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Sicily
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What is Sicily?
Sicily is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea and is part of southern Italy, forming an autonomous region along with several smaller islands. Located just 100 miles northeast of Tunisia, it's separated from mainland Italy by the Strait of Messina.
With a rich history stretching back 10,000 years, Sicily has been a crossroads of civilizations, serving as a melting pot for various ethnic groups. Its diverse cultural traditions are reflected in lyrical poetry, folk art, and the works of notable writers.
The island is characterized by its mountainous terrain and intense volcanic activity, including Mount Etna, Europe’s highest active volcano. While its economy has been relatively underdeveloped, Sicily has seen growth in heavy industry, especially in oil refining and chemicals.
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Where is Sicily located?
Sicily is an island in southern Italy and also the largest and one of the most densely populated islands in the Mediterranean Sea. It lies roughly 100 miles (160 km) northeast of Tunisia, in northern Africa. Sicily is separated from mainland Italy by the Strait of Messina, which is 2 miles (3 km) wide in the north and 10 miles (16 km) wide in the south. The Tyrrhenian Sea lies to the north, and the Ionian Sea to the east.
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What is the climate like in Sicily?
Sicily has a subtropical, Mediterranean climate. The island's mountainous regions experience higher precipitation, around 47–55 inches (1,200–1,400 mm), while the plains receive 16–24 inches (400–600 mm) annually. Winter rains are infrequent in the interior but heavier in western and northern Sicily. The sirocco, a hot, humid wind from Africa and the Middle East, frequently impacts the region.
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What are some famous landmarks or features in Sicily?
Sicily boasts a rich history and unique geography, offering a variety of landmarks and features. Mount Etna, Europe's highest active volcano, dominates the landscape at approximately 10,900 feet 3,320 meters.
Palermo, the capital city, features notable Norman-Byzantine architecture, such as the Royal Palace with its Palatine Chapel, and the red-domed churches of San Cataldo and San Giovanni degli Eremiti. In Agrigento, you can explore the remains of the ancient Greek city, including the remarkably preserved Temples of Hera and Concordia. Catania, rebuilt after the 1693 earthquake, showcases its 18th-century architecture, Roman ruins, and the Ursino Castle.
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Which cultures have influenced Sicily’s history?
Sicily's history is influenced by its central Mediterranean location, making it a crossroads of cultures. Originally inhabited by the Siculi, Sicani, and Elymians, the island saw early settlement and influence from the Phoenicians and Greeks between the 8th and 6th centuries BCE.
In the 3rd century BCE, it became the first Roman province, later falling under Byzantine rule in 535 CE. In 965 CE, the Arabs conquered Sicily, followed by the Normans in 1060, who gradually Latinized it. The island then became part of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies and was ruled by the Bourbons in the 18th century. In 1860, Giuseppe Garibaldi's revolt led to liberation and incorporation into the united Kingdom of Italy in 1861. Sicily gained regional autonomy in 1947.
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How is Sicily different from other parts of Italy?
Sicily, the largest island in the Mediterranean, is an autonomous region of Italy. Its location has made it a crossroads of history and a melting pot for various ethnic groups.
One distinct feature of Sicily is the persistence of the Mafia, a criminal organization that maintains power through violence, creating a dual government alongside the legitimate regime.
The island is mostly mountainous, with Europe’s highest active volcano, Mount Etna. While agriculture is a key part of Sicily's economy, it lags other parts of Italy. About three-fifths of Italy’s citrus fruit production is Sicilian. Sicily and Puglia are noted for almond production.
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Sicily, island, southern Italy, the largest and one of the most densely populated islands in the Mediterranean Sea. Together with the Egadi, Lipari, Pelagie, and Panteleria islands, Sicily forms an autonomous region of Italy. It lies about 100 miles (160 km) northeast of Tunisia (northern Africa). The island is separated from the mainland by the Strait of Messina (2 miles [3 km] wide in the north and 10 miles [16 km] wide in the South). The capital is Palermo.
History
Sicily was inhabited 10,000 years ago. Its strategic location at the centre of the Mediterranean has made the island a crossroads of history, a pawn of conquest and empire, and a melting pot for a dozen or more ethnic groups whose warriors or merchants sought its shores. At the coming of the Greeks, three peoples occupied Sicily: in the east the Siculi, or Sicels, who gave their name to the island but were reputed to be latecomers from Italy; to the west of the Gelas River, the Sicani; and in the extreme west the Elymians, a people to whom a Trojan origin was assigned, with their chief centres at Segesta and at Eryx (Erice). The Siculi spoke an Indo-European language; there are no remains of the languages of the other peoples. There were also Phoenician settlements on the island. The Greeks settled Sicilian towns between the 8th and 6th centuries bce. The mountainous centre remained in the hands of Siculi and Sicani, who were increasingly Hellenized in ideas and material culture.
In the 3rd century bce the island became the first Roman province. The Byzantine general Belisarius occupied Sicily in 535 ce, at the start of hostilities with the Ostrogoths in Italy, and after a short time Sicily came under Byzantine rule. In 965 the island fell to Arab conquest from North Africa, in 1060 to Normans, who progressively Latinized the island. In the 12th and 13th centuries the island formed a part of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies (or Naples), and in the 18th century Sicily was ruled by the Bourbons. During the 19th century the island was a major centre of revolutionary movements: in 1860, as a result of Giuseppe Garibaldi’s revolt, it was liberated from the Bourbons and in the following year was incorporated into the united kingdom of Italy. In 1947 Sicily gained regional autonomy.
Physical and human geography
The island is mostly mountainous, and seismic and volcanic activity is quite intense. Europe’s highest active volcano is Mount Etna (10,900 feet [3,220 metres]). The only wide valley is the fertile Plain of Catania in the east. The climate is subtropical and Mediterranean. Annual precipitation on the plains is 16–24 inches (400–600 mm), and in the mountains 47–55 inches (1,200–1,400 mm). Underground water and springs are plentiful. The natural vegetation of Sicily has been greatly reduced by human influence, and forests occupy only 4 percent of the territory.
Sicilians are a diverse people, having had contact with a great variety of ethnicities and physical types through the centuries. Despite its position at the crossroads of many Mediterranean civilizations, it retains many characteristics of more rural regions bred of its isolation and distance from mainland Italy. One peculiar feature of the separateness of Sicilian life is the persistence of the Mafia, an organization dating from the Middle Ages that gradually evolved into a paralegal criminal brotherhood. It gives certain parts of the island virtually a dual government, standard of conduct, and system of enforcement—one is the legitimate regime and the other a shadow, but a pervasive social, economic, and political network maintaining its powers through violence.
Sicily’s strong cultural traditions can be seen in the development of Italian lyrical poetry as well as in the works of modern writers such as Giovanni Verga, Luigi Pirandello, and Leonardo Sciascia. Several examples of folk art—such as embroidery, painting, and puppetry—and popular religious festivals also mark Sicily’s contribution to Italian culture.
The island’s economy has remained relatively underdeveloped, but heavy industrial activity, based on the oil-refining and chemical industries, expanded markedly in the latter decades of the 20th century. Large quantities of natural gas and sulfur are produced, although the latter has been declining. Other industries include food processing, salt extraction, wine making, textiles, and shipbuilding. The region is mainly agricultural. Wheat, barley, corn (maize), olives, citrus fruit, almonds, wine grapes, and some cotton are produced, and cattle, mules, donkeys, and sheep are raised. Area 9,830 square miles (25,460 square km). Pop. (2011) 5,002,904.
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