Sicily

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Etna, Sicily

Sicily is a book of history and art, a compendium of the greatest civilisations and cultures of all time.

A sunny island whose landscape is rich in contrasts, with a splendid coastline and a refined, delicious and varied cuisine of traditional flavours and exquisite aromas: the quintessence of Mediterranean culture, yet also dense with intellectual complexity and refinement, so well represented by the literary masterpieces of Luigi Pirandello, Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa, Leonardo Sciascia, Gesualdo Bufalino and today, Andrea Camilleri.

Every style, every movement in art is richly represented in Sicily. In cities like Palermo, Catania, Caltanissetta, Enna, Syracuse, Ragusa, Trapani, Agrigento, and Messina. And in small towns, like Cefalu, clustered around its Norman cathedral, or Noto, with its extraordinary Baroque cathedral, or Taormina, with its splendid Greco-Roman theatre.

Richest heritage of history and art apart, Sicily is also important for its economy. Its geographical particularity lies in its compact but varied orographical structure, the uniformity of its rivers, the typically Mediterranean climate and the insularity which has helped Sicily to experience homogeneous historical development with originality of custom, art and culture.

Together with the minor Aeolian islands (the Lipari), Ustica, Egadi, Pantelleria and the distant Pelagie, Sicily is the most extensive region in Italy, though it has only the fourth highest population. The population density is slightly higher than the national average.

The island is bounded by the Tyrrhenian Sea to the north, the Ionian to the east and the Sicilian Sea to the south-west; the Strait of Messina separates it from Calabria.