of

Ortigia, to the Maniace Castle.
Since the Italian unification, Sicily, along with the entire south of the Italian peninsula
has been strongly marked by coerced emigration, partly induced by a planned de-
industrialization of the south in order to favour the northern regions.[92] After Italian Historical population
unification most of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies's former National Bank, the Banco Year Pop. ±%
delle Due Sicilie's assets were transferred to Piedmont.[93] During the first decades of the 1861 2,409,000 —
Risorgimento, a rising number of Sicilian and South Italian manufacturies were driven 1871 2,590,000 +7.5%
into ruin due to high taxation imposed by the central government. Furthermore, an 1881 2,933,000 +13.2%
embargo imposed on goods coming from South Italian manufacturers, that effectively 1901 3,568,000 +21.7%
barred them from exporting to the north and abroad, were also key factors that led to 1911 3,812,000 +6.8%
further impoverishment of the entire region. South Italian and Sicilian emigration started 1921 4,223,000 +10.8%
shortly after the Unification of Italy and has not stopped ever since. By the beginning of 1931 3,906,000 −7.5%
the 1900s, less than 40 years after the Unification, what was formerly known as the 1936 4,000,000 +2.4%
Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, one of Europe's most industrialized countries, became one 1951 4,487,000 +12.2%
of the poorest regions in Europe.[94] 1961 4,721,000 +5.2%
1971 4,681,000 −0.8%
The aforementioned factors, along with a failed land reform, resulted in a never-before-
seen wave of Sicilians emigrating, first to the United States between the 1880s and the 1981 4,907,000 +4.8%
1920s, later to Northern Italy, and from the 1960s onwards also to Belgium, France, 1991 4,966,000 +1.2%
Germany, Switzerland, as well as Australia and South America. 2001 4,969,000 +0.1%
2011 5,002,904 +0.7%
Today, Sicily is the Italian region with the highest number of expatriates: as of 2017, 2019 4,969,147 −0.7%
750,000 Sicilians, 14.4% of the island's population, lived abroad.[95] For lack of Source: ISTAT 2017
employment, every year many Sicilians, especially young graduates, still leave the island
to seek jobs abroad.[96] Today, an estimated 10 million people of Sicilian origins live around the world.

Largest cities

The are the ten largest cities of Sicily:[97]

Rank Name Pop. (2017) Area (km2) Pop. per km2

1 Palermo 668,405 159 4,207
2 Catania 311,620 181 1,723
3 Messina 234,293 212 1,107
4 Syracuse 121,605 204 596
5 Marsala 82,802 242 343
6 Gela 74,858 277 270
7 Ragusa 73,638 442 166
8 Trapani 67,923 272 250
9 Vittoria 64,212 181 354
10 Caltanissetta 62,317 416 150

Religion

As in most Italian regions, Christian Roman Catholicism is the predominant religious

denomination in Sicily, and the church still plays an important role in the lives of most
people. There is also a notable small minority of Eastern-rite Byzantine Catholics which
has a mixed congregation of ethnic Albanians; it is operated by the Italo-Albanian
Catholic Church. Most people still attend church weekly or at least for religious festivals,
and many people get married in churches. There was a wide presence of Jews in Sicily
for at least 1,400 years and possibly for more than 2,000 years. Some scholars believe
that the Sicilian Jewry are partial ancestors of the Ashkenazi Jews.[98] However, much
of the Jewish community faded away when they were expelled from the island in 1492.
Noto Cathedral
Islam was present during the Emirate of Sicily, although Muslims were also expelled.
Today, mostly due to immigration to the island, there are also several religious minorities,
such as Jehovah's Witnesses, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, and Sikhism. There are also a
fair number of evangelical Christians who live on the island.

Politics
The politics of Sicily takes place in a framework of a presidential representative democracy, whereby the President of Regional
Government is the head of government, and of a pluriform multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the Regional
Government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the Sicilian Regional Assembly. The capital of Sicily is
Palermo.
Traditionally, Sicily gives center-right results during elections.[99] From 1943 to 1951 there was also a separatist political party
called Sicilian Independence Movement (Movimento Indipendentista Siciliano, MIS). Its best electoral result was in the 1946
general election, when MIS obtained 0.7% of national votes (8.8% of votes in Sicily), and four seats. However, the movement
lost all its seats following the 1948 general election and the 1951 regional election. Even though it has never been formally
disbanded, today the movement is no longer part of the politics of Sicily. After World War II Sicily became a stronghold of the
Christian Democracy, in opposition to the Italian Communist Party. The Communists and their successors (the Democratic Party
of the Left, the Democrats of the Left and the present-day Democratic Party) had never won in the region until 2012. Sicily is
now governed by a center-right coalition. Nello Musumeci is the current President since 2017.

Administrative divisions

Administratively, Sicily is divided into nine provinces, each with a capital

city of the same name as the province. Small surrounding islands are also
part of various Sicilian provinces: the Aeolian Islands (Messina), isle of
Ustica (Palermo), Aegadian Islands (Trapani), isle of Pantelleria (Trapani)
and Pelagian Islands (Agrigento).

Density
Area Number of
Province Population[100] (Pop. per
(km2) communes
km2)
Agrigento 3,042 453,594 149.1 43
Caltanissetta 2,128 271,168 127.4 22
Catania 3,552 1,090,620 307.0 58 Provinces of Sicily
Enna 2,562 172,159 67.2 20
Messina 3,247 652,742 201.0 108
Palermo 4,992 1,249,744 250.3 82
Ragusa 1,614 318,980 197.6 12
Siracusa 2,109 403,559 191.3 21
Trapani 2,460 436,240 177.3 24

Economy
Thanks to the regular growth of the last years, Sicily is the eighth largest regional
economy of Italy in terms of total GDP (see List of Italian regions by GDP). A series of
reforms and investments on agriculture such as the introduction of modern irrigation
systems have made this important industry competitive.[101] In the 1970s there was a
growth of the industrial sector through the creation of some factories.[102] In recent years
the importance of the service industry has grown for the opening of several shopping
malls and for modest growth of financial and telecommunication activities.[103] Tourism
is an important source of wealth for the island thanks to its natural and historical heritage.
Today Sicily is investing a large amount of money on structures of the hospitality Olive groves
industry, in order to make tourism more competitive.[104] However, Sicily continues to
have a GDP per capita below the Italian average and higher unemployment than the rest
of Italy.[105] This difference is mostly caused by the negative influence of the Mafia that is still active in some areas although it is
much weaker than in the past.[106]

Agriculture

Sicily has long been noted for its fertile soil due to volcanic eruptions. The local agriculture is also helped by the pleasant climate
of the island. The main agricultural products are wheat, citrons, oranges (Arancia Rossa di Sicilia IGP), lemons, tomatoes
(Pomodoro di Pachino IGP), olives, olive oil, artichokes, prickly pear (Fico d'India dell'Etna DOP), almonds, grapes, pistachios
(Pistacchio di Bronte DOP) and wine. Cattle and sheep are raised. The cheese productions are particularly important thanks to
the Ragusano DOP and the Pecorino Siciliano DOP. Ragusa is noted for its honey (Miele Ibleo) and chocolate (Cioccolato di
Modica IGP) productions.[107][108][109][110][111]
 Sicily is the third largest wine producer in Italy (the world's largest wine producer) after Veneto
and Emilia Romagna.[112] The region is known mainly for fortified Marsala wines. In recent
decades the wine industry has improved, new winemakers are experimenting with less-known
native varieties, and Sicilian wines have become better known.[113] The best known local
variety is Nero d'Avola, named for a small town not far from Syracuse; the best wines made with
these grapes come from Noto, a famous old city close to Avola. Other important native varieties
are Nerello Mascalese used to make the Etna Rosso DOC wine, Frappato that is a component of
the Cerasuolo di Vittoria DOCG wine, Moscato di Pantelleria (also known as Zibibbo) used to
make different Pantelleria wines, Malvasia di Lipari used for the Malvasia di Lipari DOC wine
and Catarratto mostly used to make the white wine Alcamo DOC. Furthermore, in Sicily high
quality wines are also produced using non-native varieties like Syrah, Chardonnay and
Merlot.[114]

A sample of Marsala, a
DOC wine produced in the
city of Marsala
Sicily is also known for its liqueurs, such as the Amaro Averna produced in Caltanissetta and the
local limoncello.
Fishing is another fundamental resource for Sicily. There are important tuna, sardine, swordfish
and European anchovy fisheries. Mazara del Vallo is the largest fishing centre in Sicily and one
of the most important in Italy.[115]

Industry and manufacturing

Improvements in Sicily's road system have helped to promote industrial development.

The region has three important industrial districts:

Catania Industrial District, where there are several food industries and one
of the best European electronics industry centres called Etna Valley (in
honour of the best known Silicon Valley) which contains offices and
factories of international companies such as STMicroelectronics and
Numonyx;[115][116]
Syracuse Petrochemical District with chemical industries, oil refineries and Palermo shipyards
important power stations (as the innovative Archimede combined cycle
power plant);[117]
the latest Enna Industrial District in which there are food industries.[118]

In Palermo there are important shipyards (such as Fincantieri), mechanical factories of

famous Italian companies as Ansaldo Breda, publishing and textile industries. Chemical
industries are also in the Province of Messina (Milazzo) and in the Province of
Caltanissetta (Gela).[110] There are petroleum, natural gas and asphalt fields in the
Southeast (mostly near Ragusa) and massive deposits of halite in Central Sicily.[119] The
Province of Trapani is one of the largest sea salt producers in Italy.[120]
Oilfields near Ragusa

Statistics

GDP growth

A table showing Sicily's different GDP (nominal and per capita) growth between 2000 and 2008:[121][122]

2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2008

Gross Domestic Product
67,204 70,530 72,855 75,085 77,327 80,358 82,938 88,328
(Millions of Euros)
GDP (PPP) per capita
13,479 14,185 14,662 15,053 15,440 16,023 16,531 17,533
(Euro)

Economic sectors

After the table which shows Sicily's GDP growth,[121] this table shows the sectors of the Sicilian economy in 2006:
 GDP % sector % sector
Economic activity
€ millions (Sicily) (Italy)
Agriculture, farming, fishing 2,923.3 3.52% 1.84%
Industry 7,712.9 9.30% 18.30%
Constructions 4,582.1 5.52% 5.41%
Commerce, hotels and restaurants, transport, services and (tele)communications 15,159.7 18.28% 20.54%
Financial activity and real estate 17,656.1 21.29% 24.17%
Other economic activities 24,011.5 28.95% 18.97%
VAT and other forms of taxes 10,893.1 13.13% 10.76%
GDP of Sicily 82,938.6

Unemployment rate

The unemployment rate stood at 21.5% in 2018 and was one of the highest in Italy and Europe.[123][124]

Year 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
Unemployment
13.4% 12.9% 13.7% 13.8% 14.6% 14.3% 18.4% 21.0% 22.2% 21.4% 22.1% 21.5% 21.5%
rate

Transport

Roads

Highways have been built and expanded in the last four decades. The most prominent
Sicilian roads are the motorways (known as autostrade) in the north of the island. Much
of the motorway network is elevated on pillars due to the island's mountainous
terrain.[125][126][127][128] Other main roads in Sicily are the Strade Statali, such as the
SS.113 that connects Trapani to Messina (via Palermo), the SS.114 Messina-Syracuse
(via Catania) and the SS.115 Syracuse-Trapani (via Ragusa, Gela and Agrigento).

Sign Motorway Length Toll Services

A18 Messina-Catania 76 km (47 mi) Yes Yes The A20 Messina-Palermo motorway
near Torregrotta
RA15 Catania's Bypass (West) 24 km (15 mi) Free Yes

Motorway Catania-Siracusa 25 km (16 mi) Free No

A18 Siracusa-Rosolini 40 km (25 mi) Free No

A19 Palermo-Catania 199 km (124 mi) Free Yes

A20 Palermo-Messina 181 km (112 mi) Yes Yes

A29 Palermo-Mazara del Vallo 119 km (74 mi) Free No

Messina tramway system
38 km (24 mi) and
A29dir Alcamo-Trapani/Marsala Free No
44 km (27 mi)

Railways

The first railway in Sicily was opened in 1863 (Palermo-Bagheria) and today all of the Sicilian provinces are served by a
network of railway services, linking to most major cities and towns; this service is operated by Trenitalia. Of the 1,378 km
(856 mi) of railway tracks in use, over 60% has been electrified whilst the remaining 583 km (362 mi) are serviced by diesel
engines. 88% of the lines (1.209 km) are single-track and only 169 km (105 mi) are double-track serving the two main routes,
Messina-Palermo (Tyrrhenian) and Messina-Catania-Syracuse (Ionian), which are the main lines of this region. Of the narrow-
gauge railways the Ferrovia Circumetnea is the only one that still operates, going round
Mount Etna. From the major cities of Sicily, there are services to Naples, Rome and
Milan; this is achieved by the trains being loaded onto ferries which cross the Strait.[129]

In Catania there is an underground railway service (metropolitana di Catania); in

Palermo the national railway operator Trenitalia operates a commuter rail (Palermo
metropolitan railway service), the Sicilian Capital is also served by 4 AMAT (Comunal
Public Transport Operator) tramlines; Messina is served by a tramline.

Two trains inside Punta Raisi railway

Airports
station within Palermo International
Airport
Mainland Sicily has several airports that serve numerous Italian and European
destinations and some extra-European.

Catania-Fontanarossa Airport, located on the east coast, is the busiest on

the island (and one of the busiest in all of Italy).
Palermo International Airport, which is also a substantially large airport with
many national and international flights.
Trapani-Birgi Airport, a military-civil joint-use airport (third for traffic on the
island). Recently the airport has seen an increase in traffic thanks to a low-
cost carrier. Palermo, AMAT tramway system
Comiso-Ragusa Airport, has recently been refurbished and re-converted map
from military use to a civil airport. It was opened to commercial traffic and
general aviation on 30 May 2013.
Palermo-Boccadifalco Airport is the old airport of Palermo and is currently
used for general aviation and as a base for the Guardia di Finanza and
police helicopters.
NAS Sigonella Airport, it is an Italian Air Force and US Navy installation.
Lampedusa Airport.
Pantelleria Airport.

Ports
Catania Metro
By sea, Sicily is served by several ferry routes and cargo ports, and in all major cities,
cruise ships dock on a regular basis.

Mainland Italy: Ports connecting to the mainland are Messina (route to Villa
San Giovanni and Salerno), the busiest passenger port in Italy, Palermo
(routes to Genoa, Civitavecchia and Naples) and Catania (route to Naples).
Sicily's small surrounding islands: The port of Milazzo serves the Aeolian
Islands, the ports of Trapani and Marsala the Aegadian Islands and the port
of Porto Empedocle the Pelagie Islands. From Palermo there is a service to
the island of Ustica and to Sardinia.
International connections: From Palermo and Trapani there are weekly Catania International Airport
services to Tunisia and there is also a daily service between Malta and
Pozzallo.[130][131]
Commercial and cargo ports: The port of Augusta is the fifth-largest cargo
port in Italy and handles tonnes of goods. Other major cargo ports are
Palermo, Catania, Trapani, Pozzallo and Termini Imerese.
Touristic ports: Several ports along the Sicilian coast are in the service of
private boats that need to moor on the island. The main ports for this traffic
are in Marina di Ragusa, Riposto, Portorosa, Syracuse, Cefalù and
Sciacca. In Sicily, Palermo is also a major centre for boat rental, with or The port of Catania
without crew, in the Mediterranean.
Fishing ports: Like all islands, Sicily also has many fishing ports. The most
important is in Mazara del Vallo followed by Castellamare del Golfo, Licata, Scoglitti and Portopalo di Capo
Passero.
Planned bridge

Plans for a bridge linking Sicily to the mainland have been discussed since 1865. Throughout the last decade, plans were
developed for a road and rail link to the mainland via what would be the world's longest suspension bridge, the Strait of Messina
Bridge. Planning for the project has experienced several false starts over the past few years. On 6 March 2009, Silvio
Berlusconi's government declared that the construction works for the Messina Bridge will begin on 23 December 2009, and
announced a pledge of €1.3 billion as a contribution to the bridge's total cost, estimated at €6.1 billion.[132] The plan has been
criticized by environmental associations and some local Sicilians and Calabrians, concerned with its environmental impact,
economical sustainability and even possible infiltrations by organized crime.[133][134]

Tourism
Sicily's sunny, dry climate, scenery, cuisine, history, and architecture attract many tourists
from mainland Italy and abroad. The tourist season peaks in the summer months,
although people visit the island all year round. Mount Etna, the beaches, the
archaeological sites, and major cities such as Palermo, Catania, Syracuse and Ragusa are
the favourite tourist destinations, but the old town of Taormina and the neighbouring
seaside resort of Giardini Naxos draw visitors from all over the world, as do the Aeolian
Islands, Erice, Castellammare del Golfo, Cefalù, Agrigento, the Pelagie Islands and
Capo d'Orlando. The last features some of the best-preserved temples of the ancient
Greek period. Many Mediterranean cruise ships stop in Sicily, and many wine tourists
also visit the island. Lampedusa, Pelagie Islands

Some scenes of several Hollywood and Cinecittà films were shot in Sicily. This
increased the attraction of Sicily as a tourist destination.[135]

UNESCO World Heritage Sites

There are seven UNESCO World Heritage Sites on Sicily. By the order of inscription:

Valle dei Templi (1997) is one of the most outstanding examples of Greater
Greece art and architecture, and is one of the main attractions of Sicily as
well as a national monument of Italy. The site is located in Agrigento.[136]
Villa Romana del Casale (1997) is a Roman villa built in the first quarter of
the 4th century and located about 3 km (2 mi) outside the town of Piazza
Armerina. It contains the richest, largest and most complex collection of
One of the mosaics in Villa Romana
Roman mosaics in the world.[137] del Casale
Aeolian Islands (2000) are a volcanic archipelago in the Tyrrhenian Sea,
named after the demigod of the winds Aeolus. The Aeolian Islands are a
tourist destination in the summer, and attract up to 200,000 visitors annually.[138]
Late Baroque Towns of the Val di Noto (2002) "represent the culmination and final flowering of Baroque art in
Europe".[139] It includes several towns: Caltagirone, Militello in Val di Catania, Catania, Modica, Noto,
Palazzolo Acreide, Ragusa and Scicli.
Necropolis of Pantalica (2005) is a large necropolis in Sicily with over 5,000 tombs dating from the 13th to the
7th centuries BC. Syracuse is notable for its rich Greek history, culture, amphitheatres and architecture. They
are situated in south-eastern Sicily.
Mount Etna (2013) is one of the most active volcanoes in the world and is in an almost constant state of activity
and generated myths, legends and naturalistic observation from Greek, Celts and Roman classic and medieval
times.[140]
Arab-Norman Palermo and the cathedral churches of Cefalù and Monreale; includes a series of nine civil
and religious structures dating from the era of the Norman kingdom of Sicily (1130–1194)[141]

Tentative Sites

Taormina and Isola Bella;[142]

Motya and Libeo Island: The Phoenician-Punic Civilisation in Italy;[143]
Scala dei Turchi;[144]
 Strait of Messina.[145]

Archeological sites

Because many different cultures settled, dominated or invaded the island, Sicily has a
huge variety of archaeological sites. Also, some of the most notable and best preserved
temples and other structures of the Greek world are located in Sicily.. Here is a short list
of the major archaeological sites:
Cathedral of San Giorgio in Modica
Sicels/Sicans/Elymians/Greeks: Segesta, Eryx, Cava Ispica, Thapsos,
Pantalica;
Greeks: Syracuse, Agrigento, Segesta, Selinunte, Gela, Kamarina, Himera,
Megara Hyblaea, Naxos, Heraclea Minoa;
Phoenicians: Motya, Soluntum, Marsala, Palermo;
Romans: Piazza Armerina, Centuripe, Taormina, Palermo;
Arabs: Palermo, Mazara del Vallo.

The excavation and restoration of one of Sicily's best known archaeological sites, the
Valley of the Temples in Agrigento, was at the direction of the archaeologist Domenico
Antonio Lo Faso Pietrasanta, Fifth Duke of Serradifalco, known in archaeological
circles simply as "Serradifalco". He also oversaw the restoration of ancient sites at Taormina's central square at sunset
Segesta, Selinunte, Siracusa and Taormina.

Castles

In Sicily there are hundreds of castles, the most relevant are:

Castello Ursino in Catania

Zisa Castle in Palermo

 Province Castles Commune
Castello Manfredonico Mussomeli
Caltanisetta U Cannuni Mazzarino
Castelluccio di Gela Gela
Castello Ursino Catania
Castello Normanno Adrano
Catania
Castello Normanno Paternò Castle of the Counts of Modica
(Alcamo) in Alcamo
Castello di Aci Aci Castello
Enna Castello di Lombardia Enna
Forte dei Centri Messina
Castello di Milazzo Milazzo
Messina Castello di Sant'Alessio Siculo Sant'Alessio Siculo
Castello di Pentefur Savoca
Castello di Schisò Giardini Naxos Castello di Donnafugata near Ragusa
Zisa, Palermo Palermo
Castello di Caccamo Caccamo
Palermo
Castello di Carini Carini
Castello dei Ventimiglia Castelbuono
Castello di Donnafugata Ragusa
Ragusa Torre Cabrera Pozzallo
Castello Dei Conti Modica
Syracuse Castello Maniace Syracuse
Castello di Venere Erice
Trapani Castle of the Counts of Modica Alcamo
Castle of Calatubo Alcamo

Coastal towers

The Coastal towers in Sicily (Torri costiere della Sicilia) are 218 old watchtowers along the coast. In Sicily, the first coastal
towers date back to 1313 and 1345 of the Aragonese monarchy. From 1360 the threat came from the south, from North Africa to
Maghreb, mainly to Barbary pirates and corsairs of Barbary Coast. In 1516, the Turks settled in Algiers, and from 1520, the
corsair Hayreddin Barbarossa under the command of Ottoman Empire, operated from that harbor.

Most existing towers were built on architectural designs of the Florentine architect Camillo Camilliani from [1583] to 1584 and
involved the coastal periple of Sicily. The typology changed completely in '800, because of the new higher fire volumes of
cannon vessels, the towers were built on the type of Martello towers that the British built in the UK and elsewhere in the British
Empire. The decline of Mediterranean piracy caused by the Second Barbary War led to a smaller number of coastal towers built
during the 19th Century.[146]
 Torre-Capo-Rama Torre di (Altavilla Torre Spalmatore Torre Pozzillo Ligny Tower -
(Terrasini) Milicia) (Ustica) (Cinisi) (Trapani)

Torre Nubia Torre Manfria (Gela) Torre Cabrera Torre Cabrera Vignazza Tower
(Paceco) (Marina di Ragusa) (Pozzallo) (Giardini Naxos)
(Marina di Ragusa) (Pozzallo)

Culture

To have seen Italy without having seen Sicily is to not have seen Italy at all, for Sicily is the clue to everything.

— Goethe[147]

Sicily has long been associated with the arts; many poets, writers, philosophers,
intellectuals, architects and painters have roots on the island. The history of prestige in
this field can be traced back to Greek philosopher Archimedes, a Syracuse native who
has gone on to become renowned as one of the greatest mathematicians of all time.[148]
Gorgias and Empedocles are two other highly noted early Sicilian-Greek philosophers,
while the Syracusan Epicharmus is held to be the inventor of comedy.[149][150]

Art and architecture

Terracotta ceramics from the island are well

known, the art of ceramics on Sicily goes back
to the original ancient peoples named the
Sicanians, it was then perfected during the
period of Greek colonisation and is still
prominent and distinct to this day.[151]
Nowadays, Caltagirone is one of the most Virgin Annunciate, Antonello da
important centres in Sicily for the artistic Messina
production of ceramics and terra-cotta
sculptures. Famous painters include
Majolica painting art of Caltagirone
Renaissance artist Antonello da Messina, Bruno Caruso, Renato Guttuso and Greek
born Giorgio de Chirico who is commonly dubbed the "father of Surrealist art" and
founder of the metaphysical art movement.[152] The most noted architects are Filippo
Juvarra (one of the most important figures of the Italian Baroque) and Ernesto Basile.

Sicilian Baroque
The Sicilian Baroque has a unique architectural identity. Noto, Caltagirone, Catania,
Ragusa, Modica, Scicli and particularly Acireale contain some of Italy's best examples of
Baroque architecture, carved in the local red sandstone. Noto provides one of the best
examples of the Baroque architecture brought to Sicily. The Baroque style in Sicily was
largely confined to buildings erected by the church, and palazzi built as private
residences for the Sicilian aristocracy.[153] The earliest examples of this style in Sicily
lacked individuality and were typically heavy-handed pastiches of buildings seen by
Sicilian visitors to Rome, Florence, and Naples. However, even at this early stage,
provincial architects had begun to incorporate certain vernacular features of Sicily's older
architecture. By the middle of the 18th century, when Sicily's Baroque architecture was
noticeably different from that of the mainland, it typically included at least two or three
of the following features, coupled with a unique freedom of design that is more difficult
to characterize in words.

Music and film

Palermo hosts the Teatro Massimo which is the largest opera house in Italy and the third
largest in all of Europe.[154] In Catania there is another important opera house, the Bruno Caruso
Teatro Massimo Bellini with 1,200 seats, which is considered one of the best European
opera houses for its acoustics. Sicily's composers vary from Vincenzo Bellini,
Sigismondo d'India, Giovanni Pacini and Alessandro Scarlatti, to contemporary
composers such as Salvatore Sciarrino and Silvio Amato.

Many award-winning and acclaimed films of Italian cinema have been filmed in Sicily,
amongst the most noted of which are: Visconti's "La Terra Trema" and "Il Gattopardo",
Pietro Germi's "Divorzio all'Italiana" and "Sedotta e Abbandonata".

Literature
Syracuse Cathedral
The golden age of Sicilian poetry began in the early 13th century with the Sicilian
School of Giacomo da Lentini, which was highly influential on Italian literature. Some
of the most noted figures among writers and poets are Luigi
Pirandello (Nobel laureate, 1934), Salvatore Quasimodo
(Nobel laureate, 1959), Giovanni Verga (the father of the
Italian Verismo), Domenico Tempio, Giovanni Meli, Luigi
Capuana, Mario Rapisardi, Federico de Roberto, Leonardo
Sciascia, Vitaliano Brancati, Giuseppe Tomasi di
Lampedusa, Elio Vittorini, Vincenzo Consolo and Andrea
Camilleri (noted for his novels and short stories with the
fictional character Inspector Salvo Montalbano as
protagonist). On the political side notable philosophers
Teatro Massimo, Palermo
include Gaetano Mosca and Giovanni Gentile who wrote
Vincenzo Bellini
The Doctrine of Fascism. In terms of academic reflection,
the historical and aesthetic richness as well as the multi-
layered heterogeneity of Sicilian literature and culture have been first
grasped methodologically and coined with the term of transculturality
by German scholar of Italian studies Dagmar Reichardt who, after
having published an extensive study on the literary work of Giuseppe
Bonaviri,[155] was awarded the International Premio Flaiano
("Italianistica") for a trilingual (English, Italian, German) collection
about the European liminality of Sicily, Sicilian literature and Sicilian
Studies.[156]

Language

Alessandro Scarlatti Today in Sicily most people are bilingual and speak both Italian and
Sicilian, a distinct and historical Romance language. Some of the Luigi Pirandello
Sicilian words are loan words from Greek, Catalan, French, Arabic,
Spanish and other languages.[157] Dialects related to Sicilian are also spoken in Calabria and
Salento; it had a significant influence on the Maltese language. However the use of Sicilian is limited to informal contexts (mostly
in family) and in a majority of cases it is replaced by the so-called regional Italian of Sicily, an Italian dialect that is a kind of mix
between Italian and Sicilian.[158]

Sicilian was an early influence in the development of the first Italian standard, although its use remained confined to an
intellectual elite. This was a literary language in Sicily created under the auspices of Frederick II and his court of notaries, or
Magna Curia, which, headed by Giacomo da Lentini, also gave birth to the Sicilian School, widely inspired by troubadour
literature. Its linguistic and poetic heritage was later assimilated into the Florentine by Dante Alighieri, the father of modern
Italian who, in his De vulgari eloquentia, claims that "In effect, this vernacular seems to deserve higher praise than the others
since all the poetry written by Italians can be called Sicilian".[159] It is in this language that appeared the first sonnet, whose
invention is attributed to Giacomo da Lentini himself.

Science

Catania has one of the four laboratories of the Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare (National Institute for Nuclear Physics) in
which there is a cyclotron that uses protons both for nuclear physics experiments and for particle therapy to treat cancer (proton
therapy).[160][161] Noto has one of the largest radio telescopes in Italy that performs geodetic and astronomical observations.[162]
There are observatories in Palermo and Catania, managed by the Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (National Institute for
Astrophysics). In the Observatory of Palermo the astronomer Giuseppe Piazzi discovered the first and the largest asteroid to be
identified Ceres (today considered a dwarf planet) on 1 January 1801;[163] Catania has two observatories, one of which is
situated on Mount Etna at 1,800 metres (5,900 feet).[164]

Syracuse is also an experimental centre for the solar technologies through the creation of the project Archimede solar power plant
that is the first concentrated solar power plant to use molten salt for heat transfer and storage which is integrated with a combined-
cycle gas facility. All the plant is owned and operated by Enel.[165][166] The touristic town of Erice is also an important science
place thanks to the Ettore Majorana Foundation and Centre for Scientific Culture which embraces 123 schools from all over the
world, covering all branches of science, offering courses, seminars, workshops, and annual meetings. It was founded by the
physicist Antonino Zichichi in honour of another scientist of the island, Ettore Majorana known for the Majorana equation and
Majorana fermions.[167] Sicily's famous scientists include also Stanislao Cannizzaro (chemist), Giovanni Battista Hodierna and
Niccolò Cacciatore (astronomers).

Education

Sicily has four universities:

The University of Catania dates back to 1434 and it is the oldest university
in Sicily. Nowadays it hosts 12 faculties and over 62,000 students and it
offers undergraduate and postgraduate programs. Catania hosts also the
Scuola Superiore, an academic institution linked to the University of
Catania, aiming for excellence in education.[168]
Department of Engineering,
The University of Palermo is the island's second-oldest university. It was University of Messina
officially founded in 1806, although historical records indicate that medicine
and law have been taught there since the late 15th century. The Orto
botanico di Palermo (Palermo botanical gardens) is home to the university's Department of Botany and is also
open to visitors.
The University of Messina, founded in 1548 by Ignatius of Loyola. It is organized in 11 Faculties.
The Kore University of Enna founded in 1995, it is the latest Sicilian university and the first university founded in
Sicily after the Italian Unification.

Cuisine

The island has a long history of producing a variety of noted cuisines and wines, to the extent that Sicily is sometimes nicknamed
God's Kitchen because of this.[169] Every part of Sicily has its speciality (e.g. Cassata is typical of Palermo although available
everywhere in Sicily, as is Granita). The ingredients are typically rich in taste while remaining affordable to the general
public.[170] The savoury dishes of Sicily are viewed to be healthy, using fresh vegetables and fruits, such as tomatoes, artichokes,
olives (including olive oil), citrus, apricots, aubergines, onions, beans, raisins commonly coupled with seafood, freshly caught
from the surrounding coastlines, including tuna, sea bream, sea bass, cuttlefish, swordfish, sardines, and others.[171]

Arancini, rice balls fried in
breadcrumbs
The most well-known part of Sicilian cuisine is
the rich sweet dishes including ice creams and
pastries. Cannoli (singular: cannolo), a tube-
shaped shell of fried pastry dough filled with a
sweet filling usually containing ricotta, is
strongly associated with Sicily worldwide.[172]
Biancomangiare, biscotti ennesi (cookies native
to Enna), braccilatte (a Sicilian version of
doughnuts), buccellato, ciarduna, pignoli,
Biscotti Regina, giurgiulena, frutta martorana,
cassata, pignolata, granita, cuccidati (a variety of Cannoli, a popular pastry associated
fig cookie; also known as buccellati) and cuccìa with Sicilian cuisine
are some notable sweet dishes.[172]

Like the cuisine of the rest of southern Italy, pasta plays an important part in Sicilian cuisine, as does rice; for example with
arancine.[173] As well as using some other cheeses, Sicily has spawned some of its own, using both cow's and sheep's milk, such
as pecorino and caciocavallo.[174] Spices used include saffron, nutmeg, clove, pepper, and cinnamon, which were introduced by
the Arabs. Parsley is used abundantly in many dishes. Although Sicilian cuisine is commonly associated with sea food, meat
dishes, including goose, lamb, goat, rabbit, and turkey, are also found in Sicily. It was the Normans and Swabians who first
introduced a fondness for meat dishes to the island.[175] Some varieties of wine are produced from vines that are relatively unique
to the island, such as the Nero d'Avola made near the baroque of town of Noto.[176]

Sports

The most popular sport in Sicily is football, which came to the fore in the late 19th
century under the influence of the English. Some of the oldest football clubs in Italy are
from Sicily: the three most successful are Palermo, Catania, and Messina, which have
played 29, 17 and 5 seasons in the Serie A respectively. No club from Sicily has ever
won Serie A, but football is still deeply embedded in local culture and all over Sicily
most towns have a representative team.[177]

Palermo and Catania have a heated rivalry and compete in the Sicilian derby together.
Palermo is the only team in Sicily to have played on the European stage, in the UEFA Giuseppe Gibilisco, pole vaulter from
Syracuse, 2003 World Champion and
Cup. In the island, the most noted footballer is Salvatore Schillaci, who won the Golden
bronze Olympic medalist
Boot at the 1990 FIFA World Cup with Italy.[177] Other noted players include Giuseppe
Furino, Pietro Anastasi, Francesco Coco, Christian Riganò, and Roberto Galia.[177]
There have also been some noted managers from the island, such as Carmelo Di Bella
and Franco Scoglio.

Although football is the most popular sport in Sicily, the island also has participants in other fields. Amatori Catania have
competed in the top Italian national rugby union league called National Championship of Excellence. They have even
participated at the European level in the European Challenge Cup. Competing in the basketball variation of Serie A is Orlandina
Basket from Capo d'Orlando in the province of Messina, where the sport has a reasonable following. Various other sports that are
played to some extent include volleyball, handball, and water polo. Previously, in motorsport, Sicily held the prominent Targa
Florio sports car race that took place in the Madonie Mountains, with the start-finish line in Cerda.[178] The event was started in
1906 by Sicilian industrialist and automobile enthusiast Vincenzo Florio, and ran until it was canceled due to safety concerns in
1977.[178]

From 28 September to 9 October 2005 Trapani was the location of Acts 8 and 9 of the Louis Vuitton Cup. This sailing race
featured, among other entrants, all boats that took part in the 2007 America's Cup.

Popular culture

Each town and city has its own patron saint, and the feast days are marked by colourful processions through the streets with
marching bands and displays of fireworks.

Sicilian religious festivals also include the presepe vivente (living nativity scene), which takes place at Christmas time. Deftly
combining religion and folklore, it is a constructed mock 19th-century Sicilian village, complete with a nativity scene, and has
people of all ages dressed in the costumes of the period, some impersonating the Holy Family, and others working as artisans of
their particular assigned trade. It is normally concluded on Epiphany, often highlighted by the arrival of the magi on horseback.
 Oral tradition plays a large role in Sicilian
folklore. Many stories passed down from
generation to generation involve a character
named "Giufà". Anecdotes from this character's
life preserve Sicilian culture as well as convey
moral messages.

Sicilians also enjoy outdoor festivals, held in the

local square or piazza where live music and
The "Misteri", a Religious festival in dancing are performed on stage, and food fairs
Trapani or sagre are set up in booths lining the square.
These offer various local specialties, as well as
typical Sicilian food. Normally these events are
concluded with fireworks. A noted sagra is the Sagra del Carciofo or Artichoke
Festival, which is held annually in Ramacca in April. The most important traditional
event in Sicily is the carnival. Famous carnivals are in Acireale, Misterbianco,
Regalbuto, Paternò, Sciacca, Termini Imerese. Sicilian arrotino at a living nativity
scene wearing traditional Sicilian
The Opera dei Pupi (Opera of the Puppets; Sicilian: Òpira dî pupi) is a marionette clothing
theatrical representation of Frankish romantic poems such as the Song of Roland or
Orlando furioso that is one of the characteristic
cultural traditions of Sicily. The sides of donkey
carts are decorated with intricate, painted
scenes; these same tales are enacted in
traditional puppet theatres featuring hand-made
marionettes of wood. The opera of the puppets
and the Sicilian tradition of cantastorî (singers
of tales) are rooted in the Provençal troubadour
tradition in Sicily during the reign of Frederick
II, Holy Roman Emperor, in the first half of the
13th century. A great place to see this A carnival float in Acireale
The marionettes used in the Opera marionette art is the puppet theatres of Palermo.
dei Pupi The Sicilian marionette theatre Opera dei Pupi
was proclaimed in 2001 and inscribed in 2008 in the UNESCO Intangible Cultural
Heritage Lists.[179]

Today, there are only a few troupes that maintain the tradition. They often perform for tourists. However, there are no longer the
great historical families of marionettists, such as the Greco of Palermo; the Canino of Partinico and Alcamo; Crimi, Trombetta
and Napoli of Catania, Pennisi and Macri of Acireale, Profeta of Licata, Gargano and Grasso of Agrigento. One can, however,
admire the richest collection of marionettes at the Museo Internazionale delle Marionette Antonio Pasqualino and at the Museo
Etnografico Siciliano Giuseppe Pitrè in Palermo. Other elaborate marionettes are on display at the Museo Civico Vagliasindi in
Randazzo.

Traditional items

The Sicilian cart is an ornate, colourful style of a horse or donkey-drawn cart native to
Sicily. Sicilian wood carver George Petralia states that horses were mostly used in the
city and flat plains, while donkeys or mules were more often used in rough terrain for
hauling heavy loads.[180] The cart has two wheels and is primarily handmade out of
wood with iron components.

A traditional Sicilian cart
heritage.[181]
The Sicilian coppola is a traditional kind of flat cap typically worn by men in Sicily. First
used by English nobles during the late 18th century, the tascu began being used in Sicily
in the early 20th century as a driving cap, usually worn by car drivers. The coppola is
usually made in tweed. Today it is widely regarded as a definitive symbol of Sicilian

Flag and emblem

The Flag of Sicily, regarded as a regional icon, was first adopted in 1282, after the
Sicilian Vespers of Palermo. It is characterised by the presence of the triskeles in the
middle, depicting the head of Medusa and three wheat ears representing the extreme
fertility of the land of Sicily.[182] In early mythology, when Medusa was slain and
beheaded by Perseus, the Medusa head was placed in the centre of Athena's shield.[183]
Palermo and Corleone were the first two cities to found a confederation against the
Angevin rule. The triskeles symbol came to be on the Sicilian flag in 1943 during World
War II when Andrea Finocchiaro Aprile led an independence movement, in
collaboration with the allies. Their plan was to help Sicily become independent and form Triskelion painted on Ancient Greek
a free republic. The colours, likewise introduced in the 1940s, respectively represent the vase, Agrigento
cities of Palermo and Corleone. The separatist behind the movement used a yellow and
red flag with the Trinacria in the center of it. When World War II ended, Sicily was
recognized as an autonomous region in the Italian Republic.

The flag became the official public flag of the Regione Siciliana in January 2000, after the passing of an apposite regional law
which advocates its use on public buildings, schools and city halls along with the national Italian flag and the European one.

Familiar as an ancient symbol of the region, the Triskelion is also featured on Greek coins of Syracuse, such as coins of
Agathocles (317–289 BC).The symbol dates back to when Sicily was part of Magna Graecia, the colonial extension of Greece
beyond the Aegean.[184] The triskelion was revived, as a neoclassic – and non-Bourbon – emblem for the new Napoleonic
Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, by Joachim Murat in 1808. In the case of Sicily, the triskelion symbol is said to represent the three
capes (headlands or promontories of the island of Sicily, namely: Pelorus (Peloro, Tip of Faro, Messina: North-East); Pachynus
(Passero, Syracuse: South); and Lilybæum (Lilibeo, Cape Boeo, Marsala: West), which form three points of a triangle.[185]

Notable people

See also
List of islands of Italy

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Further reading
Alio, Jacqueline (2018) Sicilian Studies: A Guide and Syllabus for Educators (Trinacria Editions, New York,
ISBN 978-1-943-63918-2).
Bonacini, Elisa (2007) Il territorio calatino nella Sicilia imperiale e tardoromana (British Archeological Reports,
International Series: 1694) Archaeopress, Oxford, England, ISBN 978-1-4073-0136-5, in Italian with abstract in
English
Chaney, Edward. (2000), "British and American Travellers in Sicily from the eighth to the twentieth century", The
Evolution of the Grand Tour, Routledge.
Leighton, Robert (1999) Sicily before History (Duckworth, London; Cornell University Press, Ithaca).
Mendola, Louis; Alio, Jacqueline (2013) The Peoples of Sicily: A Multicultural Legacy (Trinacria Editions, New
York, ISBN 978-0-615-79694-9).
Spadi, Fabio. (2001) "The Bridge on the Strait of Messina: 'Lowering' the Right of Innocent Passage?" (https://w
eb.archive.org/web/20070322172132/http://iclq.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/reprint/50/2/411) International and
Comparative Law Quarterly 50: 411 ff.
 "From Rome to Sicily: Plane or Train?" Expert Travel Advice, The New York Times, 7 February 2008 (http://trave
lqa.blogs.nytimes.com/tag/sicily/) The New York Times.
"Italy makes record mafia seizure" (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7796096.stm). BBC News. 22 December
2008. Retrieved 23 April 2010.
"Sicily Mafia restoring US links" (https://web.archive.org/web/20160101133533/http://www.mafia-news.com/sicil
y-mafia-restoring-us-links/). Mafia News. 29 February 2008. Archived from the original (http://www.mafia-news.c
om/sicily-mafia-restoring-us-links/) on 1 January 2016. Retrieved 23 April 2010.
"Sicily: Art and Invention between Greece and Rome" (http://shop.getty.edu/products/sicily-art-and-invention-bet
ween-greece-and-rome-978-1606061336). Getty Publications, 2013.
To Noto: or London to Sicily in a Ford (London, 1989) by Duncan Fallowell

External links
Geographic data related to Sicily (https://www.openstreetmap.org/relation/39152) at OpenStreetMap
Sicilian Region — Official website (https://web.archive.org/web/20060808003122/http://www.regione.sicilia.it/)
(in Italian)
Sicily Transportation Map (http://www.movity.it/)
10 Reasons To Visit Sicily – Part I (http://euflyer.boardingarea.com/2014/05/20/10-reasons-to-visit-sicily-part-i/)
10 Reasons To Visit Sicily – Part II (http://euflyer.boardingarea.com/2014/08/08/10-reasons-visit-sicily-part-ii/)
Images of Sicily (http://www.artedigitale.eu/bildband/sicilia/)
10.000 Images of Sicily (http://www.lasiciliainrete.it/)
The Sicilian tourist magazine (https://web.archive.org/web/20140310200832/http://www.sikania.it/en/)
The Wonders of Sicily – The Cities, Architecture, Culture, History, People (http://www.wondersofsicily.com/)
Piccolo, Salvatore (2018). Bronze Age Sicily. Ancient History Encyclopedia. (https://www.ancient.eu/article/119
0.)
Wilson, R.; Talbert, R.; Elliott, T.; Gillies, S. "Places: 462492 (Sicilia)" (https://web.archive.org/web/20120713212
644/http://pleiades.stoa.org/places/462492). Pleiades. Archived from the original (http://pleiades.stoa.org/place
s/462492) on 13 July 2012. Retrieved 8 March 2012.

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