View source for Sicily

{{Short description|Island in the Mediterranean, region of Italy}}
{{Redirect-distinguish-for|Sicilia|Isles of Scilly|other uses|Sicilia (disambiguation)|and|Sicily (disambiguation)}}
{{Pp-move}}
{{EngvarB|date=July 2019}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2024}}
{{Infobox settlement
<!-- See Template:Infobox settlement for additional fields and descriptions -->
| name                    = Sicily
| official_name           = Regione Siciliana
| native_name             = {{lang|scn|Sicilia}}
| native_name_lang        = 
| settlement_type         = [[Regions of Italy#Autonomous regions with special statute|Autonomous region]]
| image_skyline           = 
| image_alt               = 
| image_caption           = 
| image_flag              = Flag of Sicily.svg
| flag_alt                = 
| image_shield            = Coat of arms of Sicily.svg
| shield_size             = 50px
| shield_alt              = 
| image_blank_emblem      = 
| blank_emblem_size       = 
| blank_emblem_type       = 
| blank_emblem_alt        = 
| nickname                = 
| motto                   = 
| anthem                  = ''[[Madreterra]]''<br />{{center|[[File:Inno della Regione Siciliana «Madreterra».ogg]]}}
| image_map               = Sicily in Italy.svg
| mapsize                 = 
| map_alt                 = 
| map_caption             = 
| pushpin_map             = 
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| coordinates             = {{Coord|37.5|N|14|E|scale:2500000_type:adm1st__region:IT-82_source:GNS|display=title,inline}}
| coor_pinpoint           = 
| coordinates_footnotes   = 
| subdivision_type        = [[List of sovereign states|Country]]
| subdivision_name        = {{ITA}}
| established_title       = 
| established_date        = 
| founder                 = 
| named_for               = 
| seat_type               = [[Capital city|Capital]]
| seat                    = [[Palermo]]
| government_footnotes    = 
| government_type         = [[Regional government|Regione of Italy]]
| governing_body          = [[Sicilian Regional Assembly]]
| leader_party            = [[Forza Italia (2013)|FI]]
| leader_title            = [[List of presidents of Sicily|President]]
| leader_name             = [[Renato Schifani]]
| leader_title1           = 
| leader_name1            = 
| total_type              = 
| unit_pref               = 
| area_footnotes          = <ref name="area">{{cite web|url=https://www.istat.it/it/archivio/156224|title=Superficie di Comuni Province e Regioni italiane al 9 ottobre 2011|language=it|publisher=[[Italian National Institute of Statistics|ISTAT]]}}</ref>
| area_total_km2          = 25832.39
| elevation_footnotes     = 
| elevation_max_m         = 
| elevation_min_m         = 
|population_rank = [[Regions of Italy|5th in Italy]]
| population_footnotes    = <ref>{{cite web |title=Monthly Demographic Balance |url=https://demo.istat.it/app/?i=D7B&a=2025&l=en |publisher=[[Italian National Institute of Statistics|ISTAT]]}}</ref> (8.1% of Italy)
| population_total        = 4779371
| population_as_of        = 2025
| population_density_km2  = auto
| population_demonym      = {{Plainlist|
* English: [[Sicilians|Sicilian]]
* {{langx|it|Siciliano}} (man)
* {{langx|it|Siciliana}} (woman)
}}
| population_note         = 
| population_blank1_title = 
| population_blank1       = 
| demographics_type1      = Citizenship
| demographics1_footnotes = <ref>{{Cite web | url=https://ugeo.urbistat.com/AdminStat/en/it/demografia/dati-sintesi/sicilia/19/2 | title=Region Sicilia}}</ref>
| demographics1_title1    = Italian
| demographics1_info1     = 98%
| demographics1_title2    = 
| demographics1_info2     = 
| demographics1_title3    = 
| demographics1_info3     = 
| demographics_type2      = GDP
| demographics2_footnotes = <ref>{{cite web |  url=https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/tgs00003/default/table?lang=en | title=EU regions by GDP, Eurostat|access-date=18 September 2023|website=www.ec.europa.eu}}</ref>
| demographics2_title1    = Total
| demographics2_info1     = €110.159 billion (2023)
| timezone1               = [[Central European Time|CET]]
| utc_offset1             = +1
| timezone1_DST           = [[Central European Summer Time|CEST]]
| utc_offset1_DST         = +2
| postal_code_type        = 
| postal_code             = 
| area_code_type          = [[ISO 3166 code]]
| area_code               = IT-82
| blank2_name_sec1        = [[Human Development Index|HDI]] (2021)
| blank2_info_sec1        = 0.847<ref>{{Cite web |title=Sub-national HDI – Area Database |url=https://hdi.globaldatalab.org/areadata/shdi/ |website=hdi.globaldatalab.org |publisher=Global Data Lab |access-date=2023-03-05 |language=en}}</ref><br/>{{color|green|very high}} · [[List of Italian regions by Human Development Index|21st of 21]]
| blank_name_sec2         = [[First-level NUTS of the European Union#Italy|NUTS Region]]
| blank_info_sec2         = ITG
| website                 = {{URL|https://www.regione.sicilia.it/}}
| footnotes               = 
}}

'''Sicily''' ([[Italian language|Italian]] and {{langx|scn|Sicilia}}),{{efn|{{IPA|it|siˈtʃiːlja|-|LL-Q652 (ita)-LangPao-Sicilia.wav|small=no}}; {{IPA|scn|sɪˈʃiːlja|-|LL-Q33973 (scn)-XANA000-Sicilia.wav|small=no}} {{IPA|scn|sɪˈdʒiːlja|label=or|small=no}}.}} officially the '''Sicilian Region''' ({{langx|it|Regione Siciliana|links=no}}; {{langx|scn|Riggiuni Siciliana|link=no}}), is an island in the central [[Mediterranean Sea]] and one of the twenty [[regions of Italy|regions]] of [[Italy]], situated south of the [[Italian Peninsula]] in [[continental Europe]]. With 4.7 million inhabitants, including 1.2 million in and around the capital city of [[Palermo]], it is both the largest and most populous island in the [[Mediterranean Sea]]. 

Sicily's namesake is the [[Sicels]], who inhabited the eastern part of the island during the [[Iron Age]]. Sicily has a rich and unique culture in [[#Art and architecture|arts]], [[Music of Sicily|music]], [[#Literature|literature]], [[Sicilian cuisine|cuisine]], and [[Sicilian Baroque|architecture]]. Its most prominent landmark is [[Mount Etna]], the tallest active [[volcano]] in Europe, and one of the most active in the world, currently {{convert|3403|m|ft|0|abbr=on}} high. The island has a typical [[Mediterranean climate]]. It is separated from [[Calabria]] by the [[Strait of Messina]]. It is one of the five [[Regions of Italy#Autonomous regions with special statute|Italian autonomous regions]] and is considered part of [[Southern Italy]].

The earliest [[archaeological record]] of human activity on the island dates to around 14,000 BC. By around 750 BC, Sicily had three [[Phoenicia]]n and around twelve [[Greeks in Italy|Greek colonies]] along its coasts, becoming one of the centers of [[Magna Graecia]]. The [[Sicilian Wars]] of 580–265 BC were fought between the Carthaginians and Greeks, and the [[Punic Wars]] of 264–146 BC were fought between Rome and Carthage. The Roman province of [[Sicilia (Roman province)|Sicilia]] ended with 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 [[County of Sicily]] in 1071, which was succeeded by the [[Kingdom of Sicily]] in 1130.<ref>Pasquale Hamel – L' invenzione del regno. Dalla conquista normanna alla fondazione del Regnum Siciliae (1061–1154)</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Sicilia nell'Enciclopedia Treccani |url=https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/sicilia_res-51b7c2ab-973b-11e5-8844-00271042e8d9 |access-date=22 December 2020|website=www.treccani.it|language=it-IT}}</ref> Following the [[Sicilian Vespers]] in 1282, Sicily was ruled by the [[Crown of Aragon]] and then the [[Habsburg Spain|Monarchy of Spain]], either in [[personal union]] with the crown or by a [[cadet branch]], except for a brief period of [[House of Savoy|Savoy]] and then [[House of Habsburg|Habsburg]] rule in 1713–1735. In 1816, the kingdom unified with the [[Kingdom of Naples]] to form the [[Kingdom of the Two Sicilies]].  Following the [[Expedition of the Thousand]], an invasion led by [[Giuseppe Garibaldi]], and a subsequent [[Referendum|plebiscite]], the island became part of the [[Unification of Italy|newly unified]] [[Italy]] in 1860. Sicily was given special status as an [[autonomous administrative division]] on 15 May 1946, 18 days before the [[1946 Italian institutional referendum]].

== <span class="anchor" id="Name"></span> History ==
{{Main|History of Sicily}}

The name ''[[Sicilia (Roman province)|Sicilia]]'' was given to the [[Roman province]] in 241 BC. It is named after the [[Sicels]], who inhabited the eastern part of the island during the [[Iron Age]]. The ancient name of the island is ''Trinacria'' (Greek [[:wikt:Τρινακρία|Τρινακρία]] "having three headlands") for its triangular shape, likely a re-interpretation of earlier ([[Homeric Greek|Homeric]]) ''[[Thrinacia]]''. The Greek name was rendered as ''Trīnācrĭa'' in [[classical Latin]] ([[Virgil]], [[Ovid]]).<ref>''Cassell's Latin Dictionary'', Marchant, J.R.V, & Charles, Joseph F. (Eds.), Revised Edition, 1928</ref><ref>"Sicilian Culture: The Folklore, Legends & Traditions: Trinacria." Sicilian Culture: The Folklore, Legends & Traditions: Trinacria. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 November 2014. "Sicily." Sicily. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 November 2014.</ref>

===Prehistory===
[[File:Orante 1.jpg|thumb|Megaliths of [[Argimusco]], [[Montalbano Elicona]]]]

Humans first colonized Sicily towards the end of the [[Late Pleistocene]], around 16,000 years ago, by people associated with the [[Epigravettian]] culture.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Di Maida |first=Gianpiero |date=2022-07-03 |title=The earliest human occupation of Sicily: A review |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/15564894.2020.1803460 |journal=The Journal of Island and Coastal Archaeology |language=en |volume=17 |issue=3 |pages=402–419 |doi=10.1080/15564894.2020.1803460 |s2cid=250926924 |issn=1556-4894|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

Discoveries of [[dolmen]]s on the island (dating to the second half of the third millennium BC) seem to offer new insights into the culture of primitive Sicily.<ref name=Piccolo>{{cite book |last1=Piccolo |first1=Salvatore |title=Ancient Stones, The Prehistoric Dolmens of Sicily |last2=Darvill |first2=Timothy |publisher=Brazen Head Publishing |year=2013 |isbn=9780956510624 |location=Thornham/Norfolk}}</ref> The impact of at least two influences is clear: the European one coming from the Northwest, and the Mediterranean influence of an eastern heritage.<ref name=Piccolo/>{{Rp|page=31}}

===Antiquity===
{{Main|Magna Graecia|Ancient Rome|Sicilia (Roman province)}}
[[File:Murs Mozia.jpg|thumb|Ruins of the ancient Phoenician city of [[Motya]]]]
[[File:Ginnasium Solunto.jpg|thumb|Ruins of the ancient Carthaginian city of [[Soluntum]]]]
[[File:Agrigent BW 2012-10-07 13-10-58.jpg|thumb|[[Temple of Concordia, Agrigento|Temple of Concordia]], [[Valle dei Templi]], an [[archaeological site]] in [[Agrigento]]. It is one of the most outstanding examples of ancient Greek art and architecture of [[Magna Graecia]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.visititaly.it/info/992543-valle-dei-templi-agrigento.aspx|title=Valle dei Templi|access-date=14 July 2023|language=it}}</ref>]]

[[File:Villa del Casale (9528003795).jpg|thumb|[[Villa Romana del Casale]], a large and elaborate [[Roman villa]] or palace located about 3&nbsp;km from the town of [[Piazza Armerina]]]]

The original classical-era inhabitants of Sicily comprised three defined groups of the [[List of ancient peoples of Italy|ancient peoples of Italy]]: the [[Sicani]], the [[Elymians]] and the [[Sicels]]. The most prominent and by far the earliest of these were the [[Sicani]], who ([[Thucydides]] writes) arrived from the [[Iberian Peninsula]] (perhaps [[Catalonia]]).<ref>{{cite news | url=https://antropocene.it/en/2023/06/05/the-sicani-and-agriculture/ | title=The Sicani and agriculture | work=Antropocene | date=5 June 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=7 October 2007 |title=Aapologetico de la literatura española contra los opiniones |publisher=Ensayo historico |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=A7kGAAAAQAAJ&q=segre+sicano&pg=PA11}}</ref> Some modern scholars, however, suggest classifying the Sicani as possibly an [[Illyrians|Illyrian]] tribe.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Fine |first=John Van Antwerp |url=https://archive.org/details/ancientgreeks00john |title=The Ancient Greeks: A Critical History |date=1983 |publisher=Harvard University Press |isbn=9780674033146 |page=[https://archive.org/details/ancientgreeks00john/page/72 72] |language=en |quote=most scholars now believe that the sicans and Sicels, as well as the. |url-access=registration}}</ref> 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.<ref name="sicanian">{{cite news |date=7 October 2007 |title=Sicilian Peoples: The Sicanians |publisher=Best of Sicily |url=http://www.bestofsicily.com/mag/art141.htm}}</ref> The [[Elymians]], thought to have come from the area of the [[Aegean Sea]], became the next tribe to join the Sicanians on Sicily.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |title=Sicani |encyclopedia=Britannica.com |url=http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9067615/Sicani |date=7 October 2007}}</ref>

No evidence survives of warring between tribes, but the Sicanians moved eastwards when the Elymians settled in the northwest corner of the island. The [[Sicels]] are thought<ref name="sicanian" /> 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.<ref name="sicanian" /> Other minor [[Ancient peoples of Italy|Italic groups]] who settled in Sicily included the [[Ausones]] ([[Aeolian Islands]], [[Milazzo]]) and the [[Morgetes]] of [[Morgantina]].

The [[Phoenicia]]n settlements in the western part of the island predate the arrival of [[Greek people|Greek]] colonists.<ref name="catholi" /> From about 750 BC, the Greeks began to live in Sicily ({{langx |grc| Σικελία}} – ''Sikelia''), establishing many significant settlements. The most important colony was in [[Syracuse, Sicily|Syracuse]]; others grew up at [[Agrigentum|Akragas]], [[Selinunte]], [[Gela]], [[Himera]] and [[Messina|Zancle]].<ref>E. Zuppardo-S.Piccolo, ''Terra Mater: sulle sponde del Gela greco'', Betania Ed., Caltanissetta 2005</ref> The native Sicani and Sicel peoples became [[Cultural assimilation|absorbed]] into the [[Ancient Greece|Hellenic culture]] with relative ease, and the area became part of [[Magna Graecia]] along with the coasts of the [[southern Italy|south of the Italian peninsula]], which the Greeks had also colonised. Sicily had fertile soils, and the successful introduction of [[olive]]s and [[grape vine]]s fostered profitable trading.<ref name="knowital" /> [[Culture of Greece|Greek culture]] significantly centered around [[Religion in ancient Greece|Greek religion]], and the settlers built many [[Ancient Greek temple|temple]]s throughout Sicily, including several in the ''Valley of the Temples'' at [[Agrigento]].<ref>{{cite news|url= http://italiansrus.com/articles/temples.htm|publisher= Italiansrus.com|title= Valley of the Temples|date= 7 October 2007}}</ref>

Politics on the island became intertwined with those of Greece; [[Syracuse, Sicily|Syracuse]] became desired by the [[Athenian]]s who set out on the [[Sicilian Expedition]] (415–413 BC) during the [[Peloponnesian War]]. Syracuse gained [[Sparta]] and [[Ancient Corinth|Corinth]] as allies and, as a result, defeated the Athenian expedition. The victors destroyed the Athenian army and their ships, selling most of the survivors into [[Slavery in ancient Greece|slavery]].<ref>{{cite news|url= https://www.livius.org/su-sz/syracuse/siege.html|publisher= Livius.org|title= Siege of Syracuse|date= 7 October 2007|access-date= 26 March 2020|archive-date= 7 November 2016|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20161107071518/http://www.livius.org/su-sz/syracuse/siege.html|url-status= dead}}</ref>

The Greek kingdom of Syracuse controlled most of eastern Sicily while [[Carthage]] controlled the western side.<ref>{{cite book|last1= Miles|first1= Richard|title= Carthage Must Be Destroyed: The Rise and Fall of an Ancient Civilization|date= 2010|publisher= Viking|location= New York|isbn= 978-0-143-12129-9}}</ref> The two cultures began to clash, leading to the [[Greek-Punic wars]] (between 580 and 265 BC). The Greek states had begun to make peace with the [[Roman Republic]] in 205 BC,<ref name="archeologiaviva">{{cite web |title=Le arti di Efesto. Capolavori in metallo |url=https://www.archeologiaviva.it/4139/le-arti-di-efesto-capolavori-in-metallo/ |access-date=12 July 2023 |page=11 |language=it}}</ref> before the Romans sought to [[Annexation|annex]] Sicily as their republic's first [[Roman province|province]]. Rome attacked Carthage's holdings in Sicily in the [[First Punic War]] (264 to 241 BC) and won, making Sicily–with the exception of Syracuse–the first Roman province outside of the [[Italian Peninsula]] by 242 BC.<ref>{{cite news|url= http://encyclopedia.farlex.com/Sicily| publisher= [[Hutchinson Encyclopedia]]|title= Sicily|date= 7 October 2007|url-status= dead|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20081202051716/http://encyclopedia.farlex.com/Sicily|archive-date= 2 December 2008}}</ref>

In the [[Second Punic War]] (218 to 201 BC), the Carthaginians attempted to recapture Sicily. Some of the Greek cities on the island who were loyal to Rome switched sides to help the Carthaginians, prompting a Roman military response. [[Archimedes]], who lived in Syracuse, helped defend his city from Roman invasion; Roman troops killed him after they captured Syracuse in 212 BC.<ref>{{cite book|last1= Miles| first1= Richard|title= Carthage Must Be Destroyed|date= 2010|publisher= Viking|location= New York}}</ref> The Carthaginian attempt failed, and Rome became more unrelenting in its annihilation of the invaders; [[Roman consul]] [[Marcus Valerius Laevinus|M. Valerian]] told the [[Roman Senate]] in 210 BC that "no Carthaginian remains in Sicily".<ref>{{cite book|last=Norwich |first=John Julius|author-link=John Julius Norwich|date=21 July 2015|title=Sicily: An Island at the Crossroads of History|publisher=[[Random House]]|isbn=978-0812995190|oclc=904715530|via=[[Google Books]]|access-date=1 July 2023|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-THqBQAAQBAJ&dq=210+BC+Roman+consul+Valerian+Roman+Senate+%22no+Carthaginian+remains+in+Sicily%22man%20Senate%20%22no%20Carthaginian%20remains%20in%20Sicily%22&pg=PT56}}</ref>

As the Roman Republic's [[granary]], Sicily ranked as an important province, divided into two [[quaestor]]ships: Syracuse to the east and [[Lilybaeum]] to the west.<ref name="catholi" /> Roman rule introduced the [[Latin language]] to the island, which underwent a slow process of [[Latinisation of Greek|latinisation]] but Sicilian culture remained largely Greek and the Greek language did not become extinct on the island, facilitating its [[Hellenization|re-hellenisation]] much later under the Byzantines.<ref name="catholi">{{Cite CE1913|wstitle= Sicily}}</ref> The prosperity of the island went into sharp decline during the governorship of [[Verres]] (73 to 71 BC). In 70 BC, the noted statesman [[Cicero]] condemned the misgovernment of Verres in his oration ''[[In Verrem]]''.<ref>{{cite book|last= Stockton|first= David L.|title= Cicero: A Political Biography|publisher= Oxford University Press|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=JqsqlajAPCoC&q=in+verrem+cicero+verres&pg=PA43|isbn= 978-0-19-872033-1|year= 1971 |oclc= 1301799183 |via=[[Google Books]]}}</ref>

Various groups used the island as a power base at different times: slave insurgents occupied it during the [[first Servile War|First]] (135−132 BC) and [[Second Servile War|Second]] (104−100 BC) [[Servile Wars]]. [[Sextus Pompey]] had his headquarters there during the [[War between Sextus Pompey and the Second Triumvirate|Sicilian revolt]] of 44 to 36 BC. Christianity first appeared in Sicily during the years following AD 200; between this time and AD 313, when Emperor [[Constantine I|Constantine the Great]] lifted the prohibition on Christianity, a significant number of [[Sicilians]] had become [[martyr]]s, including [[Agatha of Sicily|Agatha]], [[Saint Christina of Bolsena|Christina]], [[Saint Lucy|Lucy]], and [[Euplius]].<ref name="earlymediev" /> Sicily remained a Roman province for around 700 years.<ref name="earlymediev">{{cite news|url= http://www.bestofsicily.com/history2.htm|publisher= BestofSicily.com|title= Early & Medieval History|date= 7 October 2007}}</ref>

=== Roman and Germanic viceregal rule (469–535) ===
[[File:Belisarius plastered.jpg|thumb|[[Belisarius]] in [[Syracuse, Sicily|Syracuse]]]]
The [[Western Roman Empire]] began falling apart after the invasion of [[Vandals]], Alans, and Sueves [[Crossing of the Rhine|across the Rhine]] on the last day of 406. Eventually the Vandals, after roaming about western and southern [[Hispania]] (present-day [[Iberia]]) for 20 years, moved to North Africa in 429 and occupied Carthage in 439. The Franks moved south from present-day Belgium. The Visigoths moved west and eventually settled in Aquitaine in 418; the Burgundians were settled in present-day Savoy in 443.

The Vandals found themselves in a position to threaten Sicily – only 100 miles away from their North African bases.<ref name="jpriv">{{cite book|last=Privitera|first=John|title=Sicily: An Illustrated History|publisher=Hippocrene Books|url=https://archive.org/details/sicilyillustrate00priv|isbn=978-0-7818-0909-2|year=2002}}</ref> 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.<ref>J.B. Bury, History of the Later Roman Empire, 1958 edition, p. 254</ref> The Vandals made another attempt to take the island one year after the 455 sack of Rome, at Agrigento, but were defeated decisively by [[Ricimer|Ricimir]] in a [[Battle of Corsica|naval victory off Corsica]] in 456.<ref>Bury, p. 327.</ref> The island remained under Roman rule until 469. The Vandals lost possession of the island 8 years later in 477 to the [[Germanic peoples|East Germanic tribe]] of the [[Ostrogoths]], who then controlled Italy and Dalmatia.<ref name="jpriv" /> The island was returned to the Ostrogoths by payment of tribute to their king [[Odoacer]]. He ruled Italy from 476 to 488 in the name of the [[Byzantine (Eastern Roman) Empire|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.<ref>Bury, pp. 410, 425.</ref> The Ostrogothic conquest of Sicily (and of Italy as a whole) under [[Theodoric the Great]] began in 488. The Byzantine Emperor [[Zeno (emperor)|Zeno]] had appointed Theodoric as a military commander in Italy. The Goths were Germanic, but Theodoric fostered Roman culture and government and allowed freedom of religion.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|url= http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9026834/Theodoric#949802.hook|encyclopedia= [[Encyclopædia Britannica]]|title= Theodoric|date= 7 October 2007}}</ref> In 461 from the age of seven or eight until 17 or 18 Theodoric had become a Byzantine hostage; he resided in the great palace of Constantinople, was favored by Emperor [[Leo I (emperor)|Leo I]] ({{reign | 457 | 474}}) and learned to read, write and do arithmetic.<ref>Frassetto, Michael (2003), ''Encyclopedia of Barbarian Europe: Society in Transformation''. Santa Barbara, CA, p. 335: ABC-CLIO. {{ISBN|978-1-57607-263-9}}.</ref>

===Byzantine period (535–827)===
{{further|Byzantine Empire}}
[[File:The Byzantines under Georgios Maniakes land at Sicily and defeat the Arabs.jpg|thumb|right|Image depicting the [[Byzantine army]] landing in Sicily commanded by [[George Maniaces]]]]
[[File:MadridSkylitzesFol100vDetail.jpg|thumb|right|The [[Saracen]] conquest of the Byzantine stronghold Syracuse, [[Siege of Syracuse (877–878)]]]]

After taking areas occupied by the Vandals in North Africa, [[Justinian I]] retook Italy as an ambitious attempt to recover the lost provinces in the West. The re-conquests marked an end to over 150 years of accommodating policies with tribal invaders. His first target was Sicily, leading to the [[Gothic War (535–554)]] between the Ostrogoths and the Eastern Roman Empire, also known as the [[Byzantine Empire]]. Justinian's general [[Belisarius]] was assigned to the military task.<ref>{{cite book|last=Hearder|first=Harry|title=Italy: A Short History|date=25 January 1991|publisher=Cambridge University Press|url=https://archive.org/details/italyshorthistor00hear|isbn=978-0-521-33719-9}}</ref> Sicily was used as a base for the Byzantines to conquer the rest of Italy, including [[Naples]], Rome, and [[Milan]]. It took five years before the Ostrogoth capital [[Ravenna]] fell in 540.<ref name="hisnet" /> 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.<ref name="hisnet">{{cite news|url=http://www.historynet.com/magazines/military_history/3025271.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071102223028/http://www.historynet.com/magazines/military_history/3025271.html|archive-date=2 November 2007|publisher=Historynet.com|title=Gothic War: Byzantine Count Belisarius Retakes Rome|date=7 October 2007}}</ref>

At the time of the reconquest Greek was still the predominant language spoken on the island. Sicily was invaded by the [[Rashidun army|Arab forces]] of [[Uthman Ibn Affan|Caliph Uthman]] in 652, but the Arabs failed to make permanent gains. They returned to Syria with their booty.<ref>{{cite book|editor-first=Alexander|editor-last=Kazhdan|editor-link=Alexander Kazhdan|title=Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=1991|isbn=978-0-19-504652-6|page=1892|title-link=Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium}}</ref> Raids seeking loot continued until the mid-8th century.<ref>{{Cite book|jstor=10.7591/j.ctt1qv5qfp|title=Where Three Worlds Met: Sicily in the Early Medieval Mediterranean|last=Davis-Secord|first=Sarah|publisher=Cornell University Press|year=2017|isbn=9781501704642|location=Ithaca|pages=79|chapter=Sicily in the Early Medieval Mediterranean}}</ref>

The Eastern Roman Emperor [[Constans II (Byzantine Empire)|Constans II]] moved from [[Constantinople]] to [[Syracuse, Sicily|Syracuse]] in 660. The following year he launched an assault from Sicily against the [[Lombardy|Lombard]] [[Duchy of Benevento]], which occupied most of southern Italy.<ref name="travsyrac" /> Rumors that the capital of the empire was to be moved to Syracuse probably cost Constans his life, as he was assassinated in 668.<ref name="travsyrac">{{cite news|url=http://www.travelmapofsicily.com/syracuse.html|publisher=TravelMapofSicily.com|title=Syracuse, Sicily|date=7 October 2007|access-date=4 December 2007|archive-date=6 June 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080606195458/http://www.travelmapofsicily.com/syracuse.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.bestofsicily.com/mag/art165.htm|publisher=BestofSicily.com|title=Sicilian Peoples: The Byzantines|date=7 October 2007}}</ref> 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.<ref>Treadgold. ''History of the Byzantine State'', pp. 354–355.</ref>

In 826 [[Euphemius (Sicily)|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.<ref name="stan">{{cite news|url=http://archaeology.stanford.edu/MountPolizzo/handbookPDF/MPHandbook5.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070609094555/http://archaeology.stanford.edu/MountPolizzo/handbookPDF/MPHandbook5.pdf|archive-date=9 June 2007|publisher=Archaeology.Stanford.edu|title=Brief history of Sicily|date=7 October 2007}}</ref> He offered the rule of Sicily to [[Ziyadat Allah I of Aghlabids|Ziyadat Allah]], the [[Aghlabid]] Emir of [[Tunisia]], in return for a position as a general and a place of safety. A [[Early Muslim conquests|Muslim army]] was then sent to the island consisting of [[Arab]]s, [[Berber people|Berbers]], [[Cretans]], and [[Persian people|Persians]].<ref name="stan" />

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 902. It was not until 965 that all of Sicily was conquered by the Arabs.<ref name="stan" /> In the 11th-century Byzantine armies carried out a partial reconquest of the island under [[George Maniakes]], but it was their [[italo-Norman|Norman]] mercenaries who would eventually complete the island's reconquest at the end of the century.

===Arab period (827–1091)===
{{Main|Emirate of Sicily}}

[[File:Cuba muqarna.jpeg|thumb|[[Arabesque]] on a wall in the [[Cuba, Palermo|Cuba Palace]] in Palermo]]
[[File:HorologiumPanormi.jpg|thumb|Trilingual sign from the [[Palazzo dei Normanni]] in [[Palermo]], written in [[Latin]], [[Medieval Greek|Byzantine Greek]] and [[Arabic]]]]

The language spoken in Sicily under Arab rule was [[Siculo-Arabic]] and [[Influence of Arabic on other languages|Arabic influence]] is present in some Sicilian words today. Although long extinct in Sicily, the language has developed into what is now the [[Maltese language]] on the islands of [[Malta]] today.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Where the Maltese language comes from |newspaper=The Economist |url=https://www.economist.com/the-economist-explains/2015/11/23/where-the-maltese-language-comes-from |access-date=2022-10-26 |issn=0013-0613}}</ref>

A description of [[Palermo]] was given by [[Ibn Hawqal]], an [[History of Islamic economics|Arab merchant]] who visited Sicily in 950. A walled suburb, called the Al-Kasr (the palace), is the centre of 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]] estimated there were 7,000 butchers trading in 150 shops. The Muslim rule introduced lemons, oranges and sugar cane, as well as cotton and mulberries for sericulture, and introduced the [[:it:Qanat di Palermo|Qanat]] to improve irrigation systems for agriculture.<ref name="Metcalfe2014">{{cite book|author=Alex Metcalfe|title=Muslims of Medieval Italy|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xQbdCQAAQBAJ&pg=PA66|date=11 March 2014|publisher=Edinburgh University Press|isbn=978-0-7486-8843-2|pages=66–}}</ref> Around 1050, the western half of Sicily was ethnically and culturally distinct from central and eastern Sicily. During this time, there was also a small Jewish presence in Sicily, evidence seen in the catacombs discovered on the island.<ref>Raphael Patai, ''[[The Jewish Mind]]'', Scribners, 1977, p.&nbsp;155–6</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Jewish Catacombs of Venosa |url=https://www.visitjewishitaly.it/en/listing/catacombe-ebraiche-di-venosa/ |access-date=2024-04-25 |website=Visit Jewish Italy |language=en-US}}</ref>

Palermo was initially ruled by the [[Aghlabids]]; later it was the centre of the Emirate of Sicily, which was under the nominal suzerainty of the [[Fatimid Caliphate]]. Muslim sovereignty was never absolute across the island, and the creation of three subdivisions served to distinguish different approaches to government. Under the Arab rule the island was divided in [[three valli of Sicily|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 [[dhimmi]]s, that is as members of a protected class of approved monotheists, the [[Eastern Orthodox Church|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. Western Sicily was more [[Islamization|Islamized]] and heavily populated by Arabs, allowing for full and direct administration; by contrast, the northeast region of [[Val Demone]] remained majority Christian and often resistant to Muslim rule, prompting a focus on tax collection and maintaining public order, as a result, revolts by Byzantine Sicilians continuously occurred in the east where Greek-speaking Christians predominated. Parts of the island were re-occupied before revolts were quashed. By the 11th century, the [[Emirate of Sicily]] began to fragment as intra-dynastic quarreling fractured the Muslim government.<ref name="stan" />

===Norman Sicily (1038–1198)===
{{See also|Norman conquest of southern Italy}}
[[File:Kingdom of Sicily 1154.svg|thumb|The Norman [[Kingdom of Sicily]] (in green) in 1154, upon the death of [[Roger II]]]]
[[File:Cappella Palatina Kuppel.jpg|thumb|[[Cappella Palatina]], [[Palermo]]]]

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 guard|Varangian]] and [[Normans|Norman]] mercenaries. Maniakes was killed in a Byzantine civil war in 1043 before completing a reconquest and the Byzantines withdrew. Later the Normans invaded in 1061 and after taking [[Apulia]] and [[Calabria]], [[Roger I of Sicily|Roger I]] occupied [[Messina]] with an army of 700 knights.<ref name="stan" /><ref name="Boise State University Sicily under the ormans">[https://web.archive.org/web/20091001173814/http://www.boisestate.edu/courses/crusades/Europe/italy/02.shtml "Italy during the Crusades – Sicily under the Normans"] – History of the Crusades – Boise State University – Retrieved 15 July 2011.</ref> In 1068, Roger I was victorious at [[Battle of Misilmeri|Misilmeri]]. Most crucial was the siege of Palermo, whose fall in 1071 eventually resulted in all Sicily coming under Norman control.<ref name="initalymag" /> The conquest was completed in 1091 when they captured [[Noto]] the last Arab stronghold. Palermo continued to be the capital under the [[Normans]]. The Normans formed a small but violent ruling class. They destroyed many of the Arab towns in Sicily, and very few physical remains survive from the Arab era.<ref name="stan" />

The Norman [[Hauteville family]] appreciated and admired the rich and layered culture in which they now found themselves. They also introduced into Sicily their own culture, customs, and politics from [[Normandy]]. Many Normans in Sicily adopted the habits and comportment of Muslim rulers and their Byzantine subjects in dress, language, literature, even to the extent of having palace [[eunuch]]s and, according to some accounts, a harem.<ref>{{cite book|last=Johns|first=Jeremy|year=2002|title=Arabic Administration in Norman Sicily: The Royal Diwan|series=Cambridge studies in Islamic civilization|location=Cambridge, England|publisher=Cambridge University Press|pages=[https://books.google.com/books?id=pXXYfJ9woRwC&pg=PA249 249–250]|isbn=978-0-521-81692-2}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Takayama|first=Hiroshi|year=1993|title=The Administration of the Norman Kingdom of Sicily|location=Leiden, the Netherlands|publisher=E.J. Brill|page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=aXZe71Z4nEkC&pg=PA123 123]|isbn=978-90-04-09920-3}}</ref>

While Roger I died in 1101, his wife [[Adelaide del Vasto|Adelaide]] ruled until 1112 when their son [[Roger II of Sicily]] came of age.<ref name="Boise State University Sicily under the ormans" /> Having succeeded his brother [[Simon of Sicily|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 [[Duchy of Apulia|Apulia]] and [[Duchy of Calabria|Calabria]].<ref name="initalymag">{{cite news|url=http://www.initaly.com/regions/sicily/chronol.htm|publisher=In Italy Magazine|title=Chronological – Historical Table of Sicily|date=7 October 2007|access-date=12 December 2007|archive-date=27 July 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160727225426/http://www.initaly.com/regions/sicily/chronol.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.aboutmalta.com/history/time-Line.htm|publisher=AboutMalta.com|title=Classical and Medieval Malta (60–1530)|date=7 October 2007}}</ref> 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]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Norwich|first=John Julius|author-link=John Julius Norwich|title=The Normans in Sicily: The Normans in the South 1016–1130 and the Kingdom in the Sun 1130–1194|publisher=Penguin Global|isbn=978-0-14-015212-8|year=1992}}</ref>

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 Greek.<ref name="Advanced Studies in Cultural History" /><ref name="Loud, G. A. 2007 494">{{cite book|author=Loud, G. A.|title=The Latin Church in Norman Italy|url=https://archive.org/details/latinchurchnorma00loud|url-access=limited|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=2007|page=[https://archive.org/details/latinchurchnorma00loud/page/n512 494]|isbn=978-0-521-25551-6|quote={{ISBN|0-521-25551-1}}" "At the end of the twelfth-century &nbsp;... While in Apulia Greeks were in a majority – and indeed present in any numbers at all – only in the Salento peninsula in the extreme south, at the time of the conquest they had an overwhelming preponderance in Lucaina and central and southern Calabria, as well as comprising anything up to a third of the population of Sicily, concentrated especially in the north-east of the island, the Val Demone.}}</ref> 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.<ref name="Advanced Studies in Cultural History">[http://www.interamericaninstitute.org/norman_sicily.htm "Norman Sicily of the 12th Century"] – Inter-American Institute for Advanced Studies in Cultural History – Retrieved 15 July 2011.</ref>

However this situation changed as the Normans imported immigrants from [[Normandy]], [[England]], Lombardy, Piedmont, Provence and [[Campania]] to secure the island. Linguistically, the island shifted from being one-third Greek- and two-thirds Arabic-speaking at the time of the Norman conquest to becoming fully [[Linguistic Latinisation|Latinised]].<ref name="Loud, G. A. 2007 494" /> 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 the Eastern Orthodox Patriarch.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.bestofsicily.com/mag/art171.htm |publisher=BestofSicily.com |title=Sicilian Peoples: The Normans|date=7 October 2007}}</ref> After Pope Innocent III made him Papal Legate in 1098, Roger I created 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).

<gallery class="center" heights=190px widths=200px>
File:Duomo cefalu msu2017-0797.jpg|The [[Cefalù Cathedral]]
File:Monreale Cathedral exterior BW 2012-10-09 10-23-10.jpg|The [[Cathedral of Monreale]]
File:Castello Enna2.jpg|The [[Castello di Lombardia]], a Norman castle at [[Enna]]
</gallery>

===Kingdom of Sicily (1198–1860)===
{{Main|Kingdom of Sicily|List of monarchs of Sicily}}

After a century, the Norman [[Hauteville family|Hauteville]] dynasty died out; the last direct descendant and heir of Roger II, [[Constance I of Sicily|Constance]], married [[Henry VI, Holy Roman Emperor|Emperor Henry VI]].<ref name="dieli" /> This eventually led to the crown of Sicily being passed to the [[Hohenstaufen]] dynasty, who were Germans from [[Swabia]]. The last of the Hohenstaufens, [[Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor|Frederick II]], the only son of [[Constance I of Sicily|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 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, Holy Roman Empress|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 people, moving all to the city of Lucera in Apulia between 1221 and 1226.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=weluAAAAQBAJ|title=Muslims in Medieval Italy: The Colony at Lucera|first=Julie|last=Taylor|date=19 August 2003|publisher=Lexington Books|via=Google Books|isbn=9780739157978}}</ref>

Conflict between the Hohenstaufen house and the [[Papacy]] led, in 1266, to [[Pope Innocent IV]] crowning the [[Capetian House of Anjou|French prince]] [[Charles I of Naples|Charles]], [[count of Anjou]] and [[County of Provence|Provence]], as the king of both Sicily and Naples.<ref name="dieli" />

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.<ref name="dieli" /> 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 Crown of Aragon by [[Pope Martin IV]] (a pope from [[Île-de-France]]), but it failed. The wars continued until the [[peace of Caltabellotta]] in 1302, which saw Peter's son [[Frederick III of Sicily|Frederick III]] recognized as the king of the Isle of Sicily, while [[Charles II of Naples|Charles II]] was recognized as the king of Naples by [[Pope Boniface VIII]].<ref name="dieli" /> 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]].<ref name="knowital" />

In October 1347, in Messina, Sicily, the [[Black Death]] first arrived in Europe.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.thoughtco.com/spread-of-the-black-death-through-europe-4123214 |first=Melissa |last=Snell |date=July 30, 2019 |title=The Arrival and Spread of the Black Plague in Europe |website=ThoughtCo |access-date=24 January 2024}}</ref>

Between the 15th and 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 Balkans|Ottoman conquest of the Peloponnese]]. They brought with them [[Eastern Orthodoxy]] as well as the [[Greek language|Greek]] and [[Arvanitika]] languages, once again adding onto the extensive [[Byzantine]]/[[Greek Culture|Greek]] influence.

The onset of the [[Spanish Inquisition]] in 1492 led to [[Ferdinand II of Aragon|Ferdinand II]] decreeing the expulsion of all Jews from Sicily.<ref name="dieli" /> The eastern part of the island was hit by destructive earthquakes in 1542 and 1693. Just a few years before the latter earthquake, the island was struck by a [[plague (disease)|plague]].<ref name="dieli">{{cite web|url=http://www.dieli.net/SicilyPage/History/SicilianHist.html |publisher=Dieli.net|title=Sicilian History: An Abbreviated Chronology |date=8 July 2015|first = Art|last = Dieli}}</ref> The [[1693 Sicily earthquake|earthquake in 1693]] took an estimated 60,000 lives.<ref>"[https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/2381585.stm Italy's earthquake history]". BBC News. 31 October 2002.</ref> There were revolts during the 17th century, but these were quelled with force, especially the revolts of Palermo and Messina.<ref name="knowital">{{cite news|url=http://knowital.com/history/sicily/sicily-history.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030801195242/http://knowital.com/history/sicily/sicily-history.html|archive-date=1 August 2003|publisher=knowital.com|title=History of Sicily|url-status=usurped|date=7 October 2007}}</ref> [[Barbary pirates|North African]] [[Barbary slave trade|slave raids]] discouraged settlement along the coast until the 19th century.<ref>Rees Davies, [https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/empire_seapower/white_slaves_01.shtml British Slaves on the Barbary Coast], [[BBC]], 1 July 2003</ref><ref>"''[https://books.google.com/books?id=5q9zcB3JS40C&pg=PR14 Christian Slaves, Muslim Masters: White Slavery in the Mediterranean, the Barbary Coast and Italy, 1500–1800]''". Robert Davis (2004) {{ISBN|1-4039-4551-9}}</ref> 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 [[Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor|Emperor Charles VI]] of the Austrian [[House of Habsburg|Habsburg Dynasty]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.heraldica.org/topics/france/utrecht.htm|publisher=Heraldica.org|title=The Treaties of Utrecht (1713)|date=7 October 2007}}</ref>

While the Austrians were concerned with the [[War of the Polish Succession]], a [[House of Bourbon|Bourbon]] prince, [[Charles III of Spain|Charles]] from Spain was able to conquer Sicily and Naples.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.realcasadiborbone.it/uk/archiviostorico/cs_04.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030804170901/http://www.realcasadiborbone.it/uk/archiviostorico/cs_04.htm|archive-date=4 August 2003|publisher=RealCasaDiBorbone.it|title=Charles of Bourbon – the restorer of the Kingdom of Naples|date=7 October 2007}}</ref> 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 I|Napoleon]]'s [[First French Empire]] saw Naples taken at the [[Battle of Campo Tenese]] and Bonapartist [[King of Naples]] was installed. [[Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies|Ferdinand III]], the Bourbon, was forced to retreat to Sicily which he was still in control of with the help of [[Royal Navy|British naval]] protection.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.clash-of-steel.co.uk/pages/battle_details.php?battle=CAMPOTENES01|publisher=Clash-of-Steel.co.uk|title=Campo Tenese|date=7 October 2007}}</ref>

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. Sicilian volunteers joined the British military to form the [[Royal Sicilian Regiment]], which saw action at the [[Battle of Maida]] and then transferred to [[Peninsular War|Iberia]]. 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 [[Sicilian revolution of independence of 1848|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.<ref>[http://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/regno-delle-due-sicilie/ Regno Delle Due Sicilie nell'Enciclopedia Treccani]. Treccani.it. Retrieved on 18 December 2012.</ref>

<gallery class="center" widths=200 heights=160>
File:Francesco Hayez 022.jpg|[[Sicilian Vespers]], a successful rebellion on the island of Sicily that broke out at [[Easter]] 1282 against the rule of the French-born king [[Charles I of Anjou]]
File:Palazzina cinese 0001.JPG|The [[Palazzina Cinese]] in [[Palermo]], built from 1799 to 1806 by [[Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies|Ferdinand III of Sicily]]
File:Sanesi - La rivoluzione di Palermo-12 gennaio 1848 - ca. 1850.jpg|The [[Sicilian revolution of 1848]], which was characterised by a wide use of the [[Italian tricolour]]
</gallery>

===Italian unification===
{{See also|Risorgimento}}
[[File:Garibaldi sbarca a Marsala - Gerolamo Induno.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Giuseppe Garibaldi]] lands in [[Marsala]] in 1860, during the [[Expedition of the Thousand]], as part of the [[Italian unification]]]]

The [[Expedition of the Thousand]] led by [[Giuseppe Garibaldi]] captured Sicily in 1860, as part of the {{lang|it|[[Italian unification|Risorgimento]]}}.<ref name="modern" /> 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 (1861)|siege of Gaeta]], where the final [[Bourbons]] were expelled and Garibaldi announced his dictatorship in the name of [[Victor Emanuel II of Italy|Victor Emmanuel II]] of [[Kingdom of Sardinia (1720–1861)|Kingdom of Sardinia]].<ref>[http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/542800/Sicily Sicily (island, Italy) – Britannica Online Encyclopaedia]. Britannica.com. Retrieved on 18 December 2012.</ref> Sicily became part of the Kingdom of Sardinia after a referendum in which more than 75% of Sicily voted in favour of the annexation on 21 October 1860 (although not everyone was allowed to vote). As a result of the [[proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy]], Sicily became part of the kingdom on 17 March 1861.

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 [[Italian diaspora|wave of emigration]].<ref name="modern">{{cite news|url=http://www.oah.org/pubs/magazine/migrations/townsend.html|publisher=OAH.org|title=Italians around the World: Teaching Italian Migration from a Transnational Perspective|date=7 October 2007|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101127225428/http://oah.org/pubs/magazine/migrations/townsend.html|archive-date=27 November 2010}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.geocities.com/capitolHill/rotunda/2209/Sicily.html|publisher=Capitol Hill|title=Sicily|date=7 October 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071018230534/http://www.geocities.com/capitolHill/rotunda/2209/Sicily.html|archive-date=18 October 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopedia|url=http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9033791/fascio-siciliano|encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]|title=fascio siciliano|date=7 October 2007}}</ref>

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 [[brigandage|''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 [[Royal Italian Army]] were often involved in fights against the mafia members, but their efforts were frequently useless because of the weakness of the Italian judicial system and cooperation between the mafia and local governments.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20071111034455/http://www.carabinieri.it/Internet/Arma/Ieri/Storia/Vista%2Bda/Fascicolo%2B22/01_Fascicolo%2B22.htm Arma dei Carabinieri – Home – L'Arma – Ieri – Storia – Vista da – Fascicolo 22]. Carabinieri.it. Retrieved on 18 December 2012.</ref>

===20th and 21st centuries===
[[File:Underwood & Underwood © 1906 No. 10495 - Messina - The once beautiful Water-front after the earthquake dett.jpg|thumb|Ruins of [[Messina]] after the [[1908 Messina earthquake|1908 earthquake]] and tsunami. Taken at the northern section of the Palazzata in front of the harbour.]]

The [[1908 Messina earthquake|Messina earthquake]] of 28 December 1908 killed more than 80,000 people.<ref>"[http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/1483443/Messina-earthquake-and-tsunami Messina earthquake and tsunami]". Britannica Online Encyclopedia.</ref>

In the 1920s, the [[Italian fascism|fascist]] regime began taking stronger military action, led by [[Cesare Mori]] (nicknamed the "Iron [[Prefect]]" for his iron-fisted campaigns), against the Sicilian Mafia, the first that ended with considerable success.<ref name="modern" /> An [[Allied invasion of Sicily]] during World War II began on 10 July 1943. In preparation for the invasion, the Allies [[Collaborations between the United States government and Italian Mafia|revitalised]] the Mafia to aid them. The invasion of Sicily contributed to the [[Fall of the Fascist regime in Italy|25 July crisis]]; in general, the Allied victors were warmly embraced by Sicilians.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.bestofsicily.com/history3.htm|publisher=BestofSicily.com|title=Modern Sicilian History & Society}}</ref>

In the aftermath of World War II, Italy [[1946 Italian institutional referendum|became a republic]] in 1946. Under the [[Constitution of Italy]], Sicily is one of five [[Regions of Italy|regions]] with [[Autonomous administrative division|autonomy]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.grifasi-sicilia.com/regione_sicilia_gbr.html|publisher=Grifasi-Sicilia.com|title=Sicily autonomy|date=7 October 2007}}</ref> Both the partial Italian [[land reform]] and special funding from the Italian government's ''[[Cassa per il Mezzogiorno]]'' (''Fund for the South'') from 1950 to 1984 helped the Sicilian economy. During this period, the economic and social condition of the island was generally improved because of investments in infrastructure (such as [[motorways]] and [[airport]]s) and the creation of industrial and commercial areas.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.storicamente.org/quadstor1/ch09.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130524044958/http://www.storicamente.org/quadstor1/ch09.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=24 May 2013 |title=Le spinte e i ritorni": gli anni delle riforme per lo sviluppo in Sicilia (1947–1967) |language=it |website=Storicamente.org |access-date=18 December 2012}}</ref> In the 1980s, the Mafia was weakened by another campaign led by magistrates [[Giovanni Falcone]] and [[Paolo Borsellino]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.scudit.net/mdfalcone.htm |title=Due eroi italiani – Materiali didattici di Scuola d'Italiano Roma a cura di Roberto Tartaglione |language=it |website=Scudit.net |date=11 April 2004 |access-date=18 December 2012}}</ref> Between 1990 and 2005, the [[unemployment rate]] fell from about 23% to 11%.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|url=http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-27778/Italy#319101.hook|encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]|title=Italy – Land Reforms|date=7 October 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.istat.it/it/sicilia/dati?q=gettable&dataset=DCCV_TAXDISOCCU&dim=120,6,1,0,28,12,3,0,0&lang=2&tr=0&te=1 |title=Sicilia |language=it |website=Istat.it |access-date=18 December 2012 |archive-date=15 November 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121115061849/http://www.istat.it/it/sicilia/dati?q=gettable&dataset=DCCV_TAXDISOCCU&dim=120%2C6%2C1%2C0%2C28%2C12%2C3%2C0%2C0&lang=2&tr=0&te=1 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

The Cosa Nostra has traditionally been the most powerful group in Sicily, especially around Palermo.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://globalnews.ca/news/4727672/italy-police-arrest-alleged-new-mafia-boss-in-sicily/ |title=Italy police arrest alleged new mafia boss in Sicily |work=Global News |last=Pantaleone |first=Wladimir |date=4 December 2018 |access-date=22 June 2021}}</ref> A police investigation in the summer of 2019 confirmed strong links between the Palermo area [[Sicilian Mafia]] and American organized crime, particularly the [[Gambino crime family]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cnn.com/2019/07/17/europe/mafia-arrests-fbi-italy-intl/index.html |title=19 mafia suspects arrested in joint transatlantic raids |first1=Hada |last1=Messia |first2=Lauren |last2=Kent |work=[[CNN]] |date=17 July 2019 |access-date=22 June 2021}}</ref> According to ''[[La Repubblica]]'', "Off they go, through the streets of Passo di Rigano, Boccadifalco, Torretta and at the same time, Brooklyn, Staten Island, [and] New Jersey. Because from Sicily to the US, the old mafia has returned."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/jul/17/fbi-mafia-arrests-us-italy-inzerillo-gambino |title=FBI and Italian police arrest 19 people in Sicily and US in mafia investigation |last=Giuffrida |first=Angela |work=The Guardian |date=17 July 2019 |access-date=22 June 2021}}</ref>

==Geography==
{{See also|Geology of Sicily}}
[[File:Sicily Map.png|thumb|Relief map of Sicily]]
[[File:Sicily2025OSM.png|thumb|Detailed map of Sicily]]
[[File:Madonie montagna.jpg|thumb|right|[[Madonie]] mountains in the [[Madonie Regional Natural Park]].]]
[[File:Mare Favignana.JPG|thumb|Cala Rossa, [[Favignana#Island|island of Favignana]], [[Aegadian Islands]]]]

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 {{convert|3|km|mi|abbr=on}} wide in the north, and about {{convert|16|km|abbr=on}} wide in the southern part.<ref>[http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/542800/Sicily Britannica – Travel & Geography – Sicily] Italian Sicilia – retrieved 11 May 2010.</ref> The northern and southern coasts are each about {{convert|280|km|abbr=on}} long measured as a straight line, while the eastern coast measures around {{convert|180|km|abbr=on}}; total coast length is [[Length of coast|estimated]] at {{convert|1484|km|abbr=on}}. The total area of the island is {{convert|25711|km2|abbr=on}},<ref name=eb>{{cite encyclopedia |title=Sicily |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]] | url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Sicily}}</ref> while the [[Autonomous administrative division|Autonomous Region]] of Sicily (which includes the smaller surrounding islands of [[Lipari]], [[Egadi]], [[Ustica]], and [[Pantelleria]]) has an area of {{convert|27708|km2|abbr=on}}.<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://oxcon.ouplaw.com/display/10.1093/law:ocw/law-ocw-cm393.document.1/law-ocw-cm393 | title=The Autonomous Region of Sicily: Introductory Note | first=Philip | last=Raworth | publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] | year=2007}}</ref>

The terrain of inland Sicily is mostly hilly and is intensively cultivated wherever possible. Along the northern coast, the [[mountain range]]s of [[Madonie]], {{convert|2000|m|abbr=on}}, [[Nebrodi]], {{convert|1800|m|abbr=on}}, and [[Peloritani]], {{convert|1300|m|ft|abbr=on}}, are an extension of the mainland [[Apennines]]. The cone of [[Mount Etna]] dominates the eastern coast. In the southeast lie the lower [[Hyblaean Mountains]], {{convert|1000|m|abbr=on}}.<ref name="frommers">{{cite book|last1=Porter|first1=Darwin|last2=Prince|first2=Danforth|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vZDLw0nOnfsC&pg=PA26|title=Frommer's Sicily|publisher=Frommer's|year=2009|page=268|isbn=978-0-470-39899-9}}</ref> 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. This is due to Sicily being geographically on the northern edge of the [[African Plate]].<ref>{{Cite journal |date=1 May 1974 |title=Evolution of a section of the Africa-Europe plate boundary: Paleomagnetic and volcanological evidence from Sicily |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/0012821X74900727|journal=Earth and Planetary Science Letters |language=en |volume=22 |issue=2 |pages=123–132 |doi=10.1016/0012-821X(74)90072-7|issn=0012-821X |last1=Barberi |first1=F. |last2=Civetta |first2=L. |last3=Gasparini |first3=P. |last4=Innocenti |first4=F. |last5=Scandone |first5=R. |last6=Villari |first6=L. |bibcode=1974E&PSL..22..123B|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Mount Etna is the largest active volcano in Europe and casts black ash over the island with its recurrent eruptions. It stands {{convert|3403|m|ft|0}} high as of September 2024.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-09-18 |title=Il cratere Voragine dell'Etna cresce, bordo supera 3.400 metri - Notizie - Ansa.it |url=https://www.ansa.it/sicilia/notizie/2024/09/18/il-cratere-voragine-delletna-cresce-bordo-supera-3.400-metri_88ddb31e-c620-42ba-b9d5-3b2fc9281410.html |access-date=2024-09-24 |website=Agenzia ANSA |language=it}}</ref> It is the highest mountain in Italy south of the [[Alps]]. Etna covers an area of {{convert|1190|km2|0|abbr=on}} with a basal circumference of {{convert|140|km|abbr=on}}. This makes it the largest of the three [[Volcanism in Italy|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.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Thomaidis |first1=Konstantinos |last2=Troll |first2=Valentin R.|last3=Deegan|first3=Frances M.|last4=Freda |first4=Carmela |last5=Corsaro |first5=Rosa A.|last6=Behncke |first6=Boris |last7=Rafailidis |first7=Savvas |date=2021 |title=A message from the 'underground forge of the gods': history and current eruptions at Mt Etna |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/gto.12362|journal=Geology Today |language=en |volume=37|issue=4 |pages=141–149 |doi=10.1111/gto.12362 |bibcode=2021GeolT..37..141T |s2cid=238802288 |issn=1365-2451|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Mount Etna is widely regarded as a cultural symbol and icon of Sicily.

The [[Aeolian Islands]] in the [[Tyrrhenian Sea]], to the northeast of mainland Sicily form a volcanic complex. The three volcanoes of [[Vulcano]], [[Stromboli]] and [[Lipari]] are also active, although the last is usually dormant. Off the southern coast of Sicily, the underwater volcano of [[Ferdinandea]], which is part of the larger [[Empedocles (volcano)|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 administrative division|autonomous region]] also includes several neighbouring islands: the [[Aegadian Islands]], the Aeolian Islands, Pantelleria and [[Lampedusa]]. From a geographical perspective, also forming a part of Sicily is the Maltese Archipelago, the islands constitute the [[republic of Malta]].

=== Mountains ===
[[File:EtnaAvió.JPG|thumb|[[Mount Etna]] in eruption]]
[[File:Sguardo sul Parco Monti Sicani.jpg|thumb|The [[Monti Sicani]] in western Sicily]]

The mountains of Sicily form a significant part of the island's diverse landscape, with [[Mount Etna]], one of the world's most active volcanoes, being the highest and most notable peak. Other important mountain ranges include the [[Nebrodi]], [[Madonie]] and [[Peloritani]] mountains ranges.

{| class="wikitable"
|+Five tallest mountains of Sicily
!Name
!Height (meters)
!Height (feet)
|-
|[[Mount Etna]]
|3,357
|11,014
|-
|[[Pizzo Carbonara]]
|1,979
|6,493
|-
|[[Monte Soro]]
|1,853<ref>{{Cite web |last=PeakVisor |title=Monte Soro |url=https://peakvisor.com/peak/mount-soro.html |access-date=2024-04-04 |website=PeakVisor |language=en}}</ref>
|6,079
|-
|[[Rocca Busambra]]
|1,613
|5,292
|-
|[[Monte San Calogero]]
|1,326<ref>{{Cite web |title=Monte San Calògero : Climbing, Hiking & Mountaineering : SummitPost |url=https://www.summitpost.org/monte-san-cal-gero/205821 |access-date=2024-04-04 |website=www.summitpost.org}}</ref>
|4,318
|}

===Rivers===
[[File:Papiro-Ciane.jpg|thumb|View of the [[Ciane]] river]]

Several rivers [[drainage|drain]] the island, 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 (river)|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 (river)|Platani]] in the southwest.

{| class="wikitable"
|-
!River
!Length
|-
|[[Salso]]
|{{convert|144|km|mi|abbr=on}}
|-
|[[Simeto]]
|{{convert|113|km|mi|abbr=on}}
|-
|[[Belice]]
|{{convert|107|km|mi|abbr=on}}
|-
|[[Dittaino]]
|{{convert|105|km|mi|abbr=on}}
|-
|Platani
|{{convert|103|km|mi|abbr=on}}
|-
|[[Gornalunga]]
|{{convert|81|km|mi|abbr=on}}
|-
|[[Gela (river)|Gela]]
|{{convert|74|km|mi|abbr=on}}
|-
|Salso Cimarosa
|{{convert|72|km|mi|abbr=on}}
|-
|Torto
|{{convert|58|km|mi|abbr=on}}
|-
|[[Irminio]]
|{{convert|57|km|mi|abbr=on}}
|-
|[[Dirillo]]
|{{convert|54|km|mi|abbr=on}}
|-
|[[Verdura]]
|{{convert|53|km|mi|abbr=on}}
|-
|[[Alcantara (river)|Alcantara]]
|{{convert|52|km|mi|abbr=on}}
|-
|[[Tellaro (river)|Tellaro]]
|{{convert|49|km|mi|abbr=on}}
|-
|[[Anapo]]
|{{convert|40|km|mi|abbr=on}}
|}

===Climate===
[[File:Veduta-Vallone-Caltanissetta.jpg|thumb|Inner Sicily]]

Sicily has for the most part a typical [[Mediterranean climate]] ([[Köppen climate classification]]: ''Csa'') with mild and wet winters and hot, dry summers with changeable intermediate seasons. On the coasts, especially in the southwest, the climate is affected by the African currents and summers can be hot.

Snow falls above 900 metres, but it can fall in the hills. The interior mountains, especially [[Nebrodi]], [[Madonie]], and [[Mount Etna|Etna]], enjoy a mountain climate, with heavy snowfalls during winter. The summit of Mount Etna is usually snow-capped from October to May.

In the summer, the [[sirocco]] – the wind from the Sahara – can be felt. Rainfall is scarce, and in some provinces a water crisis can occur.

According to the Regional Agency for Waste and Water, on 10 August 1999, the weather station of [[Catenanuova]] (EN) recorded an unofficial maximum temperature of {{convert|48.5|C|0|abbr=on}}.<ref>{{cite web|title=Agenzia Regionale per i Rifiuti e le Acque|publisher=Osservatorio delle Acque|url=http://www.osservatorioacque.it/dati/ANNALI/A_1999/PI_80.HTML|access-date=14 October 2010|archive-date=22 July 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110722043903/http://www.osservatorioacque.it/dati/ANNALI/A_1999/PI_80.HTML|url-status=dead}}</ref> On 11 August 2021, a new [[List of weather records|highest temperature record]] for [[Europe]] with a reading of {{Convert|48.8|C|F}} was set near the city of [[Syracuse, Sicily|Syracuse]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-07-17 |title=WMO is monitoring potential new temperature records |url=https://wmo.int/media/news/wmo-monitoring-potential-new-temperature-records |access-date=2023-07-17 |website=public.wmo.int |language=en}}</ref> Total precipitation is highly variable, generally increasing with elevation. In general, the southern and southeast coast receives the least rainfall (less than {{convert|50|cm|in|abbr=on}}), and the northern and northeastern highlands the most (over {{convert|100|cm|in|abbr=on}}).

===Flora and fauna===
{{see also|List of endemic plants of Sicily}}
[[File:Benny Trapp Podarcis waglerianus.jpg|thumb|The [[Sicilian wall lizard]] endemic to Sicily and the [[Aegadian Islands]]]]
[[File:Canis lupus cristaldii subsp. nov.png|thumb|Extinct [[Sicilian wolf]]. The subspecies reportedly went extinct due to human persecution in the 1920s, though there were several possible sightings up to the 1970s.]]

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.<ref name="frommers" /> 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 forest.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bestofsicily.com/mag/art51.htm|title=A Sicilian Desert?|first=Carlo|last=Trabia|publisher=Best of Sicily Magazine|year=2002}}</ref> In Northern Sicily, there are three important forests; near Mount Etna, in the [[Nebrodi|Nebrodi Mountains]] and in the [[Bosco della Ficuzza]] Natural Reserve near [[Palermo]]. The Nebrodi Mountains Regional Park, established on 4 August 1993 and covering {{convert|86000|ha|acre}}, is the largest protected natural area of Sicily; it contains the largest forest in Sicily, the [[Caronia]]. The [[Hundred Horse Chestnut]] ({{lang|it|Castagno dei Cento Cavalli}}), in [[Sant'Alfio]], on the eastern slopes of Mount Etna, is the largest and oldest known [[chestnut]] tree in the world at 2,000–4,000 years old.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.italymagazine.com/featured-story/chestnut-tree-one-hundred-horses-sicilys-most-famous-tree | title=The Chestnut Tree of One Hundred Horses: Sicily's Most Famous Tree | first=Barry | last=Lillie | work=Italy Magazine | date=April 5, 2014}}</ref>

Sicily has a wide variety of fauna. Species include the [[European wildcat]], [[red fox]], [[least weasel]], [[pine marten]],  [[fallow deer]],<ref>{{cite web |last1=da Silveira Bueno|first1=R.|last2=Giardina|first2=G.|last3=La Mantia |first3=T. |website=[[University of Palermo]] |url=https://iris.unipa.it/handle/10447/514729 |title=Fallow Deer in Sicily: recent history, consistence and ecological role |date=1 January 2020 |hdl=10447/514729}}</ref> [[wild boar]], [[crested porcupine]], [[European hedgehog]], [[common toad]], ''[[Vipera aspis]]'', [[golden eagle]], [[peregrine falcon]], [[Eurasian hoopoe]] and [[black-winged stilt]].<ref>[http://www.insicilia.org/flora-vegetali-fauna-animali-sicilia/80.htm Sicilia, flora e fauna-Specie vegetali e animali in Sicilia]. Insicilia.org. Retrieved on 18 December 2012.</ref> [[Roe deer]] were driven to extinction on the island.<ref>{{Cite journal | url=https://academic.oup.com/jmammal/article/96/4/827/851843 | title=Patterns of genetic admixture between roe deer of different origin in central Italy | first1=Daniela | last1=Biosa | first2=Massimo | last2=Scandura | first3=James | last3=Tagliavini | first4=Siriano | last4=Luccarini | first5=Luca | last5=Mattioli | first6=Marco | last6=Apollonio | journal=[[Journal of Mammalogy]] | date=24 June 2015| volume=96 | issue=4 | pages=827–838 | doi=10.1093/jmammal/gyv098 | doi-access=free| url-access=subscription }}</ref> The [[Sicilian wolf]] (''Canis lupus cristaldii'') was an [[endemic]] wolf [[Subspecies of Canis lupus|subspecies]] that was driven to extinction in the 20th century. During the [[Late Pleistocene]], a species of [[dwarf elephant]], [[Palaeoloxodon mnaidriensis]] inhabited the island, with its latest records on Sicily dating to around 20,000 years ago.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Palombo |first1=Maria Rita |last2=Antonioli |first2=Fabrizio |last3=Di Patti |first3=Carolina |last4=Valeria |first4=Lo Presti |last5=Scarborough |first5=Matthew E. |date=2021-10-03 |title=Was the dwarfed Palaeoloxodon from Favignana Island the last endemic Pleistocene elephant from the western Mediterranean islands? |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/08912963.2020.1772251 |journal=Historical Biology |language=en |volume=33 |issue=10 |pages=2116–2134 |doi=10.1080/08912963.2020.1772251 |bibcode=2021HBio...33.2116P |issn=0891-2963 |s2cid=225710152|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

The [[Riserva naturale dello Zingaro]] (Zingaro Natural Reserve) is one of the best examples of unspoiled coastal wilderness in Sicily.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.visitsicily.info/en/the-zingaro-reserve/ | title=RISERVA DELLO ZINGARO | work=Visit Sicily| date=7 October 2015}}</ref>

[[Marine Life of the Straits of Messina]] includes varieties of birds and marine life, including larger species such as [[greater flamingo]] and [[fin whale]].

==Demographics==
{{Main|Sicilians}}
{{Historical populations
|align=right
|1861|2408513|1871|2590165|1881|2933154|1901|3568124|1911|3811755|1921|4223160|1931|3905967|1936|4000078|1951|4486749
|1961|4721001
|1971|4680711
|1981|4906878
|1991|4966386
|2001|4968991
|2011|5002904
|2021|4833329
|2024|4785338|source=[[National Institute of Statistics (Italy)|ISTAT]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Popolazione residente e presente dei comuni. Censimenti dal 1861 al 1971|trans-title=Resident and present population of the municipalities. Censuses from 1861 to 1971|url=https://ebiblio.istat.it/digibib/Censimenti%20popolazione/Censimentipopolazioneresidentedal1861/PUV0027177Pop_res_pres_cens_1861_1971_Tomo1.pdf|date=1971-10-24|lang=it|publisher=[[National Institute of Statistics (Italy)|ISTAT]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Dashboard Permanent census of population and housing|url=https://esploradati.censimentopopolazione.istat.it/databrowser/#/en/censtest/dashboards|publisher=[[National Institute of Statistics (Italy)|ISTAT]]}}</ref>}}

As of 2024, 4.75 million people live in Sicily, making it the [[List of regions of Italy#List of regions|fourth most populated region in Italy]]. In the first century after the [[Italian unification]], Sicily had one of the most negative [[net migration rate]]s among the regions of Italy because of the emigration of millions of people to Northern Italy, other European countries, North America, South America and Australia. Like the South of Italy and 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 [[Istituto Nazionale di Statistica|ISTAT]] figures from 2017,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://demo.istat.it/str2014/query.php?lingua=ita&Rip=S5&Reg=R19&Pro=P000&Com=&paese=A9999&submit=Tavola|title=Statistiche demografiche ISTAT|publisher=Demo.istat.it|access-date=29 May 2016|archive-date=30 June 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160630205634/http://demo.istat.it/str2014/query.php?lingua=ita&Rip=S5&Reg=R19&Pro=P000&Com=&paese=A9999&submit=Tavola|url-status=dead}}</ref> show around 175,000 immigrants out of the total 5,029,615 population;<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.demo.istat.it/bilmens2017gen/index.html|title=Bilancio demografico anno 2017 Regione: Sicilia|year=2017|publisher=demo.istat.it|access-date=14 September 2017|archive-date=19 October 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191019020626/http://www.demo.istat.it/bilmens2017gen/index.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> [[Romanians]] make up the largest immigrant community with more than 50,000, followed by [[Tunisians]], [[Moroccans]], [[Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora|Sri Lankans]], [[Albanians]], and others mostly from Eastern Europe. As of 31 December 2020, there were 186,195 foreigners resident in the region.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://demo.istat.it/app/?i=P03&a=2020 | title=Bilancio demografico popolazione straniera}}</ref> As in the rest of Italy, the official language is Italian and the primary religion is [[Roman Catholicism]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.camera.it/parlam/leggi/99482l.htm|title=Legge 482|work=camera.it|access-date=28 February 2013|archive-date=12 May 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150512051856/http://www.camera.it/parlam/leggi/99482l.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.corriere.it/Primo_Piano/Cronache/2006/01_Gennaio/17/cattolici.shtml|title=Corriere della Sera – Italia, quasi l'88% si proclama cattolico|work=corriere.it}}</ref>

===Emigration===
{{See also|Sicilian Americans}}
[[File:Tampa Ybor City Italian Club window01.jpg|thumb|The Sicilian [[triskelion]] in [[Ybor City]], a district of [[Tampa, Florida]], home to many [[Sicilian Americans]]]]

Sicilian emigration started shortly after [[Italian unification]] and has continued into the present day. The aforementioned factors, along with a failed land reform, resulted in an unprecedented wave of Sicilians emigrating, [[Sicilian Americans|first to the United States]] between the 1880s and the 1920s and later to northern Italy; since the 1960s, other population destinations include [[Belgium]], [[France]], [[Germany]], [[Switzerland]], as well as [[Australia]] and [[South America]]. An estimated 10 million people of Sicilian origin live around the world.

The trend of emigration, particularly among young Sicilians leaving the island in search of employment elsewhere in Italy and abroad, continues in early 21st century.<ref>{{Cite web |date=29 January 2016 |title=Emigrazione, fuga dalla Sicilia: Ogni anno cancellato un paese di ventimila abitanti |url=https://www.lasicilia.it/news/cronaca/12142/emigrazione-fuga-dalla-sicilia-ogni-anno-cancellato-un-paese-di-ventimila-abitanti.html}}</ref>  Sicily remains the Italian region with the highest number of [[expatriate]]s: as of 2017, over 750,000 Sicilians, 14.4% of the island's population, lived abroad.<ref>{{Cite web | url=http://www.qds.it/26323-disastro-sicilia-in-fuga-i-suoi-figli.htm | title=Disastro Sicilia: In fuga i suoi figli| date=31 October 2017}}</ref> 

=== Largest cities ===
{{See also|List of municipalities of Sicily}}

These are the ten largest cities of Sicily:

{| class="wikitable sortable"
! align="center" bgcolor="#bbffbb" |Rank
! align="center" bgcolor="#bbffbb" |Name
! align="center" bgcolor="#bbffbb" |Pop. (2025)<ref name="population">{{cite web|title=Monthly Demographic Balance|url=https://demo.istat.it/app/?l=en&a=&i=D7B|publisher=[[Italian National Institute of Statistics|ISTAT]]}}</ref>
! align="center" bgcolor="#bbffbb" |Area (km<sup>2</sup>)<ref name="area" />
! align="center" bgcolor="#bbffbb" |Density
|- style="text-align:right;"
| style="text-align:left;" |1
| style="text-align:left;" |[[Palermo]]
|625,956
|160.59
|3,897
|- style="text-align:right;"
| style="text-align:left;" |2
| style="text-align:left;" |[[Catania]]
|297,517
|182.90
|1,626
|- style="text-align:right;"
| style="text-align:left;" |3
| style="text-align:left;" |[[Messina]]
|216,918
|213.75
|1,014
|- style="text-align:right;"
| style="text-align:left;" |4
| style="text-align:left;" |[[Syracuse, Sicily|Syracuse]]
|115,636
|207.78
|556
|- style="text-align:right;"
| style="text-align:left;" |5
| style="text-align:left;" |[[Marsala]]
|79,693
|243.26
|327
|- style="text-align:right;"
| style="text-align:left;" |6
| style="text-align:left;" |[[Ragusa, Sicily|Ragusa]]
|73,778
|444.67
|165
|- style="text-align:right;"
| style="text-align:left;" |7
| style="text-align:left;" |[[Gela]]
|70,341
|279.07
|252
|- style="text-align:right;"
| style="text-align:left;" |8
| style="text-align:left;" |[[Vittoria, Sicily|Vittoria]]
|65,714
|182.48
|360
|- style="text-align:right;"
| style="text-align:left;" |9
| style="text-align:left;" |[[Caltanissetta]]
|58,045
|421.25
|137
|- style="text-align:right;"
| style="text-align:left;" |10
| style="text-align:left;" |[[Agrigento]]
|55,227
|245.32
|225
|}

=== Religion ===
{{See also|Italo-Albanian Catholic Church|History of the Jews in Sicily|History of Islam in southern Italy}}

As in most Italian regions, [[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]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Nebel |year=2001 |doi=10.1086/324070 |title=The Y Chromosome Pool of Jews as Part of the Genetic Landscape of the Middle East |first1=A |last2=Filon |first2=D |last3=Brinkmann |first3=B |last4=Majumder |first4=P |last5=Faerman |first5=M |last6=Oppenheim |first6=A |journal=The American Journal of Human Genetics |volume=69 |issue=5 |pages=1095–112 |pmid=11573163 |pmc=1274378}}</ref> However, much of the Jewish community faded away when they were [[Expulsion of the Jews from Sicily|expelled from the island]] in 1492. [[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 some [[evangelicalism|Evangelical Christians]] who live on the island. As of 2020, there are approximately 4,989,921 Roman Catholics in Sicily constituting about 99.2% of the island's population. Additionally there are also about 23,120 members of the [[Italo-Albanian Catholic Church]] also living in Sicily constituting roughly 0.5% of the population.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Catholic Church in Italy [Catholic-Hierarchy] |url=https://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/country/it.html |access-date=2023-08-21 |website=www.catholic-hierarchy.org}}</ref>

<gallery class="center" widths=250 heights=190>
File:Panoramica Cattedrale di Palermo.jpg|[[Palermo Cathedral]]
File:Sicilia Noto1 tango7174.jpg|[[Noto Cathedral]]
File:Catania Cathedral msu2017-9550.jpg|[[Catania Cathedral]]
</gallery>

==Politics==
{{Main|Politics of Sicily}}
[[File:Normandiarren gaztelua.jpg|thumb|[[Palazzo dei Normanni]],  the seat of the [[Sicilian Regional Assembly]]. It was a 9th-century Arab palace, converted by the [[Norman conquest of southern Italy|Normans]] into their governing castle.]]

The politics of Sicily takes place in a framework of a [[presidential system|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 votes for centre-right parties during elections.<ref>Peppe Cuva (12 May 2012). [https://archive.today/20130419105715/http://www.latestatanews.it/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=333:sicilia-lex-roccaforte-del-centro-destra&catid=8:politica&Itemid=11 Sicilia, l'ex roccaforte del centro-destra]. Latestatanews.it. Retrieved on 18 December 2012.</ref> From 1943 to 1951, there was also a [[separatism|separatist]] political party called [[Sicilian Independence Movement]] (''Movimento Indipendentista Siciliano'', MIS). Their most successful result was at the [[Italian general election, 1946|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 their seats following the [[Italian general election, 1948|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 (Italy)|Christian Democracy]]. Sicily is now governed by a centre-right coalition. [[Renato Schifani]] is the current President and has served since 2022.

===Administrative divisions===
[[File:Provinces of Sicily map.png|thumb|Provinces of Sicily]]

Administratively, Sicily is divided into 3 [[Metropolitan cities of Italy|metropolitan cities]] and 6 ''free municipal consortiums'' (''libero consorzio comunale''), 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).

{| class="sortable wikitable" style="text-align:right"
|-
!Province
!Area<br />(km<sup>2</sup>)
!Population<ref>[http://demo.istat.it/bilmens2011gen/index.html Population May 2011, data from Demo Istat] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110701194349/http://demo.istat.it/bilmens2011gen/index.html |date=1 July 2011}}. Demo.istat.it. Retrieved on 18 December 2012.</ref>
!Density<br />(Pop. per km<sup>2</sup>)
!Number of communes
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|[[Province of Agrigento|Agrigento]]
|3,042
|453,594
|149.1
|43
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|[[Province of Caltanissetta|Caltanissetta]]
|2,128
|271,168
|127.4
|22
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|[[Metropolitan City of Catania|Catania]]
|3,552
|1,090,620
|307.0
|58
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|[[Province of Enna|Enna]]
|2,562
|172,159
|67.2
|20
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|[[Metropolitan City of Messina|Messina]]
|3,247
|652,742
|201.0
|108
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|[[Metropolitan City of Palermo|Palermo]]
|4,992
|1,249,744
|250.3
|82
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|[[Province of Ragusa|Ragusa]]
|1,614
|318,980
|197.6
|12
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|[[Province of Siracusa|Siracusa]]
|2,109
|403,559
|191.3
|21
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|[[Province of Trapani|Trapani]]
|2,460
|436,240
|177.3
|24
|}

==Economy==
{{See also|Economy of Italy}}
[[File:Olives (9520845387).jpg|thumb|Olive groves]]
Thanks to regular growth, Sicily is the eighth largest regional economy of Italy in terms of total GDP (see [[List of Italian regions by GDP (PPP)|List of Italian regions by GDP]]). A series of reforms and investments in agriculture, such as the introduction of modern irrigation systems, has made this important industry competitive.<ref>[http://sicilyweb.com/economia/agricoltura.htm Economia della Sicilia: agricoltura]. Sicilyweb.com. Retrieved on 18 December 2012.</ref> In the 1970s, some factories were opened, resulting in growth in the [[industrial sector]].<ref>[http://www.ilsole24ore.com/art/commenti-e-idee/2011-02-23/lindustria-sicilia-cosi-antica-082349.shtml L'industria in Sicilia così antica e moderna]. Il Sole 24 ORE (23 February 2011). Retrieved on 18 December 2012.</ref> In recent years the [[service industry]] has become more important due to the opening of several shopping malls and some modest growth in financial and telecommunication activities.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20110320083101/http://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/sicilia/ Sicilia: Congiuntura economica].Treccani.it. Retrieved on 19 December 2012.</ref> Tourism is an important source of income for the island, which attracts visitors due to its rich natural and historical heritage. Today Sicily is investing a large amount of money into the development of its [[hospitality industry]], to attract even more tourism.<ref>[http://www.strumentires.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=97:investire-nel-turismo-di-qualita-e-negli-eventi-in-sicilia&catid=4:economia-siciliana&Itemid=12 Investire nel turismo di qualità e negli eventi in Sicilia]. Strumentires.com. Retrieved on 18 December 2012.</ref> However, Sicily continues to have a GDP per capita below the Italian average, and higher unemployment than the rest of Italy.<ref>{{in lang|it}} [http://www.istat.it/it/archivio/75111 Conti economici regionali]. Istat.it. Retrieved on 18 December 2012.</ref>

===Agriculture===
[[File:Marsala Wine.jpg|thumb|upright|left|A sample of [[Marsala wine|Marsala]], a [[Denominazione di origine controllata|DOC]] wine produced in the city of [[Marsala]]]]
Sicily has long been noted for its fertile soil, which is the result of past volcanic eruptions. The local agriculture is also helped by the pleasant climate of the island. The main agricultural products are wheat, [[Diamante citron|citrons]], oranges ''([[Blood orange|Arancia Rossa di Sicilia IGP]])'', lemons, tomatoes ''([[Pomodoro di Pachino|Pomodoro di Pachino IGP]])'', [[olive]]s, [[olive oil]], [[artichoke]]s, [[Opuntia ficus-indica|prickly pear]] ''(Fico d'India dell'[[Mount Etna|Etna]] DOP)'', [[almond]]s, [[grape]]s, [[pistachio]]s ''(Pistacchio di [[Bronte, Sicily|Bronte]] DOP)'' and wine. Cattle and sheep are raised. The production of cheese is particularly important thanks to the [[Ragusano cheese|Ragusano DOP]] and the [[Pecorino Siciliano|Pecorino Siciliano DOP]]. [[Ragusa, Italy|Ragusa]] is noted for its [[honey]] (''Miele Ibleo'') and chocolate (''[[Cioccolato di Modica]] IGP'') products.<ref>[http://www.sicilyontour.com/economia.htm Sicilia: L'Economia] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308093401/http://www.sicilyontour.com/economia.htm |date=8 March 2021}}. SicilyOnTour.com. Retrieved on 18 December 2012.</ref><ref>[http://www.pistacchiodibronte.it/ Pistacchio di Bronte D.O.P]. Pistacchiodibronte.it. Retrieved on 18 December 2012.</ref><ref>[https://archive.today/20130218132519/http://www.tavolaegusto.it/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=781:fico-dindia-delletna-dop&catid=93:igpviniaceti&Itemid=58 Fico d'India dell'Etna dop]. Tavolaegusto.it. Retrieved on 18 December 2012.</ref><ref name="insicilia">[http://www.insicilia.org/economia-sicilia/65.htm economia-sicilia]. insicilia.org. Retrieved on 19 December 2012.</ref><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20120504004504/http://www.siciliaonline.it/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=112%3Amiele-ibleo&catid=42%3Aaltri-prodotti&Itemid=40 miele ibleo]. siciliaonline.it. Retrieved on 19 December 2012.</ref>

Sicily is the third largest wine producer in Italy, after [[Veneto]] and [[Emilia Romagna]] (and Italy is the world's largest wine producer).<ref>[http://www.inumeridelvino.it/2011/05/produzione-vino-in-italia-nel-2010-fonte-istat.html Produzione vino in Italia nel 2010 – fonte: ISTAT | I numeri del vino]. Inumeridelvino.it (30 May 2011). Retrieved on 18 December 2012.</ref> The region is known mainly for fortified [[Marsala wine]]s. In recent decades the wine industry has improved, new winemakers are experimenting with less-well-known native varieties, and Sicilian wines have become better known.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bottlenotes.com/dailysip/regional-spotlight/sicily-fazio-marsala-nero-davola-damaschino|title=Sicily: An Island You Can't Refuse|date=18 August 2009|publisher=bottlenotes.com|access-date=30 November 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090822151242/http://www.bottlenotes.com/dailysip/regional-spotlight/sicily-fazio-marsala-nero-davola-damaschino|archive-date=22 August 2009}}</ref> The best known local variety is [[Nero d'Avola]] named after [[Avola]], a town not far from [[Syracuse, Sicily|Syracuse]]. Other important native varieties are: [[Nerello|Nerello Mascalese]], used to make the [[Etna DOC|Etna Rosso DOC wine]]; [[Frappato]], a component of the [[Frappato|Cerasuolo di Vittoria DOCG wine]]; [[Muscat of Alexandria|Moscato di Pantelleria]] (also known as ''Zibibbo''), which is used to make different [[Pantelleria]] wines; [[Malvasia#Italian varieties|Malvasia di Lipari]], used for the [[Malvasia#Italian varieties|Malvasia di Lipari DOC wine]]; and [[Catarratto]], mostly used to make a white wine, [[Alcamo wine|Alcamo DOC]]. Furthermore, in Sicily, high-quality wines are also produced using non-native varieties like [[Syrah]], [[Chardonnay]] and [[Merlot]].<ref>[http://www.sicilyontour.com/i_vini_siciliani.htm Vini siciliani] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220219075044/http://sicilyontour.com/i_vini_siciliani.htm |date=19 February 2022}}. sicilyontour.com. Retrieved on 19 December 2012.</ref>

Sicily is also known for its liqueurs, such as [[Amaro Averna]], produced in [[Caltanissetta]], and the local [[limoncello]].

Fishing is another fundamental resource for Sicily. It has 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.<ref name="esploriamo.com">{{in lang|it}} [https://web.archive.org/web/20120511014720/http://www.esploriamo.com/SICILIA/Sicilia_Economia.html Economia Regione Siciliana]. Esploriamo.com. Retrieved on 18 December 2012.</ref>

===Industry and manufacturing===
[[File:Palermo-Sicilia-Italy - Creative Commons by gnuckx (3628423942).jpg|thumb|[[Palermo]] shipyards]]
[[File:TrivelleRagusaS1.jpg|thumb|Oilfields near [[Ragusa, Italy|Ragusa]]]]

Improvements in Sicily's road system have helped to promote industrial development. The region has three important [[industrial district]]s:

* ''[[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]].) It contains offices and factories of international companies such as [[STMicroelectronics]] and [[Numonyx]];<ref name="esploriamo.com" /><ref>[http://www.etnavalley.com/ Oggi la chiamano Etna Valley: i progetti, le aziende, il lavoro nel territorio di Catania] {{webarchive | url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100527005056/http://www.etnavalley.com/ | date = 27 May 2010}}. Etnavalley.com (27 November 2012). Retrieved on 18 December 2012.</ref>
* ''[[Syracuse, Sicily|Syracuse]] Petrochemical District'' with [[chemical industry|chemical industries]], [[oil refineries]] and important [[power stations]] (as the innovative [[Archimede combined cycle power plant]]);<ref>[http://sicilyweb.com/economia/ Economia della Sicilia]. Sicilyweb.com. Retrieved on 18 December 2012.</ref>
* the latest ''[[Enna]] Industrial District'' in which there are [[food industries]].<ref>[http://www.vivienna.it/2010/12/05/enna-il-nuovo-volto-dell%E2%80%99area-di-sviluppo-industriale/ Enna. Il nuovo volto dell'Area di Sviluppo Industriale di Dittaino]. Vivienna.it (22 March 1999). Retrieved on 18 December 2012.</ref>
In [[Palermo]] there are important [[shipyards]] (such as [[Fincantieri]]), [[Mechanical engineering|mechanical]] factories of famous Italian companies as [[Ansaldo Breda]], publishing and textile industries. [[chemical industry|Chemical industries]] are also in the [[Province of Messina]] ([[Milazzo]]) and in the [[Province of Caltanissetta]] ([[Gela]]).<ref name="insicilia" />
There are petroleum, natural gas and [[Bitumen|asphalt]] fields in the Southeast (mostly near [[Ragusa, Italy|Ragusa]]) and massive deposits of [[halite]] in Central Sicily.<ref>[http://www.sicilyontour.com/economia_2.htm Sicilia: L'Economia] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210516215436/http://www.sicilyontour.com/economia_2.htm |date=16 May 2021}}. SicilyOnTour.com. Retrieved on 18 December 2012.</ref> The [[Province of Trapani]] is one of the largest [[sea salt]] producers in Italy.<ref>[http://www.sale-salute-benessere.it/it/articolo_1_1_199_sale/la-lavorazione-del-sale-a-trapani.html La lavorazione del Sale a Trapani, Area Sale] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121215045542/http://www.sale-salute-benessere.it/it/articolo_1_1_199_sale/la-lavorazione-del-sale-a-trapani.html |date=15 December 2012}}. Sale-salute-benessere.it. Retrieved on 18 December 2012.</ref>

===Statistics===
====GDP growth====
Sicily's GDP (nominal and per capita) growth between 2000 and 2008 was as follows:<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.istat.it/dati/dataset/20071004_00|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080309125317/http://www.istat.it/dati/dataset/20071004_00|archive-date=9 March 2008|title=Dati Istat – Tavole regionali|publisher=Istat.it|access-date=23 April 2010}}</ref><ref>[http://www.livesicilia.it/2009/07/16/in-sicilia-nel-2008-pil-a-07-per-cento/ Sicilia nel 2008 PIL a '0.7%] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120222231507/http://www.livesicilia.it/2009/07/16/in-sicilia-nel-2008-pil-a-07-per-cento/ |date=22 February 2012}} livesicilia.it</ref>
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:right"
|-
! || 2000 || 2001 || 2002 || 2003 || 2004 || 2005 || 2006 || 2008
|-
| align=left |'''Gross Domestic Product'''<br />(Millions of Euros)|| 67,204 || 70,530|| 72,855 || 75,085 || 77,327 || 80,358 || 82,938 || 88,328
|-
| align=left | '''GDP (PPP) per capita'''<br />(Euro) || 13,479 || 14,185 || 14,662 || 15,053 || 15,440 || 16,023 || 16,531 || 17,533
|}

====Economic sectors====
Sectors of the Sicilian economy in 2006:
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:right"
|-
! align=left | Economic activity !! GDP<br />€ millions !! % sector<br />(Sicily) !! % sector<br />(Italy)
|-
| align=left |Agriculture, farming, fishing|| 2,923.3 || 3.52% || 1.84%
|-
| align=left |Industry|| 7,712.9 || 9.30% || 18.30%
|-
| align=left |Constructions|| 4,582.1 || 5.52% || 5.41%
|-
| align=left |Commerce, hotels and restaurants, transport, services and (tele)communications|| 15,159.7 || 18.28% || 20.54%
|-
| align=left |Financial activity and real estate||17,656.1 || 21.29% || 24.17%
|-
| align=left |'''Other economic activities'''||24,011.5 || 28.95% || 18.97%
|-
| align=left |VAT and other forms of taxes|| 10,893.1 || 13.13% || 10.76%
|-
| align=left |'''GDP of Sicily'''|| '''82,938.6''' || ||
|}

==== Unemployment rate ====
The unemployment rate was 21.5% in 2018 and was one of the highest in Italy and Europe.<ref>{{cite web |title=Unemployment rate by NUTS 2 regions |url=https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/tgm/table.do?tab=table&init=1&language=en&pcode=tgs00010&plugin=1 |website=ec.europa.eu |publisher=Eurostat |access-date=19 September 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Tasso di disoccupazione - livello regionale |url=http://dati.istat.it/Index.aspx?QueryId=20744 |website=dati.istat.it |access-date=19 September 2019 |language=it}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable"
!Year
!2006
!2007
!2008
!2009
!2010
!2011
!2012
!2013
!2014
!2015
!2016
!2017
!2018
|-
!Unemployment rate
|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%
|}

==Transport==
===Roads===
[[File:Autostrada A20 Torregrotta.jpg|thumb|The [[Autostrada A20 (Italy)|A20 Messina-Palermo motorway]] near [[Torregrotta]]]]
[[File:Alstom Cityway Tram Messina 06T.jpg|thumb|[[Trams in Messina|Messina tramway system]]]]
Highways have been built and expanded in the last four decades. The most prominent Sicilian roads are the motorways (known as {{lang|it|autostrade}}) in the north of the island. Much of the motorway network is elevated on pillars due to the island's mountainous terrain.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.siciliaemoto.it/main.php?plc=a19palermocatania |publisher=SiciliaEMoto.it |title=A 19 autostrada Palermo – Catania |date=2 January 2008 |access-date=2 January 2008 |archive-date=23 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190123210942/http://www.siciliaemoto.it/main.php?plc=a19palermocatania |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://sicilia.indettaglio.it/ita/lineestradali/autostrade/a20/a20.html |publisher=Sicilia.Indettaglio.it |title=Autostrada A20: Messina – Palermo |date=24 October 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.siciliaemoto.it/main.php?plc=a29palermotrapanimazara |publisher=SiciliaEMoto.it |title=A 29 autostrada Palermo – Trapani – Mazara del Vallo |date=2 January 2008 |access-date=2 January 2008 |archive-date=23 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190123144442/http://www.siciliaemoto.it/main.php?plc=a29palermotrapanimazara |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://sicilia.indettaglio.it/ita/lineestradali/autostrade/a18/a18.html |publisher=Sicilia.Indettaglio.it |title=Autostrada: A18 Messina – Catania |date=24 October 2007}}</ref> 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, Sicily|Syracuse]] (via Catania) and the SS.115 Syracuse-Trapani (via [[Ragusa, Italy|Ragusa]], [[Gela]] and [[Agrigento]]).
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!style="text-align:center;" |Sign
!style="text-align:center;" |Motorway
!style="text-align:center;" |Length
!style="text-align:center;" |Toll
!style="text-align:center;" |Services
|-
| align=center |[[File:Autostrada A18 Italia.svg|25px]]
| align=center |[[Autostrada A18 (Italy)|A18 Messina-Catania]]
| align=center |{{convert|76|km|mi|abbr=on}}
| align=center |[[File:Italian traffic signs - stazione.svg|20px]] Yes
| align=center |[[File:Zeichen 361-51.svg|20px]] Yes
|-
| align=center |[[File:Italian traffic signs - raccordo autostradale 15.svg|40px]]
| align=center |[[Autostrada RA15 (Italy)|RA15 Catania's Bypass (West)]]
| align=center |{{convert|24|km|mi|abbr=on}}
| align=center |Free
| align=center |[[File:Zeichen 361-51.svg|20px]] Yes
|-
| align=center |[[File:Italian traffic signs - Autostrada CT-SR.svg|40px]]
| align=center |[[Autostrada Catania-Siracusa|Motorway Catania-Siracusa]]
| align=center |{{convert|25|km|mi|abbr=on}}
| align=center |Free
| align=center |No
|-
| align=center |[[File:Autostrada A18 Italia.svg|25px]]
| align=center |[[Autostrada A18 (Italy)|A18 Siracusa-Rosolini]]
| align=center |{{convert|40|km|mi|abbr=on}}
| align=center |Free
| align=center |No
|-
| align=center |[[File:Autostrada A19 Italia.svg|25px]]
| align=center |[[Autostrada A19 (Italy)|A19 Palermo-Catania]]
| align=center |{{convert|199|km|mi|abbr=on}}
| align=center |Free
| align=center |[[File:Zeichen 361-51.svg|20px]] Yes
|-
| align=center |[[File:Autostrada A20 Italia.svg|25px]]
| align=center |[[Autostrada A20 (Italy)|A20 Palermo-Messina]]
| align=center |{{convert|181|km|mi|abbr=on}}
| align=center |[[File:Italian traffic signs - stazione.svg|20px]] Yes
| align=center |[[File:Zeichen 361-51.svg|20px]] Yes
|-
| align=center |[[File:Autostrada A29 Italia.svg|25px]]
| align=center |[[Autostrada A29 (Italy)|A29 Palermo-Mazara del Vallo]]
| align=center |{{convert|119|km|mi|abbr=on}}
| align=center |Free
| align=center |No
|-
| align=center |[[File:Autostrada A29dir Italia.svg|25px]]
| align=center |[[Autostrada A29 (Italy)#A29dir Diramazione Alcamo-Birgi|A29dir Alcamo-Trapani/Marsala]]
| align=center |{{convert|38|km|mi|abbr=on}} and<br />{{convert|44|km|mi|abbr=on}}
| align=center |Free
| align=center |No
|}

===Railways===
{{Main article|Railway network of Sicily}}
[[File:"Praça da Estação" de Palermo (1036620145).jpg|thumb|[[Palermo Centrale railway station]]]]
[[File:Punta Raisi staz ferr treni.jpg|thumb|Two trains inside [[Punta Raisi railway station]] within [[Palermo International Airport]]]]
[[File:GiovanniXXIII-metro.jpg|thumb|[[Catania Metro]]]]
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 {{convert|1378|km|0|abbr=on}} of railway tracks in use, over 60% has been [[Railway electrification system|electrified]] whilst the remaining {{convert|583|km|0|abbr=on}} are serviced by [[Dieselisation|diesel]] engines. 88% of the lines (1.209&nbsp;km) are single-track and only {{convert|169|km|0|abbr=on}} are double-track serving the two main routes, Messina-Palermo ([[Tyrrhenian Sea|Tyrrhenian]]) and Messina-Catania-Syracuse ([[Ionian Sea|Ionian]]), which are the main lines of this region. Of the [[narrow-gauge railway]]s 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.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.italyheaven.co.uk/sicily/transport.html |publisher=ItalyHeaven.co.uk |title=Sicily Travel and Transport |date=2 January 2008}}</ref>

In [[Catania]] there is an [[Rapid transit|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 [[Trams in Messina|tramline]].

===Airports===
{{Main|List of airports in Sicily}}
[[File:Aeroporto di Catania Terminal Check-in.jpeg|thumb|[[Catania–Fontanarossa Airport|Catania International Airport]]]]
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 the low-cost carrier [[Ryanair]].
* [[Comiso Airport|Comiso-Ragusa Airport]], has recently been refurbished and re-converted 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 helicopter]]s.
* [[Naval Air Station Sigonella|NAS Sigonella Airport]], it is an Italian Air Force and US Navy installation.
* [[Lampedusa Airport]].
* [[Pantelleria Airport]].

===Ports===
[[File:Messina harbour AK.jpg|thumb|[[Port of Messina]]]]
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 services to [[Tunisia]] and there is also a daily service between [[Malta]] and [[Port of Pozzallo|Pozzallo]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://it.geocities.com/traghetti2002/sicilia.html |publisher=Traghetti Guida |title=Traghetti Sicily 2008|date=2 January 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071114044904/http://it.geocities.com/traghetti2002/sicilia.html |archive-date=14 November 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.virtuferries.com/index.aspx |publisher=VirtuFerries.com |title=High speed car/passenger ferry service |date=2 January 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080812054941/http://www.virtuferries.com/index.aspx |archive-date=12 August 2008}}</ref>
* Commercial and cargo ports: The port of [[Augusta, Sicily|Augusta]] is the fifth-largest cargo port in Italy and handles tonnes of goods. Other major cargo ports are Palermo, Catania, Trapani, [[Port of Pozzallo|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, Sicily|Syracuse]], [[Cefalù]] and [[Sciacca]]. In Sicily, Palermo is also a major centre for boat rental, with or 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]].

=== Strait of Messina Bridge ===
[[File:Ponte di messina.jpg|thumb|upright=2|Cross-sectional diagram of the [[Strait of Messina Bridge]]]]

The [[Strait of Messina Bridge]] is a proposed {{convert|3.6|km|abbr=on}} [[suspension bridge]] across the [[Strait of Messina]], connecting [[Torre Faro]] in Sicily with [[Villa San Giovanni]] on the Italian peninsula.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/italy-says-it-will-build-the-longest-suspension-bridge-in-the-world-dont-hold-your-breath-71b7cc86 | title=Italy Says it Will Build the Longest Suspension Bridge in the World. Don't Hold Your Breath. | first=Eric | last=Sylvers | work=[[The Wall Street Journal]] | date=26 July 2023 | url-access=subscription | access-date=10 January 2024 | archive-date=10 January 2024 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240110125656/https://www.wsj.com/articles/italy-says-it-will-build-the-longest-suspension-bridge-in-the-world-dont-hold-your-breath-71b7cc86 | url-status=live }}</ref>

While a bridge across the Strait of Messina had been proposed since ancient times, the first detailed plan was made in the 1990s for a suspension bridge. The project was cancelled in 2006 under prime minister [[Romano Prodi]].<ref name="plans-dropped-bbc">{{cite news |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/6043626.stm |work=[[BBC News]] |title=Italy drops Sicily bridge plans |date=12 October 2006 |access-date=12 October 2006 |archive-date=25 May 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170525184905/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6043626.stm |url-status=live }}</ref> On 6 March 2009, as part of a massive new public works programme, prime minister [[Silvio Berlusconi]]'s government announced that construction of the Messina Bridge would indeed go ahead, pledging €1.3&nbsp;billion as a contribution to the total cost, estimated at €6.1&nbsp;billion.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/7928949.stm | title=Italy revives Sicily bridge plan | work=[[BBC News]] | date=6 March 2009 | access-date=17 May 2011 | archive-date=31 August 2017 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170831145510/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/7928949.stm | url-status=live }}</ref> The project was cancelled again on 26 February 2013, by prime minister [[Mario Monti]]'s government, due to budget constraints.<ref name=sinks>{{cite news | url=https://www.reuters.com/article/italy-bridge-idUSL6N0BQC1O20130226/ | title=Sicily bridge project sinks in Italy budget mire | first=Danilo | last=Masoni | work=[[Reuters]] | date=26 February 2013}}</ref> A decade later, the project was revived again with a decree by [[Giorgia Meloni]]'s government, on 16 March 2023,<ref name=approves>{{cite news | url=https://www.ansa.it/english/news/2023/03/17/cabinet-approves-messina-bridge-decree_e1542990-326f-4848-8478-74c045ec86c1.html | title=Cabinet approves Messina Bridge decree – 'Historic day for Italy' says Infrastructure Minister Salvini | work=[[Agenzia Nazionale Stampa Associata]] | date=17 March 2023 | access-date=20 March 2023 | archive-date=20 March 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230320165041/https://www.ansa.it/english/news/2023/03/17/cabinet-approves-messina-bridge-decree_e1542990-326f-4848-8478-74c045ec86c1.html | url-status=live }}</ref> which received presidential approval on 31 March 2023.<ref name=Stretto>{{cite web |url=https://www.strettoweb.com/2023/03/ponte-stretto-mattarella-firma/1495283/ |title=Il Ponte sullo Stretto è legge: Mattarella firma, il decreto è in Gazzetta Ufficiale |website=strettoweb.com |date=31 March 2023 |language=it}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=16 February 2024 |title=Déjà Vu? Italy Plans to Build World's Longest Suspension Bridge to Sicily |url=https://www.iflscience.com/deja-vu-italy-plans-to-build-worlds-longest-suspension-bridge-to-sicily-72993 |access-date=18 February 2024 |website=IFLScience}}</ref>

The bridge was fully approved by the Meloni government in August 2025, with construction set to begin in the autumn of 2025.<ref>{{cite web|title=Italy gives final go-ahead for landmark Sicily bridge project |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/italy-gives-final-go-ahead-landmark-sicily-bridge-project-2025-08-06/ |website=reuters.com |date=6 August 2025 |access-date=6 August 2025}}</ref> It will be the [[List of largest suspension bridges|longest suspension bridge in the world]] when it opens in 2032. The bridge would also be part of the [[Berlin–Palermo railway axis]] (Line 1) of the [[Trans-European Transport Networks]] (TEN-T).<ref name="ansa">{{cite web|title=Messina Bridge construction to start end-April, end 2032 |url=https://www.ansa.it/english/news/business/2025/03/14/messina-bridge-construction-to-start-end-april-end-2032_454c743f-7a67-4431-b405-65979cdea565.html |website=ansa.it |date=14 March 2025 |access-date=12 April 2025}}</ref>

==Tourism==
[[File:Spiaggia Isola dei Coniglio Lampedusa.JPG|thumb|[[Lampedusa]], [[Pelagie Islands]]]]

Sicily's sunny, dry climate, scenery, cuisine, history, and architecture attract many tourists from the rest of  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, Sicily|Syracuse]] and [[Ragusa, Sicily|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]], [[Terrasini]], [[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.

Some scenes of several Hollywood and [[Cinecittà]] films were shot in Sicily. This increased the attraction of Sicily as a tourist destination.<ref>[http://www.thegodfathertrilogy.com/gf1/gf1scene_sicily.html The Godfather. Sicilian Shooting* Locations]. thegodfathertrilogy.com</ref>

===UNESCO World Heritage Sites===
[[File:Villa romana di Piazza Armerina - Sicilia - tigre.JPG|thumb|One of the mosaics in [[Villa Romana del Casale]], a large and elaborate [[Roman villa]] or palace located about 3&nbsp;km from the town of [[Piazza Armerina]]]]
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 [[Magna Graecia]] 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]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/831 |title=Archaeological Area of Agrigento – UNESCO World Heritage Centre |publisher=Whc.unesco.org |date=7 December 1997 |access-date=6 May 2009}}</ref>
* '''[[Villa Romana del Casale]]''' (1997) is a [[Roman villa]] built in the first quarter of the 4th century and located about {{convert|3|km|0|abbr=on}} outside the town of [[Piazza Armerina]]. It contains the richest, largest and most complex collection of Roman mosaics in the world.<ref>R. J. A. Wilson: ''Piazza Armerina''. In: Akiyama, Terakazu (Ed.): ''The dictionary of Art. Vol. 24: Pandolfini to Pitti.'' Oxford 1998, {{ISBN|0-19-517068-7}}.</ref>
* '''[[Aeolian Islands]]''' (2000) are a [[Volcano|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.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/908 |title=Isole Eolie (Aeolian Islands) – UNESCO World Heritage Centre |publisher=Whc.unesco.org |date=30 November 2000 |access-date=6 May 2009}}</ref>
* '''[[Val di Noto|Late Baroque Towns of the Val di Noto]]''' (2002) "represent the culmination and final flowering of [[Baroque]] art in Europe".<ref>[https://whc.unesco.org/archive/advisory_body_evaluation/1024rev.pdf Noto (Italy) – No 1024rev], ICOMOS, January 2002, Advisory Body Evaluation, Unesco</ref> It includes several towns: [[Caltagirone]], [[Militello in Val di Catania]], [[Catania]], [[Modica]], [[Noto]], [[Palazzolo Acreide]], [[Ragusa, Italy|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, Sicily|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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.italymagazine.com/news/mount-etna-becomes-world-heritage-site |title=Mount Etna Becomes a World Heritage Site |publisher=Italy Magazine |date=4 May 2013}}</ref>
* '''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)<ref>{{cite web |url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1487/ |title=Arab-Norman Palermo and the Cathedral Churches of Cefalú and Monreale |first=UNESCO World Heritage |last=Centre}}</ref>

====Tentative UNESCO World Heritage sites====
[[File:Scala dei Turchi Agrigento Sicilia (36752503125).jpg|thumb|The [[Scala dei Turchi]]]]

* [[Taormina]] and Isola Bella<ref>{{cite web|url = https://www.worldheritagesite.org/tentative/id/1164|title = Taormina and Isola Bella |website = World Heritage Site |url-status = live|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190522180028/https://www.worldheritagesite.org/tentative/id/1164 | archive-date = 22 May 2019}}</ref>
* [[Motya]] and [[Marsala|Libeo Island]]: The Phoenician-Punic Civilisation in Italy<ref>{{cite web|url = https://www.worldheritagesite.org/tentative/id/2029|title = Mothia and Libeo Island: The Phoenician-Punic Civilization in Italy |website = World Heritage Site |url-status = live|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190522181732/https://www.worldheritagesite.org/tentative/id/2029| archive-date = 22 May 2019}}</ref>
* [[Scala dei Turchi]]<ref>[http://www.worldheritagesite.org/alltentative.html All Tentative Sites] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130114084757/http://www.worldheritagesite.org/alltentative.html |date=14 January 2013}}. World Heritage Site. Retrieved on 18 December 2012.</ref>
* [[Strait of Messina]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.repubblica.it/cronaca/2015/04/18/news/_stretto_messina_sia_patrimonio_dell_umanita_nase_l_asse_tra_i_comuni_di_calabria_e_sicilia-112283979/ |title="Stretto Messina sia patrimonio dell'Umanità". Nasce l'asse tra i comuni di Calabria e Sicilia |date=18 April 2015}}</ref>

===Archaeological 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.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Jürgen |first1=Järvik |title=Greek & Roman Sites in Sicily |url=https://grandeflanerie.com/portfolio/greekromansicily/ |website=Grande Flânerie |date=13 October 2019 |publisher=WordPress |access-date=10 May 2022 |archive-date=24 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200924150435/https://grandeflanerie.com/portfolio/greekromansicily/ |url-status=dead}}</ref> Here is a short list of the major archaeological sites:
* Sicels/Sicans/Elymians/Greeks: [[Segesta]], [[Eryx (Sicily)|Eryx]], [[Ispica|Cava Ispica]], [[Thapsos]], [[Pantalica]];
* Greeks: [[Syracuse, Sicily|Syracuse]], [[Agrigento]], [[Segesta]], [[Selinunte]], [[Gela]], [[Kamarina, Sicily|Kamarina]], [[Himera]], [[Megara Hyblaea]], [[Naxos (Sicily)|Naxos]], [[Heraclea Minoa]];
* Phoenicians: [[Motya]], [[Soluntum]], [[Marsala]], [[Palermo]];
* Romans: [[Piazza Armerina]], [[Centuripe]], [[Taormina]], [[Palermo]];
The excavation and restoration of one of Sicily's best known archaeological sites, the [[Valle dei Templi|Valley of the Temples]] in Agrigento, was at the direction of the archaeologist [[Domenico Lo Faso Pietrasanta|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 [[Segesta]], [[Selinunte]], [[Syracuse, Sicily|Siracusa]] and [[Taormina]].

===Castles===
In Sicily there are hundreds of castles, the most relevant are:
[[File:Catania - Castello Ursino 03.jpg|thumb|[[Castello Ursino]] in [[Catania]]]]
[[File:La Zisa (Palermo)-msu-1093.jpg|thumb|[[Zisa, Palermo|Zisa Castle]] in [[Palermo]]]]
[[File:Castello di Alcamo 0024.JPG|thumb|[[Castle of the Counts of Modica (Alcamo)]] in [[Alcamo]]]]
[[File:Donnafugata Castle - West Side.jpg|thumb|Castello di Donnafugata near [[Ragusa, Italy|Ragusa]]]]
{| class="wikitable"
|- style="background:#efefef;"
!Province
!Castles
!Commune
|-
|rowspan="3"|[[Province of Caltanissetta|Caltanisetta]]
|Castello Manfredonico
|[[Mussomeli]]
|-
|U Cannuni
|[[Mazzarino, Sicily|Mazzarino]]
|-
|Castelluccio di Gela
|[[Gela]]
|-
|rowspan="4"|[[Province of Catania|Catania]]
|[[Castello Ursino]]
|[[Catania]]
|-
|Castello Normanno
|[[Adrano]]
|-
|Castello Normanno
|[[Paternò]]
|-
|Castello di Aci
|[[Aci Castello]]
|-
|[[Province of Enna|Enna]]
|[[Castello di Lombardia]]
|[[Enna]]
|-
|rowspan="6"|[[Province of Messina|Messina]]
|Forte dei Centri
|[[Messina]]
|-
|Castello di Milazzo
|[[Milazzo]]
|-
|Castello di Federico II
|[[Montalbano Elicona]]
|-
|Castello di Sant'Alessio Siculo
|[[Sant'Alessio Siculo]]
|-
|Castello di Pentefur
|[[Savoca]]
|-
|[[Schisò Castle|Castello di Schisò]]
|[[Giardini Naxos]]
|-
|rowspan="4"|[[Province of Palermo|Palermo]]
|[[Zisa, Palermo]]
|[[Palermo]]
|-
|[[Castello di Caccamo]]
|[[Caccamo]]
|-
|Castello di Carini
|[[Carini]]
|-
|Castello dei Ventimiglia
|[[Castelbuono]]
|-
|rowspan="3"|[[Province of Ragusa|Ragusa]]
|Castello di Donnafugata
|[[Ragusa, Italy|Ragusa]]
|-
|Torre Cabrera
|[[Pozzallo]]
|-
|Castello Dei Conti
|[[Modica]]
|-
|rowspan="2"|[[Province of Syracuse|Syracuse]]
|[[Castello Maniace]]
|[[Syracuse, Sicily|Syracuse]]
|-
|Castello Svevo
|[[Augusta, Sicily|Augusta]]
|-
|rowspan="3"|[[Province of Trapani|Trapani]]
|[[Castle of Venus]]
|[[Erice]]
|-
|[[Castle of the Counts of Modica (Alcamo)|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 the late Norman period. 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 harbour.

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.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Kirk |first1=Scott |title=Sicilian Castles and Coastal Towers |journal=Open Archaeology |date=2017 |volume=3 |issue=1 |publisher=De Gruyter |location=Albuquerque |pages=318, 319–329 |doi=10.1515/opar-2017-0021 |s2cid=67397794 |url=https://www.academia.edu/35190827 |access-date=7 October 2019|doi-access=free}}</ref>

<gallery class="center" widths="200" heights="200">
File:Torre-Capo-Rama-bjs.jpg|Torre-Capo-Rama ([[Terrasini]])
File:Altavilla Milicia BW 2012-10-08 18-04-22 b.JPG|Torre Normanna ([[Altavilla Milicia]])
File:Torre dello Spalmatore - Ustica.jpg|Torre Spalmatore ([[Ustica]])
File:D7A 1568 bis Torre Pozzillo.jpg|Torre Pozzillo ([[Cinisi]])
File:Ligny Tower - Trapani.jpg|[[Ligny Tower]] ([[Trapani]])
File:Trapani.jpg|Torre Nubia ([[Paceco]])
File:Torre di Manfria (Gela).jpg|Torre [[Manfria]] ([[Gela]])
File:Torre Cabrera, Marina di Ragusa.jpg|[[Torre Cabrera (Marina di Ragusa)]]
File:Pozzallo-TorreCabrera.JPG|[[Torre Cabrera (Pozzallo)]] ([[Pozzallo]])
File:Vignazzi Tower.JPG|[[Vignazza Tower]] ([[Giardini Naxos]])
</gallery>

===Historical and artistical villages===
Sicily has many small and picturesque villages, 24 of them have been selected by {{lang|it|[[I Borghi più belli d'Italia]]}} ({{langx|en|The most beautiful Villages of Italy}}),<ref>{{cite web|url=https://borghipiubelliditalia.it/sicilia/|title=Sicilia|date=24 January 2017 |access-date=1 August 2023|language=it}}</ref> a non-profit private association of small Italian towns of strong historical and artistic interest,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.repubblica.it/viaggi/2023/01/16/news/borghi_piu_belli_italia_14_nuovi_2023-383794441/|title=Borghi più belli d'Italia. Le 14 novità 2023, dal Trentino alla Calabria|date=16 January 2023 |access-date=28 July 2023|language=it}}</ref> that was founded on the initiative of the Tourism Council of the National Association of Italian Municipalities.<ref>{{Cite web |url = http://borghipiubelliditalia.it/ |title = I Borghi più belli d'Italia, la guida online ai piccoli centri dell'Italia nascosta|access-date=3 May 2018|language=it}}</ref> These villages are:<ref>{{cite web|url=https://borghipiubelliditalia.it/sicilia/|title=Sicilia|date=24 January 2017 |access-date=1 August 2023|language=it}}</ref>

{{Div col|colwidth=15em}}
* [[Agira]]
* [[Buccheri]]
* [[Calascibetta]]
* [[Castelmola]]
* [[Castiglione di Sicilia]]
* [[Castroreale]]
* [[Cefalù]]
* [[Erice]]
* [[Ferla]]
* [[Gangi, Sicily|Gangi]]
* [[Geraci Siculo]]
* [[Militello in Val di Catania]]
* [[Montalbano Elicona]]
* [[Monterosso Almo]]
* [[Novara di Sicilia]]
* [[Palazzolo Acreide]]
* [[Petralia Soprana]]
* [[Salemi]]
* [[Sambuca di Sicilia]]
* [[San Marco d'Alunzio]]
* [[Savoca]]
* [[Sperlinga]]
* [[Sutera]]
* [[Troina]]
{{Div col end}}

<gallery class="center" widths=200 heights=160>
File:Cefalu View 0832.jpg|[[Cefalù]]
File:Chiesa madre Erice 08 10 2017 05.jpg|[[Erice]]
File:Novara di Sicilia - Comune di Novara di Sicilia - 2023-09-25 18-06-12 013.JPG|[[Novara di Sicilia]]
</gallery>

==Culture==
{{See also|List of museums in Sicily}}
[[File:Antonello da Messina - Virgin Annunciate - Galleria Regionale della Sicilia, Palermo.jpg|thumb|[[Virgin Annunciate (Antonello da Messina, Palermo)|''Virgin Annunciate'']], [[Antonello da Messina]]]]
{{Blockquote|text=To have seen Italy without having seen Sicily is to not have seen Italy at all, for Sicily is the clue to everything.|sign=[[Johann Wolfgang von Goethe|Goethe]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.bestofsicily.com/mag/art149.htm|title=Goethe in Sicily - Best of Sicily Magazine|website=www.bestofsicily.com}}</ref>}}

Sicily has long been associated with [[the arts]]; many poets, writers, [[philosophy|philosophers]], intellectuals, architects and painters have roots on the island. Among the earliest illuminaries there are [[Gorgias]] and [[Empedocles]], two highly noted Sicilian-Greek philosophers, while the Syracusan-Greek [[Epicharmus of Kos|Epicharmus]] is held to be the inventor of comedy.<ref>{{cite book |last=Talfourd |first=Thomas Noon |author-link=Thomas Noon Talfourd |url=https://archive.org/details/historygreeklit00blomgoog |title=History of Greek Literature |publisher=University of Michigan |year=1851 |page=[https://archive.org/details/historygreeklit00blomgoog/page/n184 173] |quote=invented comedy Epicharmus.}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.greeknewsonline.com/modules.php?name=News&file=print&sid=3450 |publisher=GreekNewsOnline.com |title=Discovering the Similarity of the Greek and Sicilian Spirit |date=2 January 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081207205659/http://www.greeknewsonline.com/modules.php?name=News&file=print&sid=3450 |archive-date=7 December 2008}}</ref> One of the most famous intellectuals in Greek antiquity was [[Archimedes]], a [[Syracuse, Sicily|Syracuse]] native who is recognized as one of the greatest mathematicians of all time.<ref>{{cite book |last=Calinger |first=Ronald S |title=A Contextual History of Mathematics |publisher=Prentice Hall |isbn=978-0-02-318285-3|year=1999}}</ref>

=== Art ===
Among the Sicilian artists who succeeded in bringing to the international stage a language of strong civic engagement while at the same time narrating the history of the island, [[Mario Bardi]], a representative of [[Existential realism]], stands out. His painting, characterized by dramatic tones and a constant attention to [[Labour (human activity)|labour]] and [[Southern Question|social tensions]], offers a collective and powerful portrayal of Sicily.

===Architecture===
Baglio are traditional living structures in Western Sicily.

==== Ceramics ====
[[Terracotta]] [[ceramics (art)|ceramics]] from the island are well known, the art of ceramics on Sicily goes back to the original ancient peoples named the [[Sicani]]ans, it was then perfected during the period of Greek colonisation and is still prominent and distinct to this day.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.bestofsicily.com/ceramic.htm |publisher=BestOfSicily.com |title=Sicilian Ceramic Art |date=2 January 2008}}</ref> Nowadays, [[Caltagirone]] is one of the most important centres in Sicily for the artistic production of ceramics and terra-cotta sculptures. Famous painters include [[Renaissance]] artist [[Antonello da Messina]], [[Pietro Novelli]], [[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.<ref>{{cite book |last=Thrall Soby |first=James |title=The Early Chirico |publisher=Ayer Co Pub |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GtnYEBkmkIcC&q=%22father+of+surrealist+art%22&pg=PA93 |isbn=978-0-405-00736-1 |year=1969}}</ref> The most noted architects are [[Filippo Juvarra]] (one of the most important figures of the Italian [[Baroque]]) and [[Ernesto Basile]].

====Sicilian Baroque====
{{Main|Sicilian Baroque}}

The [[Sicilian Baroque]] has a unique architectural identity. [[Noto]], [[Caltagirone]], [[Catania]], [[Ragusa, Italy|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 [[palazzo|palazzi]] built as private residences for the Sicilian aristocracy.<ref>"Palazzo" (pl. ''palazzi''): is any large building in a town, state or private (often much smaller than the term ''palace'' implies in the [[English-speaking world]]). While ''palazzo'' is the technically correct appellation and postal address, no Sicilian aristocrat would ever use the word, instead referring to his or her own house, however large, as "casa". "Palazzo" followed by the family name was the term used by officials, tradesmen, and delivery men. Gefen, p. 15.</ref> 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 has a unique freedom of design that is difficult to characterize in words.

<gallery class="center" widths="200" heights="200">
File:SiracusaCathedral-pjt1.jpg|[[Syracuse, Sicily|Syracuse]], Cathedral
File:Catania, Basilica Collegiata - panoramio.jpg|[[Catania]], Basilica Collegiata
File:"1737 wurde der Palazzo Nicolaci als privates Adelshaus erbaut" 10.jpg|[[Noto]], Palazzo Nicolaci
File:Modica chiesa S Maria del Soccorso.jpg|[[Modica]], church of San Pietro
</gallery>

===Music and film===
{{See also|Music of Sicily}}
[[File:Il Teatro Massimo di Palermo.jpg|thumb|[[Teatro Massimo]], [[Palermo]]]]

[[Palermo]] hosts the [[Teatro Massimo]] which is the largest [[opera house]] in Italy and the third largest in all of Europe.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://selectitaly.com/theater.php?product_id=6 |publisher=SelectItaly.com |title=Teatro Massimo in Palermo |date=2 January 2008 |access-date=18 March 2016 |archive-date=2 March 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120302153121/http://selectitaly.com/theater.php?product_id=6 |url-status=dead}}</ref> In [[Catania]] there is another important [[opera house]], the [[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 films of Italian cinema have been filmed in Sicily, amongst the most noted of which are: [[Luchino Visconti|Visconti]]'s ''"[[La Terra Trema]]"'' and ''"[[Il Gattopardo]]"'', [[Pietro Germi]]'s ''"[[Divorce, Italian Style|Divorzio all'Italiana]]"'' and ''"[[Seduced and Abandoned (1964 film)|Sedotta e Abbandonata]]"'', [[Giuseppe Tornatore|Tornatore]]'s ''"[[Cinema Paradiso]]"''.

The annual [[Taormina Film Fest]] takes places in [[Taormina]].

<gallery class="center" widths="155" heights="200">
File:Alessandro_Scarlatti.jpg|upright=0.7|[[Alessandro Scarlatti]]
File:Vincenzo bellini.jpg|[[Vincenzo Bellini]]
</gallery>

===Literature===
[[File:Jacopo da Lentini.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Giacomo da Lentini]] (detail of a 14th century [[Miniature (illuminated manuscript)|miniature]], [[National Central Library of Florence]]), a senior poet of the [[Sicilian School]]. Giacomo da Lentini is credited with the invention of the [[sonnet]].<ref name="Giacomo">[http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/232894/Giacomo-da-Lentini "Giacomo Da Lentini."]</ref>]]
[[File:Luigi Pirandello 1932.jpg|upright|thumb|[[Luigi Pirandello]] ([[Nobel Prize in Literature|Nobel laureate, 1934]])]]

The [[Sicilian School]] was a small community of [[Sicily|Sicilian]] and mainland Italian poets gathered around [[Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor|Frederick II]], most of them belonging to his imperial court in [[Palermo]], which was highly influential on [[Italian literature]]. Headed by [[Giacomo da Lentini]], they produced more than 300 poems of [[courtly love]] between 1230 and 1266, the experiment being continued after Frederick's death by his son, [[Manfred of Sicily|Manfred]]. Giacomo da Lentini is credited with the invention of the [[sonnet]].<ref name="Giacomo"/>

These poets drew inspiration from the [[troubadour]] poetry of [[Occitania]] written in [[langue d'oc]], which applied the feudal [[honor system|code of honor]] to the relation between a man (acting as the vassal) and a woman (acting as king or superior). This is a reversal of the traditional role of women, traditionally dependent on men, and marks a new awareness in [[Middle Ages|medieval]] society: the decadence of [[feudalism]] with the increasing power of the [[middle class]], causes a shift in the reading public, the [[Epic poetry|epic]] (traditionally devoted to great military pursuits) gradually giving way to the [[Lyric poetry|lyric]] (generally focused on love). In the lower Middle Ages more and more women were reading books than ever before and poetry tried to adapt to their point of view and their newly acquired role in society.

This features Occitan poetry, then very influential in Italy. What distinguishes the Sicilian School from the troubadours, however, is the introduction of a kinder, gentler type of woman than that found in their Occitan models; one who was nearer to [[Dante Alighieri|Dante]]'s madonnas and [[Petrarch]]'s Laura, though much less characterised psychologically. The poems of the Sicilians hardly portray real women or situations (Frederick's song cannot be read as autobiographical), but the style and language are remarkable, since the Sicilians (as Dante called them) created the first Italian literary standard by enriching the existing vernacular base, probably inspired by popular love songs, with new words of [[Latin language|Latin]] and [[Occitan language|Provençal]] origin.

Some of the most noted figures among modern writers and poets are [[Luigi Pirandello]] ([[Nobel Prize in Literature|Nobel laureate, 1934]]), [[Salvatore Quasimodo]] ([[Nobel Prize in Literature|Nobel laureate, 1959]]), [[Giovanni Verga]] (the father of the ''Italian [[Verismo (literature)|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 [[Salvo Montalbano|Inspector Salvo Montalbano]] as protagonist). On the political side notable philosophers include [[Gaetano Mosca]] and [[Giovanni Gentile]] who wrote ''[[The Doctrine of Fascism]]''.

===Languages===
{{Main|Sicilian language|Gallo-Italic of Sicily|Arbëresh language}}
[[File:Dialetti parlati in Sicilia.png|thumb|upright=1.3|The languages spoken in Sicily (excluding Italian)]]

Today, in Sicily, most people are bilingual and speak both [[Italian language|Italian]] and [[Sicilian language|Sicilian]], a [[Romance languages|Romance language]] distinct from Italian. Some [[Sicilian language|Sicilian]] words are [[loan word|loanword]]s from [[Greek language|Greek]], [[Catalan language|Catalan]], [[Norman language|Norman]], French, [[Arabic language|Arabic]], Spanish and other languages.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.leoluca-criscione.net/HTM-DOCUMENTI/DIALetto-english%20version.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050302100426/http://www.leoluca-criscione.net/HTM-DOCUMENTI/DIALetto-english%20version.htm |archive-date=2 March 2005 |publisher=LeoLuca-Criscione.net |title=The Sicilian Language |url-status=usurped |date=7 October 2007}}</ref> [[Variety (linguistics)|Varieties]] related to Sicilian are also spoken in [[Calabria]] and [[Salento]].<ref>{{Citation |last=Ledgeway |first=Adam |title=The dialects of southern Italy |date=2016-06-30 |work=The Oxford Guide to the Romance Languages |pages=246–269 |url=https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199677108.003.0016 |access-date=2024-01-20 |publisher=Oxford University PressOxford |doi=10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199677108.003.0016 |isbn=978-0-19-967710-8|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Nowadays, the use of [[Sicilian language|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'', a variety of Italian that is influenced by Sicilian.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www3.istat.it/salastampa/comunicati/non_calendario/20070420_00/ |title=La lingua italiana, i dialetti e le lingue straniere |work=istat.it |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121030180855/http://www3.istat.it/salastampa/comunicati/non_calendario/20070420_00/ |archive-date=30 October 2012}}</ref><ref>{{Citation |last=Amenta |first=Luisa |title=Contact between Italian and dialect in Sicily: the case of phrasal verb constructions |date=2017-01-10 |work=Towards a New Standard |pages=242–266 |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1515/9781614518839-009 |access-date=2024-01-20 |publisher=De Gruyter |doi=10.1515/9781614518839-009 |isbn=978-1-61451-883-9|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Sicilian had a significant influence on the [[Maltese language]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-12-29 |title=Maltese language {{!}} Semitic, Indo-European, Phonology {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Maltese-language |access-date=2024-01-20 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref>

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, Holy Roman Emperor|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 literary Florentine dialect use by [[Dante Alighieri]], the father of modern Italian. Dante, in his {{lang|it|[[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".<ref>{{cite book |last=Alighieri |first=Dante |author-link=Dante Alighieri |title=De vulgari eloquentia |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-40064-0|date=10 October 1996}}</ref> It is in this language that appeared the first [[sonnet]], whose invention is attributed to Giacomo da Lentini himself.

Other languages are spoken in Sicily. Within the [[province of Palermo]], four towns are home to speakers of [[Arbëresh language|Arbëresh]] varieties.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Nasse |first=George Nicholas |title=The Italo-Albanian Villages of Southern Italy |publisher=National Academy of Sciences - National Research Council |year=1964 |location=Washington, D. C. |pages=19 |language=en}}</ref> Arbëresh is the name given to varieties of [[Albanian language|Albanian]] spoken in Italy. In the eastern part of the island, there are [[Gallo-Italic languages|Gallo-Italic]] varieties known as [[Gallo-Italic of Sicily]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=gallo-italica, comunita in "Enciclopedia dell'Italiano" |url=https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/comunita-gallo-italica_(Enciclopedia-dell%27Italiano) |access-date=2023-06-25 |website=www.treccani.it |language=it-IT}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=De Angelis |first=Alessandro |date=30 June 2023 |title=The Strange Case of the Gallo-Italic Dialects of Sicily: Preservation and Innovation in Contact-Induced Change |journal=Languages |language=en |volume=8 |issue=3 |pages=163 |doi=10.3390/languages8030163 |doi-access=free |issn=2226-471X}}</ref> which are related to the other Gallo-Italic languages spoken in most of northern Italy and in other isolated pockets of southern Italy. It dates back to migrations from [[northern Italy]] during the reign of [[Roger I of Sicily|Roger I]], the [[Normans|Norman]] Grand Count of Sicily,<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=5asNot0c5kwC&pg=PA71 Ann Katherine Isaacs, ''Immigration and emigration in historical perspective'', Edizioni Plus, Pisa 2007, p, 71.]</ref> and his successors. Towns inhabited by the new immigrants became known as the "Lombard communities" ({{langx|la|oppida Lombardorum}}, {{langx|scn|pajisi lummardi}}). The settlers, known as the [[Lombards of Sicily]], actually came principally from the [[Aleramici]] fiefdoms of southern [[Montferrat]], comprising today south-eastern [[Piedmont]] and north-western [[Liguria]], "Lombardy" being the name for the whole of northern Italy during the [[Middle Ages]]. In addition to a common place of origin, the colonizers brought their [[Gallo-Italic languages]]. These languages added to the Gallic influence of the developing Sicilian language (influences which included [[Norman language|Norman]] and [[Old Occitan]]) to become the Gallo-Italic of Sicily [[language family]].

===Science===
[[File:Stanislao Cannizzaro 01 (cropped).jpg|thumb|[[Stanislao Cannizzaro]], known for the [[Cannizzaro reaction]] and for his influential role in the atomic-weight deliberations of the [[Karlsruhe Congress]]]]
[[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 [[proton]]s both for [[nuclear physics]] experiments and for particle therapy to treat cancer ([[proton therapy]]).<ref>[http://www.policlinico.unict.it/Adroterapia/def.htm Centro Di Adroterapia Oculare] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121122092913/http://www.policlinico.unict.it/adroterapia/def.htm |date=22 November 2012}}. Policlinico.unict.it. Retrieved on 18 December 2012.</ref><ref>[http://www.lns.infn.it/ LNS latest news]. Lns.infn.it (13 December 2012). Retrieved on 18 December 2012.</ref> [[Noto]] has one of the largest [[radio telescope]]s in Italy that performs geodetic and astronomical observations.<ref>[http://www.noto.ira.inaf.it/ Noto VLBI home page] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221008104312/https://www.noto.ira.inaf.it/ |date=8 October 2022}}. Noto.ira.inaf.it. Retrieved on 18 December 2012.</ref> There are [[observatories]] in [[Palermo]] and Catania, managed by the {{lang|it|[[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 (dwarf planet)|Ceres]] (today considered a [[dwarf planet]]) on 1 January 1801;<ref>{{cite book |first=Michael |last=Hoskin |year=1999 |title=The Cambridge Concise History of Astronomy |publisher=Cambridge University press |isbn=978-0-521-57600-0 |pages=160–161}}</ref> Catania has two observatories, one of which is situated on [[Mount Etna]] at {{convert|1800|m|ft|lk=out|abbr=off}}.<ref>[http://www.ct.astro.it/ Osservatorio Astrofisico di Catania Homepage]. Ct.astro.it. Retrieved on 18 December 2012.</ref>

[[Syracuse, Sicily|Syracuse]] is also an experimental centre for solar technologies through the creation of the project [[Archimede solar power plant]] that is the first [[concentrated solar power|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]].<ref>[http://www.enel.com/en-GB/innovation/project_technology/renewables_development/solar_power/archimede.aspx?it=-2%page=http%3a%2f%2fwww.enel.com%2fen-GB%2finnovation%2fproject_technology%2frenewables_development%2fsolar_power%2farchimede.aspx%3fit%3d-2%3fWT.mc_id%3d1707 Archimede] {{web archive | url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120224144722/http://www.enel.com/en-GB/innovation/project_technology/renewables_development/solar_power/archimede.aspx?it=-2%page=http:%2f%2fwww.enel.com%2fen-GB%2finnovation%2fproject_technology%2frenewables_development%2fsolar_power%2farchimede.aspx%3fit=-2%3fWT.mc_id=1707 | date = 24 February 2012}}. Enel.com. Retrieved on 18 December 2012.</ref><ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2010/jul/22/first-molten-salt-solar-power The world's first molten salt concentrating solar power plant | Environment | guardian.co.uk]. Guardian (22 July 2010). Retrieved on 18 December 2012.</ref> 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 fermion]]s.<ref>[http://www.ccsem.infn.it/ Ettore Majorana Foundation and Centre for Scientific Culture] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201114014208/http://www.ccsem.infn.it/ |date=14 November 2020}}. Ccsem.infn.it (2 July 2012). Retrieved on 18 December 2012.</ref> Sicily's famous scientists also include [[Stanislao Cannizzaro]] (chemist), [[Giovanni Battista Hodierna]] and [[Niccolò Cacciatore]] (astronomers).

===Education===
[[File:Facoltà di Scienze Politiche - Messina.jpg|thumb|The [[University of Messina]]]]
Sicily has four universities:
* The [[University of Catania]] dates back to 1434 and it is the oldest university in Sicily. It currently hosts 12 faculties and over 62,000 students and it offers undergraduate and postgraduate programs. [[Catania]] hosts also the ''[[Scuola superiore di Catania|Scuola Superiore]]'', an [[academic institution]] linked to the University of Catania, aiming for excellence in education.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.scuolasuperiorecatania.it/include/cambialingua.php?idpagina=1&lingua=2|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100908090945/http://www.scuolasuperiorecatania.it/include/cambialingua.php?idpagina=1&lingua=2|url-status=dead|title=''Scuola Superiore di Catania'' – Official site|archive-date=8 September 2010}}</ref>
* The [[University of Palermo]] is the island's second-oldest university. It was 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, is the latest Sicilian university and the first university founded in Sicily after the [[Italian Unification]].

===Cuisine===
{{Main|Sicilian cuisine}}
[[File:Pasta alla Norma (2563876877).jpg|thumb|{{lang|it|[[Pasta alla Norma]]}} is amongst Sicily's most historic and iconic dishes.]]
[[File:Cannoli siciliani (7472226896).jpg|thumb|[[Cannoli]] with pistachio, candied fruit, and chocolate chips]]
[[File:Arancine in Favignana.jpg|thumb|[[Arancini]], rice balls fried in breadcrumbs]]
[[File:Sfincione palermitano.jpg|thumb|[[Sicilian pizza]]]]

[[Sicilian cuisine]] is the style of cooking on the island of Sicily. It shows traces of all cultures that have existed on the island of Sicily over the last two millennia.<ref>[http://www.umass.edu/journal/sicilyprogram/sicilianfoodhistory.html Sicilian food history] umass.edu</ref> Although its cuisine has much in common with [[Italian cuisine]], Sicilian food also has [[Greek cuisine|Greek]], [[Spanish cuisine|Spanish]], [[Jewish cuisine|Jewish]], [[Maghrebi cuisine|Maghrebi]], and [[Arab cuisine|Arab]] influences.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.tesorichicago.com/the-influences-ingredients-of-sicilian-cuisine/|title=The Influences & Ingredients of Sicilian Cuisine - Tesori|date=2016-07-19|work=Tesori|access-date=2017-05-10|language=en-US|archive-date=22 July 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160722101922/http://www.tesorichicago.com/the-influences-ingredients-of-sicilian-cuisine/|url-status=dead}}</ref> The Sicilian cook [[Mithaecus]], born during 5th century BC, is credited with having brought knowledge of Sicilian gastronomy to [[Greece]]:<ref>Dalby (2003), p. 220; Hill and Wilkins (1996), pp. 144-148.</ref> his cookbook was the first in Greek, therefore he was the earliest cookbook author in any language whose name is known.

Much of the island was initially [[Magna Graecia|settled by Greek colonists]], who left a preference for [[Fish as food|fish]], [[wheat]], [[olive]]s, [[Vitis vinifera|grape]]s, [[Vicia faba|broad beans]], [[chickpea]]s, [[Lentil|lentils]], [[almond]]s, [[pistachio]]s, and fresh vegetables.
[[Arabs|Arab]] influences on Sicilian cuisine trace to the [[Emirate of Sicily|Arab domination of Sicily]] in the 10th and early 11th centuries,<ref name="Piras, 423">Piras, 423.</ref> and include the use of [[sugar]], [[citrus]], [[rice]], [[raisin]]s, [[Pine nut|pine nuts]] and spices such as [[saffron]], [[nutmeg]], and [[cinnamon]]. [[Normans|Norman]] influences are also found, such as in the fondness for [[meat]] dishes.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.etnasicilytouring.com/en/sicily/territory-custom/219-a-brief-history-of-sicilian-cuisine.html|title=A Brief History of Sicilian Cuisine|access-date=2017-05-10|language=en-GB|archive-date=16 August 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170816150031/http://www.etnasicilytouring.com/en/sicily/territory-custom/219-a-brief-history-of-sicilian-cuisine.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> The [[Jews|Jewish]] community, who lived in the island, also left their mark on the Sicilian cuisine, they were responsible for introducing garlic fried in olive oil into the sauce.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2020-08-06|title=Storia della Cucina Siciliana: un'arte unica al mondo, fatta di gusto e tradizione|url=https://www.siciliafan.it/cucina-siciliana/|access-date=2020-09-10|website=Siciliafan|language=it-IT}}</ref> Later, the [[Spanish cuisine|Spanish]] introduced [[Columbian exchange|numerous items from the New World]], including [[chocolate|cocoa]], [[maize]], [[Bell pepper|peppers]], [[zucchini]], [[potato]]es, and [[tomato]]es, along with other [[produce]].<ref name="Piras, 423" /> Much of the island's cuisine encourages the use of fresh vegetables such as [[eggplant]], [[artichoke]], and tomatoes, and fish such as [[Tuna as food|tuna]], [[Sparidae|sea bream]], [[European seabass|sea bass]], [[cuttlefish]], and [[swordfish]]. In [[Trapani]] in the extreme western corner of the island, [[Maghrebi cuisine|North African]] influences are clear in the use of [[couscous]].

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.<ref>{{Cite web | url=http://info.limcollege.edu/faculty-blog/a-cosa-nostra-encounter-on-a-sicilian-vacation/ | title=A Cosa Nostra Encounter on a Sicilian Vacation| date=6 June 2016}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.italianfoodforever.com/iff/articles.asp?id=55 |publisher=ItalianFoodForevter.com |title=The Foods of Sicily – A Culinary Journey |date=24 June 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080212090911/http://www.italianfoodforever.com/iff/articles.asp?id=55 |archive-date=12 February 2008}}</ref> The savoury dishes of Sicily are viewed to be [[healthy diet|healthy]], using fresh vegetables and fruits, such as tomatoes, [[artichoke]]s, [[olive]]s (including [[olive oil]]), [[citrus]], [[apricot]]s, [[aubergines]], onions, [[bean]]s, [[raisin]]s commonly coupled with seafood, freshly caught from the surrounding coastlines, including [[tuna]], [[sea bream]], [[European seabass|sea bass]], [[cuttlefish]], [[swordfish]], [[sardine]]s, and others.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Piras |first1=Claudia |last2=Medagliani |first2=Eugenio |date=March 2007 |title=Culinaria Italy |publisher=Konemann |isbn=978-3-8331-3446-3}}</ref>

The most well-known part of Sicilian cuisine is the rich sweet dishes including [[ice cream]]s and [[pastry|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.<ref name="authentic">{{cite book |last=Senna |first=Luciana |title=Authentic Sicily |publisher=Touring Club of Italy |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=E7BYFRh5b7oC&q=buccellato+cannoli&pg=PA158 |isbn=978-88-365-3403-6 |date=1 July 2005}}</ref> Biancomangiare, biscotti ennesi (cookies native to [[Enna]]), braccilatte (a Sicilian version of [[doughnut]]s), [[buccellato]], [[ciarduna]], [[pignolo (macaroon)|pignoli]], [[Biscotti Regina]], [[giurgiulena]], [[frutta martorana]], [[cassata]], [[pignolata]], [[granita]], [[cuccidati]] (a variety of fig cookie; also known as buccellati) and [[cuccìa]] are some notable sweet dishes.<ref name="authentic" />

Like the cuisine of the rest of southern Italy, pasta plays an important part in Sicilian cuisine, as does rice; for example with [[arancini]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://fxcuisine.com/default.asp?Display=9 |publisher=FXCuisine.com |title=Arancini, the cult Sicilian dish |date=24 June 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080113131834/http://fxcuisine.com/default.asp?Display=9 |archive-date=13 January 2008}}</ref> 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 Siciliano|pecorino]] and [[caciocavallo]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.bestofsicily.com/mag/art87.htm |publisher=BestofSicily.com |title=Sicilian Cheese |date=24 June 2007}}</ref> Spices used include [[saffron]], [[nutmeg]], [[clove]], [[Black pepper|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]], [[domestic sheep|lamb]], goat, rabbit, and [[turkey meat|turkey]], are also found in Sicily. It was the [[Normans]] and [[Hohenstaufen|Swabians]] who first introduced a fondness for meat dishes to the island.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.bestofsicily.com/food.htm |publisher=BestofSicily.com |title=Sicilian Food and Wine |date=24 June 2007}}</ref> 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 town of [[Noto]].<ref>{{cite web |last=Maria |first=Anna |title=Sicilian Fig Cookies |url=http://www.annamariavolpi.com/page47.html |publisher=Anna Maria's Open Kitchen |access-date=29 March 2011}}</ref>

===Sports===
[[File:Giuseppe Gibilisco Berlin 2009.JPG|thumb|[[Giuseppe Gibilisco]], [[pole vaulting|pole vaulter]] from [[Syracuse, Sicily|Syracuse]], [[2003 World Championships in Athletics|2003 World Champion]] and bronze [[Athletics at the 2004 Summer Olympics – Men's pole vault|Olympic]] medalist]]
The most popular sport in Sicily is [[association football|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 [[U.S. Città di Palermo|Palermo]], [[Calcio Catania|Catania]], and [[A.C.R. Messina|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.<ref name="derbysicil" />

Palermo and Catania have a heated rivalry and compete in the [[Derby di Sicilia|Sicilian derby]] together. Palermo is the only team in Sicily to have played on the European stage, in the [[UEFA Cup]]. In the island, the most noted footballer is [[Salvatore Schillaci]], who won the [[FIFA World Cup awards|Golden Boot]] at the [[1990 FIFA World Cup]] with [[Italy national football team|Italy]].<ref name="derbysicil" /> Other noted players include [[Giuseppe Furino]], [[Pietro Anastasi]], [[Francesco Coco]], [[Christian Riganò]], and [[Roberto Galia]].<ref name="derbysicil">{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/main.jhtml?xml=/sport/2004/11/11/sfneur11.xml |publisher=Telegraph.co.uk |title=Sicilian derby takes centre stage |date=7 October 2007 |location=London |first=Richard |last=Bright |access-date=30 March 2010}}{{dead link|date=July 2021|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> 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 [[Top12|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 (basketball)|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, [[Team handball|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]].<ref name="targa" /> 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.<ref name="targa">{{cite news |url=http://www.porsche.com/all/targaflorio/international.aspx |publisher=Porsche.com |title=Targa Florio 1906–1977 |date=7 October 2007 |access-date=18 March 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101230060505/https://www.porsche.com/all/targaflorio/international.aspx |archive-date=30 December 2010}}</ref>

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 and Traditional items===
{{Multiple image
| perrow            = 1/2/1
| total_width       = 300
| image1            = PupiSiciliani.jpg
| image2            = Carnival in Acireale.jpg
| image3            = A Nuttata Ri Misteri !.jpg
| image4            = Italië, tafereel met ezel en wagen, RP-F-F17074.jpg
| footer_align      = center
| footer            = '''Clockwise from top''': {{flatlist|
* The [[marionettes]] used in the [[Opera dei Pupi]]
* The "[[Misteri di Trapani|Misteri]]", the [[Holy Week]] procession in [[Trapani]]
* A traditional [[Sicilian cart]], ca. 1860-1900
* The [[carnival]] of [[Acireale]]
}}
}}

Each town and city has its own patron saint, and the [[feast day]]s 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 (holiday)|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 dancing are performed on stage, and food fairs 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]].

The '''[[Opera dei Pupi]]''' (Opera of the Puppets; [[Sicilian language|Sicilian]]: Òpira dî pupi) is a [[marionette]] 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 theatre]]s 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 marionette art is the puppet theatres of [[Palermo]]. The Sicilian marionette theatre Opera dei Pupi was proclaimed in 2001 and inscribed in 2008 in the [[UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists]].<ref>{{cite web |author=UNESCO Culture Sector |title=El teatro de marionetas siciliano Opera dei Puppi |url=http://www.unesco.org/culture/ich/index.php?pg=00011&RL=00011 |access-date=22 August 2010}}</ref>

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 [[Gaspare Canino|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]].

The [[Sicilian cart]] is an ornate, colourful style of a horse- or donkey-drawn cart native to Sicily. Sicilian woodcarver [[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.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sicilianwoodcarver.com/ |title=George Petralia |publisher=Sicilian Wood Carver |access-date=9 April 2011 |archive-date=18 September 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170918002048/http://sicilianwoodcarver.com/ |url-status=dead}}</ref> The cart has two wheels and is primarily handmade out of wood with iron components.

The Sicilian [[coppola (cap)|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 [[flat cap|driving cap]], usually worn by car drivers. The ''coppola'' is usually made in [[tweed (cloth)|tweed]]. Today it is widely regarded as a definitive symbol of Sicilian heritage.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.ontoeurope.com/cities/2005/Catania/06-05index.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080605150227/http://www.ontoeurope.com/cities/2005/Catania/06-05index.html|url-status=dead|title=Virgin Express Inflight Magazine – Catania|archive-date=5 June 2008}}</ref>

=== <span class="anchor" id="Flag"></span> <span class="anchor" id="Regional symbols"></span> Flag and emblem===
{{Main|Triskelion#Sicily|Flag of Sicily}}
{{Multiple image
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| image1            = The triskelion symbol of Sicily.jpg
| image2            = Dinos with Triskelos, pottery, Gela, 620-600 BC, AM Agrigento, 121019.jpg
| image3            = Red figure lekythos, 470 BC, warrior, AM Syracuse, 121431.jpg
| footer_align      = center
| footer            = '''Clockwise from top''': {{flatlist|
* The [[Triskelion]] and [[Gorgoneion]] symbol of Sicily
* Red-figure [[Lekythos]] from a tomb near [[Licata]], ca. 470 BCE, depicting a warrior with a triskelion on the shield
* [[Triskelion]] painted on [[Ancient Greek art|Ancient Greek]] of [[Magna Graecia]] vase, [[Agrigento]]
}}
}}

The [[Flag of Sicily]], regarded as a regional icon, was first adopted in 1282, after the [[Sicilian Vespers]] of [[Palermo]].<ref>{{Cite news | url=https://sicilianfoodculture.com/history-sicilian-flag/ | title=Our History: the Sicilian Flag | date=March 1, 2018}}</ref> It is characterised by the presence of the [[triskelion|triskeles]] in the middle, depicting the head of [[Medusa]] and three wheat ears representing the extreme fertility of the land of Sicily. In early mythology, when Medusa was slain and beheaded by Perseus, the Medusa head was placed in the centre of Athena's shield.<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.italymagazine.com/dual-language/what-does-symbol-sicily-mean | title=What Does the Symbol of Sicily Mean? | work=Italy Magazine}}</ref>

Palermo and Corleone were the first two cities to found a confederation against the [[Capetian House of Anjou|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 a free republic. The colours, likewise introduced in the 1940s, respectively represent the cities of [[Palermo]] and [[Corleone]]. The separatist behind the movement used a yellow and red flag with the Trinacria in the centre 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 [[Flag of Italy|Italian flag]] and the [[flag of EU|European]] one.

Familiar as an ancient symbol of the region, the [[Triskelion]] is also featured on Greek coins of [[Syracuse, Sicily|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 Sea|Aegean]].<ref>Matthews, Jeff (2005) [http://faculty.ed.umuc.edu/~jmatthew/naples/symbols.htm Symbols of Naples] {{webarchive | url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091030202145/http://faculty.ed.umuc.edu/~jmatthew/naples/symbols.htm | date = 30 October 2009}}</ref> The triskelion was revived, as a [[neoclassicism|neoclassic]] – and non-[[House of Bourbon|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 [[Cape (geography)|capes]] ([[headland]]s or [[promontory|promontories]] of the island of Sicily, namely: [[Punta del Faro|Pelorus]] (Peloro, Tip of Faro, Messina: North-East); [[Capo Passero|Pachynus]] (Passero, Syracuse: South); and [[Marsala|Lilybæum]] (Lilibeo, Cape Boeo, Marsala: West), which form three points of a triangle.<ref>Radicini, Ninni. "The Trinacria: History and Mythology | The Symbol of the Hellenic Nature of Sicily | Article by Ninni Radicini." The Trinacria: History and Mythology | The Symbol of the Hellenic Nature of Sicily | Article by Ninni Radicini. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 November 2014.</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|Geography|Islands|Italy}}
* [[List of islands of Italy]]
* [[List of islands in the Mediterranean]]
* [[List of people from Sicily]]

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
{{Refbegin|30em|indent=yes}}
* {{Cite book |last=Alio |first=Jacqueline |date=2018 |title=Sicilian Studies: A Guide and Syllabus for Educators |publisher=Trinacria Editions |location=New York |isbn=978-1-943-63918-2}}
* {{Cite news |title=Italy makes record mafia seizure |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7796096.stm |publisher=[[BBC News]] |date=22 December 2008 |access-date=23 April 2010}}
* {{Cite book |last=Bonacini |first=Elisa |date=2007 |title=Il territorio calatino nella Sicilia imperiale e tardoromana |publisher=Archaeopress, Oxford, England |isbn=978-1-4073-0136-5 |language=it, en}}
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* Piccolo, Salvatore (2018). [https://www.worldhistory.org/article/1190/bronze-age-sicily/ "Bronze Age Sicily"]. ''World History Encyclopedia''.
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* Spadi, Fabio (2001). [https://web.archive.org/web/20070322172132/http://iclq.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/reprint/50/2/411 "The Bridge on the Strait of Messina: 'Lowering' the Right of Innocent Passage?"] ''International and Comparative Law Quarterly'' 50: 411–419.
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* {{Cite journal |last1=Wilson |first1=R. |last2=Talbert |first2=R. |last3=Elliott |first3=T. |last4=Gillies |first4=S. |title=Places: 462492 (Sicilia) |url=https://pleiades.stoa.org/places/462492 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120713212644/http://pleiades.stoa.org/places/462492 |archive-date=13 July 2012 |journal=[[Pleiades (journal)|Pleiades]]}}
* Zuppardo, Emanuele; Piccolo, Salvatore: ''Terra Mater, Sulle Sponde del Gela greco'', Betania Editions 2005. CIP-Biblioteca Centrale della Regione Siciliana "Alberto Bombace" 937.8 CDD-20. Library locations: British Library/London (UK) - University of Bristol Library (UK) - University of Manchester Library (UK) - Landsbókasafn Íslands/Reykjavík (IS) - Library of Congress/Washington D.C. - Yale University Library/New Haven (CT) - New York University Library (NY).
{{Refend}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Sicily}}
{{Wikivoyage|Sicily}}
* [https://www.regione.sicilia.it/ Sicilian Region—Official website] {{in lang|it}}
* {{Osmrelation|39152}}
* [https://www.wondersofsicily.com/ The Wonders of Sicily – The Cities, Architecture, Culture, History, People]

{{Islands of Italy}}
{{Sicily}}
{{Regions of Italy}}
{{Italy topics}}
{{World's largest islands}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Sicily| ]]<!-- Please leave the empty space as standard as per [[MOS:EPONYMOUS]]]-->
[[Category:Autonomous regions of Italy]]
[[Category:Former countries in Europe]]
[[Category:Islands of Italy]]
[[Category:Mediterranean]]
[[Category:Mediterranean islands]]
[[Category:NUTS 2 statistical regions of the European Union]]
[[Category:Regions of Italy]]
[[Category:Wine regions of Italy]]