Sicily
It's more than an island. Discover Sicily and discover the world. The world's first multicultural society, Sicily is Italy's (and Europe's) most historically cosmopolitan region, having been ruled by Asians, Africans and Europeans.
The island is a unique place full of art, archeology, history, folklore and breathtaking scenery. And, of course, great food.
Sicily is almost a nation unto itself. The enchanting land where Archimedes taught and Saint Paul preached was a Greek colony, a Roman province, an Arab emirate and a Norman kingdom. The Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Swabians, Angevins, Aragonese and Jews made Sicily their own, leaving behind an eclectic history that you can still touch today.
And Sicily will touch you. Sicily is Europe, Africa and Asia on one island. Greek tyrants, Arab emirs, Norman knights, Byzantine bishops and Holy Roman Emperors made Sicily the place it is. Experience their legacy in Phoenician settlements, Punic cities, Greek temples, Roman amphitheatres, Norman-Arab castles and Aragonese churches. Thirty centuries of history expressed in the Classical, the Romanesque, the Gothic, the Baroque.
You will see some of the most spectacular nature Italy has to offer: miles and miles of vineyards rivaling any in Tuscany or Piedmont, endless olive groves sprouting from emerald-green carpets of grass, veritable forests of shiny citrus and fruit trees, rugged silver mountains, all against a backdrop of the deep blue sea. Sicily has a massive amount of world-class art, ranging from Greek to Roman, Byzantine, Arab, Norman, French, and Spanish, and some of it enjoys the most astonishing setting, abandoned on a hillside or nestled into a deserted cove where you can come upon it so naturally that you almost think you’ve stepped into a time machine.