 Sicily
(Italian and Sicilian: Sicilia) is an autonomous region
of Italy in Europe. Of all the regions of Italy, Sicily
covers the largest surface area with 25,708 km˛, and
currently has five million inhabitants. It is also the
largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, though several
much smaller islands surrounding it are also considered
part of Sicily.
Sicily is directly adjacent to the Italian region of
Calabria, via the Strait of Messina to the east. The
early Roman name for Sicily was Trinacria, alluding to
its triangular shape. Sicily has been noted for two
millennia as a grain-producing territory. Citrons,
oranges, lemons, olives, olive oil, almonds, and wine
are among its other agricultural products. The mines of
the Enna and Caltanissetta district became a leading
sulfur-producing area in the 19th century but have
declined since the 1950s.
The Sicilians aren't the only people to consider
themselves, and their island, a separate entity. Coming
from the Italian mainland, it's easy to spot that Sicily
(Sicilia) has a different feel, that socially and
culturally you are all but out of Europe. Occupying a
strategically vital position, and as the largest island
in the Mediterranean, Sicily's history and outlook are
not those of its modern parent but of its erstwhile
foreign rulers - from the Greeks who first settled the
east coast in the eighth century BC, through a dazzling
array of Romans, Arabs, Normans, French and Spanish, to
the Bourbons seen off by Garibaldi in 1860. Substantial
relics of these ages remain: temples, theatres and
churches are scattered about the whole island.
But there are other, more immediate hints of Sicily's
unique past. A hybrid Sicilian language, for a start, is
still widely spoken in the countryside; the food is
noticeably different, spicier and with more emphasis on
fish and vegetables; even the flora echoes the change of
temperament - oranges, lemons, olives and palms are
ubiquitous. Sicily also still promotes a real sense of
arrival . The standard approach for those heading south
from the mainland is to cross the Straits of Messina,
from Villa San Giovanni or Reggio di Calabria: this way,
the train-ferry pilots a course between Scylla and
Charybdis, the twin hazards of rock and whirlpool that
were a legendary threat to sailors. Coming in by plane,
too, there are spectacular approaches to either of the
coastal airports at Palermo and Catania.
Once on land, deciding where to go is largely a matter
of time. Inevitably, most points of interest are on the
coast: the interior of the island is often mountainous,
always sparsely populated and relatively inaccessible.
The capital Palermo is a memorable first stop, a
bustling, noisy city with an unrivalled display of
Norman art and architecture and Baroque churches,
combined with a warren of medieval streets and markets.
From modern and earthquake-ravaged Messina, the most
obvious trips are to the chic resort of Taormina and the
lava-built second city of Catania. A skirt around the
foothills, and even up to the craters of Mount Etna,
shouldn't be missed on any visit to the island; while to
the south sit Siracusa, once the most important city of
the Greek world, and a Baroque group of towns centring
on Ragusa.
The south coast's greatest draw is the Greek temples at
Agrigento , while inland, Enna is typical of the
mountain towns that provided defence for a succession of
the island's rulers. Close by is Piazza Armerina and its
Roman mosaics, and to the west, most of Sicily's fishing
industry - and much of the continuing Mafia activity -
focuses on the area around Trápani. To see all these
places, you'll need at least a couple of weeks - more
like a month if you want to travel extensively inland, a
slower and more traditional experience altogether.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT
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