Goethe once said 'Having visited Italy without seeing Sicily is like not having seen Italy at all, for Sicily is the key to everything'
Sicily was the world’s first multicultural society and today remains Europe’s most historically cosmopolitan region. The land is full of amazing art, archaeological sites, architecture, folklore, breathtaking scenery and of course unbeatable, cheap and delicious foods. This enchanting land was a Greek colony, a Roman province, an Arab emirate and a Norman kingdom. The Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Swabians, Angevins and Aragonese all made Sicily their own at one stage in history leaving behind an eclectic history that you can still touch and see today.
The place where the mountains meet the sea, the island in the sun, Sicily is home to heavenly beaches, rocky coastlines, majestic mountains and Europe's greatest natural wonder, Mount Etna. Sicily's coasts are gold with endless orange and lemon orchards, valleys twirling with renowned vineyards, ancient olive groves, and hardy almond tree orchards where you can pick the fruits right off the trees and eat them fresh.
Sicily is the largest island in the Mediterranean basin; around it lays a number of smaller islands such as the Aeolian Islands, the Egadi and the Pelagie islands. Sicily boasts around 1000km of coastline, mostly rocky in the north and sandy in the south. The landscape is varied, prevalently mountains and hilly, but with an expanse of plains around Catania.
In the eastern part of the island Mt Etna (about 3,330 m) is Sicily's highest mountain, the whole of which is a protected area within a national park. It is the biggest volcano in Europe which is still active, erupting annually more or less in the winter time. To view this spectacular is incredible; boiling red hot lava flows down the sides of the snow capped mountains as smoke and ash pours from its mouth. The Southeast corner comprises a series of high plateaus made up of lava, tuff and limestone, featuring a number of impressive gorges carved out by water erosion through the centuries.
Sicily is quite different from the New World or more industrialised societies for a number of reasons; for one it’s slow and relaxed pace of life, which reflects its movement towards a modern society. Secondly, you will find that most Sicilians are warm, generous and fiercely proud of their family and country. Sicilians will insist that they are Sicilian and not Italian.
Sicily Vacation Home
