The Greeks were the first who inhabited Sicily and founded the cities of Catania, Messina and Syracuse on the East Coast. Still nowadays the coastal areas attract most tourists. You can enjoy both a beach holiday as well as inhale centuries of history and culture.
In Syracuse you find the most remains of Greek civilisation such as ancient temples, theatres and other monuments. The most precious pieces can be found in the Archaeological Museum.
In the Valley of the Temples at Agrigento on the South coast you can find the remains of a Greek city (Akragos) that once used to be here. Akragos used to be a prosperous city, until the Greeks were chased away by the Romans in the 3rd century.
Messina is the arrival harbour for tourists crossing over from the Southern mainland of Italy. The strait between the mainland and Sicily is only but 3 miles wide. Most visitors travel quickly through to the South, for example to Taormina, where tourism began in Sicily. Taormina truly is a jewel, the town has a picturesque location with a stunning view, halfway between Messina and Catania. In the area you find beautiful beaches and with Mount Etna on the background it all makes it picture perfect.
The Etna is Europe's largest active volcano. A tour is quite expensive, but definitely worthwhile. It is not allowed to go all the way to the top (3323 metres) as the Volcano still fumes toxic gases.
Palermo, Sicily's capital city, lies on the North coast and counts a million inhabitants. Most visitors come and visit the impressive cathedral of Monreale, originally from the 12th century but rebuilt many times.
Nearby you find the Palatina, the Norman palace with a chapel from the 12th century, the Capella Palatina. Furthermore, Palermo also has a very interesting Archaeological Museum, you can admire for example treasures of 3000 years old.
Cefalu lies on the east side of Palermo. A beautiful old town but the beaches in the area are often overcrowded. The Duomo (Cathedral) from the 12th century is for sure worth a visit.
Sicily is an eno-gastronomic paradise. Tasty wines are produced in the whole island and the dishes have a little more spicy seasoning than in the rest of Italy. Sicilian goat cheese and pastries are extremely delicious.
Viniculture and mythology Sicily has always been famous for its agricultural products, mainly for the wines. The Phoenians brought the vines from the Middle East to the island, at that time the only grapes growing in the area were wild ones. Then came Greek settlers and introduced innovative new bottling techniques and new grapes such as the grecanico. Together with the wines we experience at this stage the introduction of Greek mythology in Sicily.
The cult of Dionysos and his maenad, later called bacchantes by the Romans, expanded and also Sappho the expelled poetess must have grown her own grapes. Her famous wedding songs were dedicated to bridal couples and to receive the blessing of Eros and Aphrodite they would have to drink from the same cup.
The city of Erice located near Trapani had a sanctuary where temple prostitution was exercised. As we can see from the many remains of amphorae shards, the priestesses and the pilgrims drank wine, and Caesar's most favourite was probably the Mamertino from Capo Peloro.
Luckily even under the reign of the Arabs, Sicilian wine culture was not affected. Despite a strict alcohol restriction written in the Koran, new rulers would just continue cultivating grapes and even adopted new distillation techniques by using combustion flasks. .
Secret elixirs would be brewed in secluded monastery cellars and after that it would be sold to wealthy customers, although the abbots did not really need to be involved with the burning of alcohol. As the Church was in possession of enormous wine fields, this resulted inevitably into a monopoly position.
In a very short time the wines had an excellent reputation on the whole island and Saint Lancerio, cupbearer of Pope Paul III, praised the wines in his letters to Cardinal Guido Ascanio Sforza . The rising star of the Sicilian viniculture lost its glow only when the Spanish viceroy came to power, from that moment on wheat was grown instead of wine.
Only in 1773 Sicily was able to regain its lost position in the wine world. By coincidence, the Englishman John Woodhouse discovered the Marsala which led to a breakthrough in the wine world. In 1870, when in France wine lice thoroughly destroyed French vineyards wine growers had to start importing and Sicily became again an important wine market. Unfortunately though, the lice made their way over the Alps and soon continued with destroying everything reaching also far Sicily. Within a few years all hope disappeared and a new start was close to impossible.
On the current world market wine from Sicily experienced a hard time for quite a while, cheap mass production negatively influenced the demand for good wines. Nevertheless, in the past ten years a couple of winegrowers and wine cellars managed to develop good quality wines and have slowly become famous on the Italian market and have also made it to some of the important foreign wine markets.
Art of living of the Sicilians When we talk about the 'art of living of the Sicilians' we mean the conviviality, the strong family bonds, a sunny day at the beach, but above all the passion of good food. We notice the importance of good food and drink in Sicily as more attention is paid here to the physical conditions of the human body than culture and fine arts. In the famous novel of Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa 'The Leopard' - which actually covers a completely different subject, that is to say the internal political turmoil of the not yet United Italy- he portrays the detailed and passionate eating habits of the Sicilian noble class.
And the singer Domenico Modugno- who, despite his own saying, is not Sicilian- has captured the catch of swordfish on both sides of the Strait of Messina in a song.
The passion for good food in Sicily has a long standing tradition. Already in prehistoric times, when the Dea Madre was honoured in the Mediterranean, rituals would take place like baking cakes for Mother Goddess.
Then the Greeks arrived colonising the Eastern Mediterranean Sea, the female gods were neglected and the Greeks would mainly be interested in the drink cult of Dionysos.
With arrival of the Romans extravagant dishes were introduced like goose recipes. The Byzantine introduced their taste for sweet-and-sour and when the Arabs conquered the land between the 9th and 11th century a small culinary revolution actually took place: apricots, sugar, citrus, sweet melons, rice, saffron, raisins, nutmeg, cloves, pepper are still today the pillars of the Sicilian cuisine.
The Norman and Hohenstaufen preferred meat dishes and the Spaniards generously shared with Sicily their innovative achievements from the new world: cao, morn, turkey, but also tomatoes and other crops. Later also the Bourbons, the Italians from the ' mainland ' and many other cultures contributed to the Sicilian menu.
Eating and drinking in the heart of the Mediterranean is always a journey through time and centuries of so many different cultures. The creative talent of the Sicilian chefs ensures a highly individual interpretation of a varied cuisine: colourful, sweet, rich, fragrant, exotic, all cultivated in own soil and often mysterious.
Just like the island itself.
Fish from three seas Sicily counts three large coastal areas. The eastern part begins with the Strait of Messina which leads the fishermen to the Ionic Sea and the traditional catch of swordfish starts here going all the way to Capo Passero. The Riviera dei Ciclopi, the coast of the Cyclopes, between Aci Trezza, Aci Reale and Catania counts a large variety of fish such as big sea bass, bream, sawfish, mussels and the alalunga (long wing), a mackerel type. The South coast stretches out between Pozallo and Marsala. The people here are particularly fond of big bass that is made in the Agrigento way, served with orange mayonnaise. On the most Western part of Sicily we find the centre point of fishing: from big fish as tuna to very small kinds as anchovy. Everything that the mouth of the Ionic Sea and the Tyrrhenian has to offer gets taken out of the water. Along the Northern Beaches and also in other waters we find bream, a popular fish caught throughout the whole year. In addition to the abundance of fish on markets we can also buy calamari, squid, crustaceans and mussels.
You can always find fish and seafood on a Sicilian menu. You can cook it, bake it or grill it or however you prefer to have it. Fish doesn't only get served as a main dish but you can find it for example in a pasta sauce and have it as a tasty first course. 'Pasta e pesce' (pasta and fish) is a favourite combination of the Sicilians.
Primi piatti from nine provinces Also in Sicily the first course is taken very seriously. Our appetite gets stimulated by the 'antipasto' (starter), we then have the first course followed by an exciting main course. The 'primi piatti' are almost something like a shared Italian passion. You immediately taste the Sicilians love for food in the very first course served
In the province of Enna, the granary in the heart of the island, they serve polenta with vegetables. Also at the neighbours in Caltanissetta they serve everything what is home made, 'gnocchetti' with pork is one of the favourite dishes. In Messina, swordfish city, they make an ideal and appropriate pasta sauce. Palermo is famous for its anchovy dishes whilst Trapani goes for basic pasta with sheep cheese. In Agrigento they make fresh pasta with a red sauce of eggplants and the famous 'pasta alla norma' comes from Catania. In Ragusa you find many dishes with beans and in Syracuse you can taste the 'fritta alla siracusana' -one of the oldest pasta recipes from Sicily.
Population and economy The island forms a continuation of the Apennine peninsula and the coasts are mostly steep. There is a mountain range from East to West in the Northern part, south of it lies the 3000m high volcano Etna. Sicily has hot dry summers and mild rainy winters. Most of the inhabitants live on the coast and in major cities such as Palermo, Messina, Syracuse, Catania and Trapani. There is a strong social network where 'la famiglia' is more than only a close-knit family, a real unit. Many Sicilians have migrated to the United States. Many have moved from the inland to the coast or to other parts of Italy, the old social structure is thus affected by these moves.
Agriculture is still the main economic activity. The main products are: wheat, wine, olives, corn, legumes, vegetables and citrus. In the South West fishing is important. In the bend of Augusta North of Syracuse there is an industrial area. Tourism is an important source of income.
History Sicily was already in prehistoric times relatively densely populated. Since the 8th century B.C the Greeks founded many cities on the north east coast such as Naxos, Messina and Catane, and in the south east and south of Syracuse and Agrigentum. The Phoenicians settled earlier on the west coast, in Mozia, Solunto and Palermo. The initial population got driven into the inland and later they integrated with the Greeks. Greek cities were ruled by the aristocracy. During periods of political turmoil a tyrant would usually gain power. For example the tyrant Gelo made Syracuse the most powerful city after having defeated the Carthaginians in 480 B.C
In de derde eeuw v.C. werd Sicilië betrokken in de strijd tussen Rome en Carthago, de Punische oorlogen en raakte Sicilië onder Romeins bestuur. De graanbouw werd uitgebreid en er kwam een sterke immigratie uit Italië opgang. Lang is Sicilië de korenschuur van Italië geweest.. Slechte arbeidsomstandigheden , het grootgrond bezit van de Romeinen en de afpersingen van stadhouders leidden tot de verwoestende slavenoorlogen eind 2de en begin lste eeuw). Onder de Romeinse keizers verbeterde het bestuur en werd het eiland steeds meer geromaniseerd.
In the third century B.C Sicily was involved in the war between Rome and Carthago, the Punic Wars and conquered by the Romans. The cultivation of grain increased followed by large immigration flows from Italy. Sicily has been for a long time Italy's granary. In the early first century the destructive slave war took place due to poor working conditions, land possession of the Romans and blackmailing of governors. Under the Roman emperors the government improved and the island became much more Romanized.
In the 3rd century A.D the island was destroyed by the fleets of Vandals that dominated the West of the Mediterranean. The Byzantine had power over Sicily from mid 6th century up to late in the 9th century.
Then the Arabs invaded and that was the end of the last Byzantine stronghold Syracuse. The new capital city became Palermo and was the centre of a thriving culture, which was a mix of Roman, Byzantine and Arab elements. The Arabs stayed two centuries long. In the 11th and 12th century Sicily went through a booming time with the Norman (espescially with Roger 1 and II). After that Sicily fell in hands of the illustrious Hohenstaufen (Swabia). Frederick II was very gifted and artistic but also unfaithful and incredulous. He was knick-named the 'baptised sultan'.
The French regime in the 13th century with Charles of Anjou, who ruled as a tyrant, didn't last long. In 1282 the Sicilian Vespers riot put an end to it. For more than 400 years Sicily was under Spanish domination with different exploitations and riots throughout these centuries. Only in 1860 with arrival of Garibaldi a change seemed to have happened in the social and political life of Sicily.
Joining Italy wasn't really positive for Sicily, the Italian Government proved very little interest in the island. In July 1943, the allies launched their attack on the German Empire and Sicily suffered a lot from the bombing.
Since l947 Sicily is a regional autonomy within the Republic of Italy, with own laws and executive power. Sicily is divided into nine provinces Agrigento, Caltanissetta, Catania, Enna, Messina, Palermo, Ragusa, Syracuse, Trapani and Palermo as capital city.
The Strait of Messina is the piece of sea which separates Sicily from Calabria. The Strait of Messina is 26 miles long and 1.9 to 8.7 miles wide. The currents in the Strait of Messina, on which the legend of Syclla and Charybdis was based, are caused by the tides, For decades there have been plans for building a bridge between the Mainland and Sicily but if this will ever happen is still yet the question..!
