Sicily

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Sicilia [si ' t? i: lja] ; Sicily: SicÃÆ'¬lia ) is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. It is an autonomous region of Italy, in southern Italy along with small islands around it, officially referred to as Regione Siciliana .

Sicily lies in the Mediterranean Sea central, south of the Italian Peninsula, from which it is separated by the narrow Strait of Messina. The most prominent marker is Mount Etna, the highest active volcano in Europe, and one of the most active in the world, currently 3,329 m (10,922 ft). The island has a typical Mediterranean climate.

The earliest archaeological evidence of human activity on this island dates from the early 12,000 BC. Around 750 BC, Sicily had three Phoenicians and a dozen Greek colonies and, over the next 600 years, it was the site of the Sicilian War and the Punist War. After the fall of the Roman Empire in the 5th century, Sicily was ruled during the Early Middle Ages by Vandals, Ostrogoths, Byzantine Empires, and the Sicilian Emirate. Norman's conquest of southern Italy led to the creation of the Sicilian Kingdom, which was later ruled by Hohenstaufen, Capuchian Anjou, Spain, and the Habsburg House. It ended up united under the House of Bourbon with the Kingdom of Naples as the Two Kingdom of Sicily. It became part of Italy in 1860 after the Thousand Expedition, an uprising led by Giuseppe Garibaldi during Italian unification, and a plebiscite. Sicily was granted special status as an autonomous region on May 15, 1946, 18 days before the referendum of the Italian constitution of 1946. Nevertheless, much autonomy still remained unapplied, especially financial autonomy, because laws enabling autonomy have been postponed for approval. from the parithetic committee (50% Italian State, 50% Regione Siciliana), since 1946.

Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to art, music, literature, cuisine, and architecture. It is also home to important archeological and archaeological sites, such as the Necropolis Pantalica, the Valley of the Temple, Erice and Selinunte.

Video Sicily

Geography

Sicily has an almost triangular shape, making it the name Trinacria . To the east, it is separated from the Italian mainland by the Messina Strait, about 3 km (1.9 miles) wide in the north, and about 16 km (9.9 miles) wide in the south. The north and south beaches are about 280 km (170 mi) long, measured as a straight line, while the east coast is about 180 km (110 mi); total beach length is estimated at 1,484 km (922 mi). The total area of ​​the island is 25,711 km ² (9,927 sq mi), whereas the Sicily Autonomous Region (which includes smaller smaller islands) has an area of ​​27,708 km ² (10,698 sq mi).

The hinterland of Sicily is largely hilly and worked intensively wherever possible. Along the northern coast, the mountains of Madonie, 2,000 m (6,600 ft), Nebrodi, 1,800 m (5,900 ft), and Peloritani, 1,300 m (4,300 ft), are extensions of the mainland Apennines. The cone of Mount Etna dominates the east coast. To the southeast lies the lower Hyblaean Mountains, 1,000 m (3,300 ft). Mines in the Enna and Caltanissetta districts were part of a prominent sulfur-producing region throughout the 19th century, but have declined since the 1950s.

Sicily and the small islands around it have a very active volcano. Mount Etna is the largest active volcano in Europe and still produces black ash on the island with its ever-present eruption. It currently stands 3,329 meters (10,922 ft) high, although this varies with peak eruptions; The mountain is 21 m (69 ft) lower now than it was in 1981. It is the highest mountain in southern Italy of the Alps. Etna covers an area of ​​1,190 km ² (459 sq., Mi) with a basal circumference of 140 km (87 mi). This makes it the largest of three active volcanoes in Italy, about two and a half times the height of the next largest mountain, Mount Vesuvius. In Greek mythology, the deadly Typhon monster is trapped under a mountain by Zeus, the god of the heavens. Mount Etna is widely regarded as a symbol of Sicilian culture and icons.

The Aeolian Islands in the Tyrrhenian Sea, in the northeast of the Sicilian mainland form a volcanic complex, and include Stromboli. Three volcanoes Vulcano, Vulcanello and Lipari are also currently active, although the latter is usually inactive. Off the southern coast of Sicily, the Ferdinandea undersea volcano, which is part of the larger Empedocles volcano, last erupted in 1831. It lies between the coast of Agrigento and the island of Pantelleria (which is an inactive volcano).

The autonomous region also includes several neighboring islands: Aegadian Islands, Aeolian Islands, Pantelleria and Lampedusa.

River

The island is dried by several rivers, most of which flow through the central region and into the sea in the southern part of the island. Salso flows through parts of Enna and Caltanissetta before entering the Mediterranean Sea at Licata harbor. To the east, Alcantara flows through the province of Messina and enters the sea in Giardini Naxos, and Simeto, which flows into the Ionian Sea in southern Catania. Other important rivers on the island are Belice and Platani in the southwest.

Climate

Sicily has a typical Mediterranean climate with cool and wet winters and hot, dry summers with very changing mid-seasons. On the coast, especially in the southwest, the climate is influenced by African currents and the summers can be scorching.

Sicily is seen as a warm winter island but also, above along the Tyrrhenian coast and in the hinterland, the winter can be cool, with typical continental climate.

Snow falls in abundance above 900-1000 meters, but a stronger cold wave can easily carry it in the hills and even in coastal cities, especially on the north coast of the island. The inner mountains, especially Nebrodi, Madonie and Etna, enjoy the full mountain climate, with heavy snowfall during the winter. The peak of Mount Etna is usually covered with snow from October to May.

On the other hand, especially in summer it is not unusual that there is sirocco, the wind from the Sahara. Rainfall is scarce, and water is proven to be lacking in some provinces where water crises can occur occasionally.

According to the Regional Agency for Waste and Water, on August 10, 1999, the Catenanuova weather station recorded a maximum temperature of 48.5 ° C (119 ° F). The official European record - measured by a minimum/maximum thermometer - is held by Athens, Greece, which reported a maximum of 48.0 ° C (118 ° F) in 1977. The amount of rainfall varies greatly, generally rising with altitude. In general, southern and southeastern seas receive the lowest rainfall (less than 50 cm (20 inches), and the highest northern and northeastern highlands (more than 100 cm (39 inches).

Maps Sicily

Flora and fauna

Sicily is a frequently cited example of man-made deforestation, which has occurred since Roman times, when the island was transformed into an agricultural area. It gradually dries up the climate, leading to decreased rainfall and river drainage. Central and southwestern provinces almost without forests. In Northern Sicily, there are three important forests; near Mount Etna, in the Nebrodi Mountains and in the Bosco della Ficuzza Nature Reserve near Palermo. The Nebrodi Mountains Regional Park, founded on August 4, 1993 and covering 86,000 hectares (210,000 hectares), is the largest protected area of ​​Sicily; and contains the largest forests in Sicily, Caronia. One hundred Chestnut Horse (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.

Sicily has a variety of good fauna. Species include foxes, small weasels, pine marten, roe deer, wild pigs, crested hedgehogs, hedgehogs, ordinary frogs, Vipera aspis, golden eagles, peregrine hawks, hoopoe, and black-winged stilt.

The Zingaro Nature Reserve is one of the best examples of the unspoiled natural wilderness of Sicily.

The surrounding waters including the Messina Strait are home to many species of birds and marine life, including larger species such as flamingos and fin whales.

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History

Ancient tribe

Sicilian indigenous people are the three groups defined from ancient Italian society. The most prominent and earliest of these is the Sicani, which Thucydides has said has arrived from the Iberian Peninsula (probably Catalonia). Important historical evidence has been found in the form of cave drawings by Sicani, dated from the end of the Pleistocene epoch around 8000 BC. The first human arrival on the island is correlated with the extinction of the Sicilian Hippopotamus and the dwarf elephant. The Elymia, thought to be from the Aegean Sea, were the next tribe to join the Sicanians in Sicily.

The recent discovery of dolmen on the island (dating from the second half of the third millennium BC) seems to offer new insights into the primitive Sicilian culture. It is well known that the Mediterranean region passes through quite complex prehistory, in such a way that it is difficult to gather chaos from the various nations that have followed each other. However, the effects of two influences are obvious: the Europeans are from the Northwest, and the Mediterranean influence of a clear eastern heritage.

There was no evidence of tribal warfare, but the Sican people moved east when the Elymia settled in the northwest corner of the island. The Sicels allegedly came from Liguria; they arrived from the Italian mainland in 1200 BC and forced the Sicanians to return through Sicily and settle in the center of the island. Other small groups of Italis that settled in Sicily were the Ausones (Aeolian Islands, Milazzo) and Morgetes of Morgantina. Studies of genetic records reveal that people from different parts of the Mediterranean Basin mixed with ancient Sicilian inhabitants, including Egypt and Iberia.

Phoenician, Carthaginian, Greek and Roman period

The settlements of the Phoenicians in the western part of the island preceded the Greeks. From about 750 BC, the Greeks began to live in Sicily (??????? Sikelia ), establishing many important settlements. The most important colony is in Syracuse; others are in Akragas, Selinunte, Gela, Himera and Zancle. The indigenous Sicani and Sicel people were absorbed into the Hellenic culture relatively easily, and the area became part of Magna Graecia along with the rest of southern Italy, which was also colonized by the Greeks. Sicily is very fertile, and the successful introduction of olives and grapes creates many lucrative trades. An important part of Greek culture on the island is the Greek religion, and many temples are built throughout Sicily, including some in the Valley of the Temples in Agrigento.

Politics on the island are tied to Greece; Syracuse became desirable by the Athenians who set out on the Sicilian Expedition during the Peloponnesian War. Syracuse acquired Sparta and Corinth as allies and, as a result, the Athena expedition was defeated. The Athenian army and ship were destroyed, with most survivors being sold into slavery.

Greece Syracuse controls eastern Sicily while Carthage controls the West. Both cultures began to clash, leading to the Greek-Punic war. Greece began to reconcile with the Roman Republic in 262 BC, and the Romans sought to annex Sicily as the first province of their republic. Rome attacked the Carthage possession in Sicily in the First Punis War and won, making Sicily the first Roman province outside the Italian Peninsula in 242 BC.

In the Second Punis War, the Carthaginians tried to take back Sicily. Several Greek cities on the island sided with the Carthaginians. Archimedes, who lived in Syracuse, helped the Carthaginians, but was killed by the Romans after they invaded Syracuse in 213 BC. They failed, and Rome was even more unending in the extermination of the colonizers this time; The Roman consul M. Valerian told the Roman Senate in 210 BC that "there is no remnant of Carthage in Sicily".

Sicily served a high degree of importance for the Romans, acting as an imperial granary. It is divided into two quaestorships, in the form of Syracuse to the east and Lilybaeum to the west. Some attempts were made under Augustus to introduce Latin to the island, but Sicily was allowed to remain largely Greek in a cultural sense. The once prosperous and prosperous island declined sharply when Verres became governor of Sicily. In 70 BC, the famous figure Cicero condemned Verres's misconception in his oration. In Verrem .

The island was used as a power base several times, occupied by the slave rebels during the First and Second Servile Wars, and by Sextus Pompey during the Sicilian uprising. Christianity first appeared in Sicily during the years after 200 AD; between this time and 313 AD, Constantine the Great finally lifted the ban on Christianity, but not before a large number of Sicilian martyrs, including Agatha, Christina, Lucy, and Euplius. Christianity grew rapidly in Sicily over the next two centuries. The historical period in which Sicily was a Roman province lasted for about 700 years.

The Germanic and Byzantine Period (440-965)

German (440-535)

When the Western Roman Empire collapsed, a German tribe known as Vandal briefly seized Sicily in 440 CE under the rule of their king Geiseric but on 476 the island was returned to Odoacer, the ruling Italy, 476-93, in the name of the Byzantine Emperor (Roman East). Vandals have invaded the Roman parts of France, Spain and Portugal, asserting themselves as an important force in Western Europe. However, they soon lost this newly acquired treasure to another East German tribe in the form of a Goth. The Ostrogothic Conquest of Sicily (and Italy as a whole) under Theodoric the Great began in 488. The Goths were German, but Theodoric sought to revive Roman culture and government and allow religious freedom.

Byzantium (535-965)

Forty-seven years later the Goth War (535-554) began between the Ostrogoth and the Eastern Roman Empire, also known as the Byzantine Empire. Sicily was the first part of Italy to be taken by Belisarius, commissioned by the Eastern Emperor Justinian I as part of an ambitious effort to restore the whole of the Roman Empire, thereby uniting the East and West. Sicily was used as a basis for the Byzantines to conquer the rest of Italy, with Napoli, Rome, Milan, and the capital of the Ostrogoth Ravenna falling within five years. However, the new Ostrogothic king, Totila, along the Italian peninsula, looted and conquered Sicily in 550. Totila, in turn, was defeated and killed in the Battle of Taginae by Byzantine general Narses in 552.

In 535, Emperor Justinian I made Sicily as a Byzantine province and, as in Roman times, the Greek language continued to be the dominant language spoken on the island. After the advent of Islam, Sicily was invaded by the Arab forces of Caliph Uthman in 652, but the Arabs failed to gain permanent profits and returned to Syria after collecting booty. The raids for booty continued into the mid-eighteenth century.

The Byzantine Emperor Constans II decided to move from the capital of Constantinople to Syracuse in Sicily during 660. The following year, he launched an offensive from Sicily against the Duke of Benevento, who later occupied much of southern Italy. The rumor that the imperial capital will be transferred to Syracuse may cost Constance his life, as he was assassinated in 668. His son Constantine IV replaced him, a brief appropriation in Sicily by Mezezius was quickly suppressed by the new emperor. Contemporary reports report that the Greek language was used extensively on the island during this period. In 740 Emperor Leo III, Isaurian moved Sicily from the jurisdiction of the Roman church to the territory of Constantinople, placing the island inside the eastern church.

In 826 Euphemius, the Byzantine commander in Sicily who apparently had killed his wife forced a nun to marry him. Emperor Michael II caught wind of this problem and ordered Constantine to end the marriage and cut off Euphemius's head. Euphemius got up, killed Constantine, and then occupied Syracuse; he was in turn defeated and expelled to North Africa. He offers Sicilian rule to Ziyadat Allah, Aghlabid Emir of Tunisia, in return for a position of general and safe place. The Muslim army was then sent to an island of Arabs, Berber, Crete, and Persians.

The Muslim conquest of Sicily is an easy matter to see and meet with much resistance. It took more than a century for the Byzantine Sicily to be conquered; the largest city, Syracuse, survived until 878 and the Greek town of Taormina fell in 962. It was not until 965 that all Sicilians were conquered by the Arabs. In the 11th century the Byzantine armies conquered partial conquest of the island under George Maniakes, but it was their Norman mercenaries who would eventually complete the conquest of the island by the end of this century.

Arabic Period (827-1091)

The Arabs started land reform, which increased productivity and encouraged the growth of small estates, damaging the dominance of latifundia. The Arabs further improved the irrigation system. The language used in Sicily under Arab rule is that the influence of Siculo-Arab and Arabic still exists in some Sicilian words today. Although the language has become extinct in Sicily, it has evolved into what is now Maltese language on the island of Malta today.

Palermo's explanation was given by Ibn Hawqal, an Arab merchant who visited Sicily in 950. A walled suburb, called Al-Kasr (palace), is central to Palermo to this day, with a large Friday mosque on the site. from a later Roman cathedral. The suburb of al-Khalisa (modern Kalsa) contains the Sultan's palace, baths, mosques, government offices, and private prisons. Ibn Hawqal reckons 7,000 individual meat traders are trading in 150 stores. Palermo was originally ruled by Aghlabids; then it is the center of the Sicilian Emirate under the nominal powers of the Fatimid Caliphate.

Throughout this reign, the Byzantine Byzantine rebellion continued, especially in the eastern part, and some of the islands were re-occupied before being destroyed. Agricultural materials such as oranges, lemons, pistachio and sugar cane were brought to Sicily. Under Arab rule, the island is harmonized in three administrative regions, or "vals", roughly corresponding to three Sicilian "points": Val in Mazara to the west; Val Demone to the northeast; and Val di Noto in the southeast. As dhimmis, genuine Eastern Orthodox Christians were allowed freedom of religion, but had to pay taxes, jizya, and some limitations to actively participate in public affairs.

The Sicilian Emirate began to split because of the inter-dynastic factional clash of the Muslim regime. During this time, there was also a small Jewish presence.

Norman Sicily (1038-1198)

In 1038, seventy years after losing their last city in Sicily, the Byzantines under the Greek general George Maniakes invaded the island along with their Varangian and Norman mercenaries. Although Maniakes was killed in the Byzantine civil war in 1043 before completing the reconquest, the Norma would complete the Sicilian conquest of the Arabs under Roger I. After taking Apulia and Calabria, Roger occupied Messina with a troop of 700 knights. In 1068, Roger won at Misilmeri, but the most important battle was the siege of Palermo, which caused most of Sicily to come under Norman's control in 1072. The Normans completed their conquest in 1091, when they captured Noto, which was the last Fortress Arab.

Roger died in 1101 and was replaced by his son Roger II, who was the first Sicilian King. Elder Roger married Adelaide, who ruled until his son was 1112 years old.

The Norman Hauteville family, who are descendants of the Vikings, came to appreciate and admire the rich and layered culture in which they now find themselves. And they begin to apply their own culture, customs and politics in the region. Many of the Normans in Sicily also adopted some of the attributes of Muslim rulers and their Byzantine subjects in clothing, language, literature, and even before the court eunuchs and, according to some accounts, a harem. The Palace of Roger II became the most luminous cultural center in the Mediterranean, both from Europe and the Middle East, such as the multi-ethnic Caliphate of CÃÆ'³rdoba, which then only lost its light. It attracts scholars, scientists, poets, artists, and artists of all kinds. The law was issued in the language of the community to whom they were dealt with in Norman Sicily, still with heavy Arab and Greek influence. His rule is based on the rule of law, so there is justice. Muslims, Jews, Greek Byzantines, Lombards, and Normandans worked together to form a society that historians have created some of the most remarkable buildings the world has ever seen.

Sicilian Kingdom

Palermo continues as the capital under the rule of Normandy. The son of Roger Roger II of Sicily succeeds his brother Simon of Sicily as Count of Sicily, and finally able to elevate the island's status to the kingdom in 1130, along with other possessions, which included the Maltese Islands and the Duchies of Apulia and Calabria. He appointed a powerful George Antioch to become "emir emir" and continued his father's syncretism. During this period, the Sicilian Empire was prosperous and politically powerful, becoming one of the richest countries in all of Europe - even richer than the British Empire.

Significantly, immigrants from Northern Italy and Campania arrived during this period. Linguistically, the island shifted from a third of Greece and two thirds Arabic speaking at the time of the Norman conquest being completely Latinised. In the case of the church, he became fully Roman Catholic; earlier, it was the Eastern Orthodox under the Byzantines.

Hohenstaufen dynasty

After a century, the Norman Hauteville dynasty died; the last direct descendants and heirs of Roger, Constance, married Emperor Henry VI. This eventually led to the Sicilian crown being forwarded to the Hohenstaufen Dynasty, the Germans of Swabia. The last of Hohenstaufens, Frederick II, the only son of Constance, was one of the largest and most cultured of the Middle Ages. His mother's will had asked Pope Innocent III to run his son's guardianship. The pope gladly accepted the role, as it enabled him to release Sicily from the rest of the Holy Roman Empire, thus ending the specter of the besieged Papal States. Frederick was four years old when, in Palermo, he was crowned King of Sicily in 1198. Frederick did not receive a systematic education and was allowed to run free on the streets of Palermo. There he took many languages ​​he heard, such as Arabic and Greek, and learned some knowledge from the Jewish community. At the age of twelve, he dismissed the vice-regent of Innocent and took over the government; at the age of fifteen he married Constance of Aragon, and began reclaiming his imperial crown. Furthermore, due to the Muslim rebellion, Frederick II destroyed the Arab presence in Sicily, removing all Sicilian Muslims into the city of Lucera in Apulia between 1221 and 1226.

The conflict between the Hohenstaufen house and the Pontifical was led, in 1266, for Pope Innocent IV crowned Prince Charles, Prince Anjou and Provence, as kings of both Sicily and Napoli.

Sicily under the reign of Spain

Strong opposition to French officials due to the persecution and taxation saw local people in Sicily rise up, leading in 1282 to a rebellion known as the Vespers Sicilian War, which eventually saw almost all of France's population on the island perished. During the war, the Sicilians turned to Peter III of Aragon, son-in-law of the last king of Hohenstaufen, to gain support after being rejected by the Pope. Peter ruled Sicily from France, who, however, retained control of the Empire of Naples. A crusade was launched in August 1283 against Peter III and the Kingdom of Aragon by Pope Martin IV (a pope of ÃÆ'Žle-de-France), but failed. The war continued until the Caltabellotta peace in 1302, which saw the son of Peter Frederick III recognized as the king of the island of Sicily, while Charles II was recognized as king of Naples by Pope Boniface VIII. Sicily was ruled as an independent kingdom by relatives of the kings of Aragon until 1409 and later as part of the Crown of Aragon. In October 1347, in Messina, Sicily, the Black Death first arrived in Europe.

The beginnings of the Spanish Inquisition in 1492 caused Ferdinand II to decide the expulsion of all Jews from Sicily. The eastern part of the island was hit by a devastating earthquake in 1542 and 1693. Only a few years before the last earthquake, the island was plagued by a malignant plague. The earthquake in 1693 took about 60,000 lives. There was rebellion during the 17th century, but it was extinguished with significant strength, especially the Palermo and Messina rebellions. North African slave raids prevented settlements along the coast until the 19th century. The Treaty of Utrecht in 1713 saw Sicily assigned to the House of Savoy; However, this period of government lasted only for seven years, in exchange for the island of Sardinia with Emperor Charles VI of the Austrian Habsburg Dynasty.

While Austria is concerned with the Polish War of Succession, Bourbon prince, Charles of Spain was able to conquer Sicily and Naples. In the beginning, Sicily could remain as an independent kingdom under personal unity, while Bourbons ruled over both of Napoli. However, the arrival of the First French Empire Napoleon saw Napoli taken at the Battle of Campo Tenese and the Napoli King of Bonapartis installed. Ferdinand III, Bourbon, was forced to withdraw to Sicily which is still in full control with the help of British naval protection.

After this, Sicily joined the Napoleonic Wars, and then England under Lord William Bentinck established a military and diplomatic presence on the island to protect against the French invasion. After the war was won, Sicily and Naples formally joined as Two Sicilians under the Bourbons. The great revolutionary movement took place in 1820 and 1848 against the Bourbon government with Sicily seeking independence; the second, the revolution of 1848 produced a brief period of independence for Sicily. However, in 1849 Bourbons regained control of the island and dominated it until 1860.

Italian Unification

The Thousand Expedition led by Giuseppe Garibaldi captured Sicily in 1860, as part of the Risorgimento . Conquest begins at Marsala, and the native Sicilian people join him in the capture of the southern Italian peninsula. The Garibaldi parade was completed with the Gaeta Siege, where the last Bourbons were expelled and Garibaldi announced his dictatorship on behalf of Victor Emmanuel II of the Sardinian Kingdom. Sicily became part of the Sardinian Kingdom after a referendum in which over 75% of Sicilians voted in favor of annexation on October 21, 1860 (but not everyone was allowed to vote). As a result of the proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, Sicily became part of the kingdom on March 17, 1861.

The Sicilian economy (and the wider mezzogiorno economy) remained relatively backward after Italian unification, despite the strong investments made by the Kingdom of Italy in modern infrastructure, and this caused unprecedented waves. emigration. In 1894, workers 'and peasants' organizations known as Fasci Siciliani protested against the poor social and economic conditions on the island, but they were suppressed within a few days. The Messina earthquake of December 28, 1908 killed more than 80,000 people. This period was also marked by the first contact between the Sicilian mafia (crime syndicate also known as Cosa Nostra) and the Italian government. The origin of the Mafia is still uncertain, but it is generally accepted that it emerged in the 18th century initially in private enforcement roles hired to protect the property of landowners and traders from the bandits (briganti briganti) who often plundered rural and urban areas. The battle against the Mafia made by the Italian Empire was controversial and ambiguous. The Carabinieri (Italian military police) and sometimes Italian soldiers often engage in horrific fights against mafia members, but their efforts are often useless due to secret cooperation between the mafia and local government and also because of the weaknesses of the Italian justice system.

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the 20th and 21st centuries

In the 1920s, the Fascist regime embarked on a stronger military action against the Mafia, led by the prefect of Cesare Mori known as "Iron Prefect" because of his ironic campaign of hands. This was the first time the operation against the Sicilian mafia ended in great success. There was an invasion of Sicilian allies during World War II beginning on 10 July 1943. In preparation for the invasion, the Allies revitalized the Mafia to help them. The Sicilian invasion contributed to the crisis of 25 July; in general, Allied winners were warmly welcomed by Sicily.

Italy became a republic in 1946 and, as part of the Italian Constitution, Sicily was one of five territories granted special status as an autonomous region. Both the partial Italian land reform and the special funding of the Italian government of Cassa per il Mezzogiorno (Fund for the South) from 1950 to 1984 helped the Sicilian economy. During this period, the island's economic and social conditions generally increased thanks to important investments in infrastructure such as roads and airports, and thanks to the creation of important industrial and commercial areas. In the 1980s, the Mafia was greatly weakened by a second major campaign led by judges Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino. Between 1990 and 2005, the unemployment rate fell from about 23% to 11%.

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Demographics

Sicily is a melting pot of different cultures and ethnicities, including the native Italis, Phoenician, Carthagin, Greek, Roman, Byzantine, Arabic, Normandy, Swabian, Aragonese, Lombard, Spanish, French, and Albanian, each contributing to culture islands and genetic makeup. About five million people live in Sicily, making it the fourth most populous region in Italy. In the first century after the unification of Italy, Sicily has one of the most negative levels of net migration among the Italian territories due to the emigration of millions of people to other European countries, North America, South America and Australia. As in Southern Italy and Sardinia, immigration to the island is very low compared to other regions in Italy because workers tend to go to Northern Italy instead, due to better job opportunities and industry. The latest ISTAT figures show about 175,000 immigrants out of a total of nearly 5.1 million people (nearly 3.5% of the population) ; Romanians with more than 50,000 formed the largest number of immigrants, followed by Tunisia, Morocco, Sri Lankans, Albanians, and others from Eastern Europe. As in other parts of Italy, the official language is Italian and its main religion is Roman Catholicism.

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Politics

Sicilian politics takes place within the framework of representative democracy, where the President of the Regional Government is the head of government, and the multi-party system is plural. Executive power is exercised by the Regional Government. The legislative powers are held by the government and the Sicilian Regional Assembly. The capital of Sicily is Palermo.

Traditionally, Sicilians gave middle-right results during the election. From 1943 to 1951 there was also a separatist political party called the Sicilian Freedom Movement ( Movimento Indipendentista Siciliano , MIS). The best electoral results were in the 1946 general election, when the MIS gained 0.7% of the national vote (8.8% of the votes in Sicily), and four seats. However, the movement lost all seats after the 1948 elections and the 1951 regional elections. Although never officially disbanded, today the movement is no longer part of Sicilian politics. After World War II Sicily became the bastion of Christian Democracy, in opposition to the Italian Communist Party. Their Communists and their successors (Left Democrats, Left Democrats and Democrats today) have not won in the region until 2012. Sicily is now ruled by a center-left coalition between Democrats and Democrats. Center for Christian parties and Democratic Center. Nello Musumeci is the current President since 2017.

Administrative division

Administratively, Sicily is divided into nine provinces, each with a capital of the same name as the province. The surrounding islands are also part of various Sicilian provinces: the Aeolian Islands (Messina), the island of Ustica (Palermo), the Aegadian Islands (Trapani), the island of Pantelleria (Trapani) and Pelagian Islands (Agrigento).

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Economy

Thanks to regular growth in recent years, Sicily is Italy's eighth richest region in terms of total GDP (see List of Italian territories according to GDP). A series of reforms and investments in agriculture such as the introduction of modern irrigation systems have made this important industry competitive. In the 1970s there was a growth of the industrial sector through the creation of several factories. In recent years, the importance of the service industry has grown for the opening of several shopping centers and for the growth of simple financial and telecommunications activities. Tourism is an important source of wealth for the island thanks to its natural and historical heritage. Today Sicily invests huge sums of money for the hotel industry structure, to make tourism more competitive. However, Sicily continues to have GDP per capita below the Italian average and more unemployed than other parts of Italy. This difference is largely due to the negative influence of the Mafia that is still active in some areas although much weaker than in the past.

Agriculture

Sicily has long been known for its fertile soil due to volcanic eruptions. Local farming is also helped by the island's pleasant climate. The main agricultural products are wheat, citron, orange (Arancia Rossa di Sicilia IGP) , lemon, tomato (Pomodoro di Pachino IGP) , olives, olive oil, artichoke, Opuntia ficus -indica (Fico d'India dell'Etna DOP) , almonds, grapes, pistachio (Pistacchio di Bronte DOP) and wine. Cattle and sheep raised. Cheese production is very important thanks to Ragusano DOP and Pecorino Siciliano DOP. Ragusa is famous for its honey production ( Miele Ibleo ) and chocolate ( Cioccolato in Modica IGP ).

Sicily is the third largest wine producer in Italy (the largest wine producer in the world) after Veneto and Emilia Romagna. This region is known mainly for the fortified Marsala wine. In recent decades, the wine industry has improved, new wine makers experimenting with lesser known native varieties, and Sicilian grapes have become better known. The best known local variety is Nero d'Avola, named for a small town not far from Syracuse; The best wine made with this wine comes from Noto, the famous old city close to Avola. Another notable native variety is the Nerello Mascalese used to make the wine of Etna Rosso DOC, Frappato which is a component of the Cerasuolo wine in Vittoria DOCG, Moscato di Pantelleria (also known as Zibibbo ) is used to create a different Pantelleria wine , Malvasia in Lipari is used for Malvasia wines in Lipari DOC and Catarratto is mostly used to make white wine Alcamo DOC. Furthermore, in Sicily high quality wines are also produced using non-native varieties such as Syrah, Chardonnay and Merlot.

Sicily is also known for its drinks, such as Amaro Averna produced in Caltanissetta and local limoncello.

Fishing is a fundamental resource for Sicily. There are important tuna, sardines, swordfish and European freshwater fish. Mazzara del Vallo is the largest fishery center in Sicily and one of the most important in Italy.

Industry and manufacturing

Road system improvements in Sicily have helped promote industrial development. The region has three important industrial districts:

• Catania Industrial District , where there are several food industries and one of Europe's best electronics industry centers called Etna Valley (in honor of the most famous Silicon) Valley) containing offices and factories of international companies such as STMicroelectronics and Numonyx;
• Syracuse Petrochemical District with important chemical industries, oil refineries and power plants (as an innovative Archimede combined energy plant);
• the latest Enna Industrial District where there is a food industry.

In Palermo there are important shipyards (such as Fincantieri), the famous Italian mechanical factory such as Ansaldo Breda, publishing and textile industry. The chemical industry also exists in the province of Messina (Milazzo) and in the province of Caltanissetta (Gela). There are petroleum, natural gas and asphalt fields in the Southeast (mostly near Ragusa) and massive sediments from halites in Central Sicily. Trapani province is one of the largest marine salt producers in Italy.

Statistics

GDP growth

A table showing GDP growth (nominal and per capita) varies between 2000 and 2008:

Economic sector

After the table showing Sicilian GDP growth, this table shows the Sicilian economic sectors in 2006:

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Transport

Road

The highway was recently built and expanded in the last four decades. The most prominent Sicilian road is the highway (known as autostrada ) that runs through the northern part of the island. Most toll road networks are raised by columns due to the mountainous areas of the island. Other main streets in Sicily are Strade Statali like SS.113 connecting Trapani to Messina (via Palermo), SS.114 Messina-Syracuse (via Catania) and SS.115 Syracuse-Trapani (via Ragusa, Gela and Agrigento).

Train

The first railway line in Sicily opened in 1863 (Palermo-Bagheria) and today all Sicilian provinces are served by a network of rail services, linking to most cities and towns; This service is operated by Trenitalia. Of the 1,378 km (856 mi) of railways used, more than 60% have been powered while the remaining 583 km (362 mi) are serviced by diesel engines. 88% of the line (1,209 km) is a single track and only 169 km (105 mi) of double tracks serving two main routes, Messina-Palermo (Tyrrhenian) and Messina-Catania-Syracuse (Ionian). From a narrow-sized train Ferrovia Circumetnea is the only one still operating, walking around Mount Etna. From the big cities of Sicily, there are services to Naples and Rome; this is reached by train loaded onto the ferry crossing to the mainland.

In Catania there is a subway service (metropolitana di Catania); in Palermo, the Trenitalia national train operator operates the commuter train (Palermo metropolitan train service), the capital of Sicily is also served by the 4 AMAT (Comunal Public Transport Operator) line; Messina is served by a tramline.

Airport

Mainland Sicily has several airports serving many Italian and European destinations and some extra-Europeans;

• 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 major airport with many national and international flights.
• Trapani-Birgi Airport, a military-civilian joint airport (third for island traffic). Recently the airport has experienced an increase in traffic thanks to its low cost carrier.
• Comiso-Ragusa Airport, recently renewed and changed back from military use to civil airports. It opened to commercial traffic and general aviation May 30, 2013.
• Palermo-Boccadifalco airport is Palermo's old airport and is currently used for general aviation and as a base for Guardia in Finanza and Police helicopters.
• Sigonella NAS Airport, it is the installation of the US Air Force and Navy.
• Lampedusa Airport
• Pantelleria Airport.

Port

By sea, Sicily is served by several ferry routes and cargo ports, and in all major cities, cruise ships anchored regularly.

• Mainland Italy: The port that connects to the mainland is Messina (route to Villa San Giovanni and Salerno), Italy's busiest passenger port, Palermo (routes to Genoa, Civitavecchia and Naples) and Catania (route to Naples).
• Small islands around Sicily: Milazzo ports serve the Aeolian Islands, Trapani and Marsala ports in the Aegadian Islands and the port of Porto Empedocle Pelagie Islands. From Palermo there is service to the island of Ustica and to Sardinia.
• International relations: From Palermo and Trapani there is a weekly service to Tunisia and there is also a daily service between Malta and Pozzallo.
• Commercial/Cargo Port: Augusta Port is the 5th largest cargo port in Italy that handles a lot of goods. The other major cargo ports are Palermo, Catania, Trapani, Pozzallo, and Termini Imerese.
• Tourist Port: Some "Touristic ports" along the coast of Sicily are serving private vessels that need to be moored on the island. The main port for this traffic is in the Marina in Ragusa, Riposto, Portorosa, Syracuse, CefalÃÆ'¹, and Sciacca. In Sicily, Palermo is also a major center for Mediterranean boat buggies with or without a crew in the Mediterranean. It is home to several charter companies such as Velasud Yachting Italia, with a maritime base at Marina Marina Arenella Yachting Club with a 10 yacht fleet including sailboats and catamaran up to 52 feet. In Palermo, and generally in Sicily, there are a number of boat rental companies, many of whom have no ownership. Most of them are brokers. Other well-known companies in Palermo and Portorosa (Messina) are the Best Charter and Jonio Yachting.
• Fishery port: Because of all islands, Sicily also has many fishing ports. The most important are in Mazara del Vallo followed by Castellamare del Golfo, Licata, Scoglitti, and Portopalo di Capo Passero.

The planned bridge

Plans for the bridge connecting Sicily to the mainland have been discussed since 1865. Over the past decade, plans have been developed for roads and railways to the mainland through the world's longest suspension bridge, the Messina Bridge Strait. Planning for the project has suffered some false starts during the last few years. On March 6, 2009, the Silvio Berlusconi government declared that construction work for the Messina Bridge will begin on December 23, 2009, and announce a pledge worth EUR1.3 billion as a contribution to the total cost of the bridge, which is estimated at EUR6.1 billion. The plan has been criticized by environmental associations and some local Sicilians and Calabrians, concerned about its environmental impact, economic sustainability and even the possible infiltration by organized crime.

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Tourism

The sunny climate, dry climate, scenery, cuisine, history, and Sicilian architecture attract many tourists from mainland Italy and abroad. The peak holiday season is in summer, though people visit the island year-round. Mount Etna, beaches, archaeological sites and major cities such as Palermo, Catania, Syracuse and Ragusa are favorite destinations, but the old town of Taormina and the nearby seaside resort of Giardini Naxos attract visitors from around the world, as well as the Aeolian Islands, Erice, Castellammare del Golfo, CefalÃÆ'¹, Agrigento, Pelagie Islands and Capo d'Orlando. The latter has some of the best preserved temples from the ancient Greek period. Many Mediterranean cruises stop in Sicily, and many wine tourists also visit the island.

Some of Hollywood's famous movie scenes and CinecittÃÆ' were shot in Sicily. This enhances Sicilian appeal as a holiday destination.

UNESCO World Heritage Site

There are seven UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Sicily. With inscription sequence:

• Valle dei Templi (1997) is one of the most outstanding examples of the art and architecture of Greater Greece, and is one of Sicily's major attractions as well as the Italian national monuments. This site is located in Agrigento.
Villa Romana del Casale (1997) is a Roman villa built in the first quarter of the 4th century and is located about 3 km (2 mi) outside the town of Piazza Armerina. It contains the richest, largest and most complex collection of Roman mosaics in the world.
• The Aeolian Islands (2000) is a volcanic archipelago in the Tyrrhenian Sea, named after the Aeolus wind god. The Aeolian Islands is a popular tourist destination in the summer, and attracts up to 200,000 visitors annually.
• The Late Baroque City of Val di Noto (2002) "is the culmination and division of late Baroque art in Europe". These include several cities: Caltagirone, Militello di Val di Catania, Catania, Modica, Noto, Palazzolo Acreide, Ragusa and Scicli.

• Necropolis of Pantalica (2005) is a large necropolis in Sicily with more than 5,000 graves dating from the 13th to 7th century BC. Syracuse is famous for its rich history, culture, amphitheater, and Greek architecture. They are located in southeastern Sicily.
• Mount Etna (2013) is one of the most active volcanoes in the world and is in an almost constant state of activity and produces the myths, legends and naturalistic observations of Greek, Celtic and Roman classics and medieval times.
• Arab-Norman Palermo and the cathedral churches of CefalÃÆ'¹ and Monreale ; including a series of nine civil and religious structures dating from the Norman era of Sicily (1130-1194)

Tentative Sites

• Taormina and Isola Bella;
• Motya and the Island of Libeo: Phoenician-Punic Civilizations in Italy;
• Scala dei Turchi;
• The Messina Strait.

Archaeological Sites

Because many different cultures settled, dominated or invaded the island, Sicily has various archaeological sites. Also, some of the most famous and most preserved temples and other structures of the Greek world are located in Sicily.. Here is a short list of major archaeological sites:

• Sicels/Sicans/Elymian/Greek: Segesta, Eryx, Cava Ispica, Thapsos, Pantalica.
• The Greeks: Syracuse, Agrigento, Segesta, Selinunte, Gela, Kamarina, Himera, Megara Hyblaea, Naxos, Heraclea Minoa,
• Phoenicians: Motya, Soluntum, Marsala, Palermo.
• Rome: Piazza Armerina, Centuripe, Taormina, Palermo.
• The Arabs: Palermo, Mazara del Vallo.

The excavations and restoration of one of the most famous archaeological sites in Sicily, the Temple Valley in Agrigento, lies in the direction of archaeologist Domenico Antonio Lo Faso Pietrasanta, Duke of Serradifalco Fifth, known in archaeological circles only as "Serradifalco" He also oversees the recovery of ancient sites in Segesta, Selinunte, Siracusa and Taormina.

Castle

In Sicily there are hundreds of castles, the most relevant are:

Beach Tower

The Coastal Tower in Sicily ( Torri costiere della Sicilia ) is an old tower 218 along the coast. In Sicily, the first coastal tower dates back to 1313 and 1345 from the Aragon monarchy. Of the 1360 threats come from the south, from North Africa to the Maghreb, especially to the Barbary pirates and Barbary Coast korseri. In 1516, the Turks settled in Algeria, and from 1520, corset Hayreddin Barbarossa under the command of the Ottoman Empire, operating from the port.

Most of the existing towers were built on the architectural design of Florentine Camillo Camilliani architects from [1583] to 1584, and involved coastal Sicilian researchers. The typology changed completely in '800, because of the new volume of higher cannon ships, towers built on the kind of British-built Martello towers in Britain and elsewhere in the United Kingdom. In 1805 the US Marines and the Navy, in the Battle of Derne, near Tripoli. destroy all the Barbary pirates, and put an end to piracy.

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Culture

To see Italy without seeing Sicily is not seeing Italy at all, because Sicily is a clue to everything.

Sicily has long been associated with art; many poets, writers, philosophers, intellectuals, architects and painters have roots on the island. The history of prestige in this field can be traced back to the Greek philosopher Archimedes, an original Syracuse who has become famous as one of the greatest mathematicians of all time. Gorgias and Empedocles are two other well-known Greek-Sicilian philosophers, while Syracusan Epicharmus is considered the inventor of comedy.

Art and architecture

The terracotta ceramics of this island are well known, the art of ceramics in Sicily back to the ancient native society called the Sicanians, it was then perfected during the period of Greek colonization and still stands out and different to this day. Today, Caltagirone is one of the most important centers in Sicily for artistic production of ceramics and terracotta sculptures. Famous painter includes Renaissance artist Antonello da Messina, Renato Guttuso and Giorgio de Chirico who was born in Greece who is often dubbed the "father of art Surrealist" and founder of the metaphysical art movement. The most famous architects are Filippo Juvarra (one of the most important figures of the Italian Baroque) and Ernesto Basile.

Sicilian Baroque

The Sicilian Baroque has a unique architectural identity. Noto, Caltagirone, Catania, Ragusa, Modica, Scicli and especially Acireale contain some of the finest examples of Italian Baroque architecture, carved in local red sandstone. Noto provides one of the best examples of Baroque architecture brought to Sicily.

Baroque style in Sicily is largely confined to buildings erected by churches, and palazzi are built as private dwellings for Sicilian aristocracies. The earliest example of this style in Sicily lacks individuality and is usually the very tough buildings that Sicilian visitors see to Rome, Florence, and Naples. However, even at this early stage, the provincial architects began to incorporate certain vernacular features of the old Sicilian architecture. In the mid-18th century, when the Baroque architecture of Sicily was distinct from architecture on the mainland, it usually included at least two or three of the following features, plus a unique design freedom that was more difficult to characterize in words.

Music and movies

Palermo hosts Teatro Massimo which is the largest opera house in Italy and the third largest in Europe. In Catania there is another important opera house, Teatro Massimo Bellini with 1,200 seats, regarded as one of Europe's best opera houses for its acoustics. Sicilian composers vary from Vincenzo Bellini, Sigismondo d'India, Giovanni Pacini and Alessandro Scarlatti, to contemporary composers such as Salvatore Sciarrino and Silvio Amato.

Many award-winning Italian cinema films have been filmed in Sicily, among the most famous of which are: Viscanti "La Terra Trema" and "Il Gattopardo" , Pietro Germi < i> "Divorzio all'Italiana " and "Sedotta e Abbandonata ".

Literature

The golden age of Sicilian poetry began in the early 13th century with the Sicilian School Giacomo da Lentini, which was very influential on Italian literature. Some of the most famous figures among the writers and poets are Luigi Pirandello (Nobel Prize winner, 1934), Salvatore Quasimodo (Nobel Prize laureate, 1959), Giovanni Verga (father of Italian Verismo), Domenico Tempio Giovanni Meli, Luigi Capuana, Mario Rapisardi, Federico de Roberto, Leonardo Sciascia, Vitaliano Brancati, Giuseppe Tomasi at Lampedusa, Elio Vittorini, Vincenzo Consolo and Andrea Camilleri (famous for his novel and short story with fictional inspector Salvo Montalbano as protagonist). On the political side the leading philosophers include Gaetano Mosca and Giovanni Gentile who wrote The Doctrine of Fascism. In terms of academic reflection, the historical and aesthetic wealth as well as the multi-layered heterogeneity of Sicilian literature and culture have been firstly understood methodologically and coined by the term transculturism by German scholars from the Italian Study of Dagmar Reichardt who, after publishing an extensive study on the literary work of Giuseppe Bonaviri, was awarded International Premio Flaiano ("Italianistica") for a trilingual collection (English, Italian, German) about Sicilian European liminality, Sicilian literature and Sicilian Studies.

Language

Today in Sicily most people are bilingual and speak Italian and Sicilian, a different and historical Roman language. Some Sicilian words are loan words from Greek, Catalan, French, Arabic, Spanish and other languages. Dialects related to Sicilian language are also spoken in Calabria and Salento; it has a significant influence on Maltese. But the use of the Sicilian language is limited to the informal context (mostly in the family) and in most cases it is replaced by the so-called Italian regional Sicily , Italian dialect which is a mixture between Italy and Sicily.

Sicily was an early influence in the development of the first Italian standard, although its use remained confined to the intellectual elite. This is a literary language in Sicily made under the supervision of Frederick II and his notarial court, or Magna Curia, led by Giacomo da Lentini, also gave birth to the Sicilian School, which was widely inspired by the troubadour literature. His linguistic and poetic heritage was later assimilated into Florentine by Dante Alighieri, the father of the modern Italian who, in his book De vulgari eloquentia , claiming that "Basically this language seems to deserve higher praise than others, because all poetry written by Italians can be called Sicilians". It is in this language that the first sonnet, whose discovery is attributed to Giacomo da Lentini himself.

Science

Catania has one of four Istituto Nazionale laboratories at Fisica Nucleare (the National Institute for Nuclear Physics) where there are cyclotrons that use protons for both nuclear physics experiments and for particle therapy to treat cancer (proton therapy). Noto has one of the largest radio telescopes in Italy that performs geodetic and astronomical observations. There are observatories in Palermo and Catania, run by Istituto Nazionale in Astrophysica (National Institute for Astrophysics). At Observatory of Palermo , astronomer Giuseppe Piazzi discovered the first and largest asteroid Ceres identified (today as a dwarf planet) on January 1, 1801; Catania has two observatories, one of which is located on Mount Etna at 1,800 meters (5,900 ft).

Syracuse is also an experimental center for solar technology through the creation of the Archimede solar power plant project which is the first concentrated solar power plant to use liquid salts for heat transfer and integrated storage with combined cycle gas facilities. All factories are owned and operated by Enel. The tourist city of Erice is also an important place of science thanks to the Ettore Majorana Foundation and the Scientific Cultural Center which includes 123 schools from all over the world, covering all branches of science, offering courses, seminars, workshops, and annual meetings. Founded by physicist Antonino Zichichi in honor of other scientists on the island, Ettore Majorana is known for Majorana equations and Majorana fermions. Famous Sicilian scientists include Stanislao Cannizzaro (chemist), Giovanni Battista Hodierna and NiccolÃÆ'² Cacciatore (astronomer).

Education

Sicily has four universities:

• The University of Catania dates from 1434 and is the oldest university in Sicily. It currently has 12 faculties and more than 62,000 students and offers undergraduate and postgraduate programs. Hosts Catania also Scuola Superiore , an academic institution associated with the University of Catania, which aims for excellence in education.
• The University of Palermo is the second oldest university on the island. It was officially established in 1806, although historical records show that drugs and laws have been taught there since the end of the 15th century. The Orto botanico di Palermo (botanical gardens of Palermo) is home to the university's Botany Department and is also open to visitors.
• The University of Messina, founded in 1548 by Ignatius of Loyola. It was held in 11 Faculties.
• The Kore University of Enna founded in 1995, is the newest Sicilian university and the first university founded in Sicily after the Italian Unification.

Religion

As in most parts of Italy, Roman Catholicism is the most dominant religious denomination in Sicily, and the church still plays an important role in most people's lives. Before the invasion of Normandy, Sicily was dominated by Eastern Orthodoxy, which some adherents still exist today. There is also a small minority of Eastern Byzantine Catholics whose rites have mixed ethnic Albanian congregations; it is operated by the Italo-Albanian Catholic Church. Most people still attend weekly churches or at least for religious festivals, and many people get married in church. There have been many Jews in Sicily for at least 1,400 years and probably for over 2,000 years. Some scholars believe that Sicilian Jews are a partial ancestor of Ashkenazi Jews. However, many Jewish communities faded when they were expelled from the island in 1492. Islam was present during the Sicilian Emirate, although Muslims were also expelled. Today, mostly due to immigration to the island, there are also some minority religions, such as Jehovah's Witnesses, Islam, Judaism, and Sikhism. There are also quite a number of evangelical Church members and practitioners living on the island.

Cuisine

The island has a long history in producing various famous dishes and wines, to the extent that Sisi

Source of the article : Wikipedia