It is an autonomous Region of Italyalong with surrounding minor islands, officially referred to as Regione Siciliana in ItalianSicilian Region. Sicily is located in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsulafrom which it is separated by the narrow Strait of Messina. The island has a typical Mediterranean climate. The earliest archaeological evidence of human activity on the island dates from as early as 12, BC. After the fall of the Roman Empire in the 5th century AD, Sicily was ruled during the Early Middle Ages by the Vandalsthe Ostrogothsthe Byzantine Empireand the Emirate of Sicily.

The Norman conquest of southern Italy led to the creation of the Kingdom of Sicilywhich was subsequently ruled by the Hohenstaufenthe Capetian House of AnjouSpainthe House of Habsburg[6] It was finally unified under the House of Bourbon with the Kingdom of Naples as the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. It became part of Italy in following the Expedition of the Thousanda revolt led by Giuseppe Garibaldi during the Italian unificationand a plebiscite.

Sicily was given special status as an autonomous region after the Italian constitutional referendum of Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the artsmusicliteraturecuisineand architecture.

It is also home to important archaeological and ancient sites, such as the Necropolis of Pantalicathe Valley of the Templesand Selinunte.

Sicily has a roughly triangular shape, earning it the name Trinacria. The terrain of inland Sicily is mostly hilly and is intensively cultivated wherever possible. The cone of Mount Etna dominates the eastern coast. Sicily and its surrounding small islands have some highly active volcanoes. Mount Etna is the largest active volcano in Europe and still casts black ash over the island with its ever-present eruptions.

It is the highest mountain in Italy south of the Alps. This makes it by far the largest of the three active volcanoes in Italybeing about two and a half times the height of the next largest, Mount Vesuvius. In Greek Mythologythe deadly monster Typhon was trapped under the mountain by Zeusthe god of the sky. Mount Etna is widely regarded as a cultural symbol and icon of Sicily. The Aeolian Islands in the Tyrrhenian Seato the northeast of mainland Sicily form a volcanic complex, and include Stromboli.

The three volcanoes of VulcanoVulcanello and Lipari are also currently active, although the latter is usually dormant. Off the southern coast of Sicily, the underwater volcano of Ferdinandeawhich is part of the larger Empedocles volcanolast erupted in It is located between the coast of Agrigento and the island of Pantelleria which itself is a dormant volcano. The autonomous region also includes several neighbouring islands: The island is drained by several rivers, 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 flows through the province of Messina and enters the sea at Giardini Naxosand the Simetowhich flows into the Ionian Sea south of Catania.

Other important rivers on the island are the Belice and Platani in the southwest. Sicily has a typical Mediterranean climate with mild and wet winters and hot, dry summers with very changeable intermediate seasons. On the coasts, especially the south-western, the climate is affected by the African currents and summers can be scorching.

Sicily is seen as an island of warm winters but also, above all along the Tyrrhenian coast and in the inland areas, winters can be cold, with typical continental climate. Snow falls in abundance above — metres, but stronger cold waves can easily carry it in the hills and even in coastal cities, especially in the northern coast of island.

The interior mountains, especially Nebrodi, Madonie and Etna, enjoy a fully mountain climate, with heavy snowfalls during winter. The summit of Mount Etna is usually snow capped from October to May. On the other hand, especially in the summer it is not unusual that there is the sirocco, the wind from the Sahara.

Rainfall is scarce, and water proves deficient in some provinces where water crisis can happen sometimes. According to the Regional Agency for Waste and Water, on 10 Augustthe weather station of Catenanuova EN recorded a maximum temperature of Sicily is an often-quoted example of man-made deforestationwhich has occurred since Roman times, when the island was turned into an agricultural region.

The central and southwest provinces are practically devoid of any forest. The Nebrodi Mountains Regional Park, established on 4 August and covering 86, hectaresacresis the largest protected natural area of Sicily; and contains the largest forest in Sicily, the Caronia. The Hundred Horse Chestnut Castagno dei Cento Cavalliin Sant'Alfioon the eastern slopes of Mount Etna, is the largest and oldest known chestnut tree in the world at 2, — 4, years old.

Sicily has a good variety of fauna. Species include fox, least weaselpine martenroe deerwild boarcrested porcupinehedgehogcommon toadVipera aspisgolden eagleperegrine falconhoopoe and black-winged stilt. The Zingaro Natural Reserve is one of the best examples of unspoiled coastal wilderness in Sicily.

Surrounding waters including Strait of Messina are home to varieties of birds and marine lifeincluding larger species such as flamingos and fin whales.

The original inhabitants of Sicily were three defined groups of the ancient peoples of Italy. The most prominent and by far the earliest of these was the Sicaniwho were said by Thucydides to have arrived from the Iberian Peninsula perhaps Catalonia.

The Elymiansthought to be from the Aegean Seawere the next tribe to join the Sicanians on Sicily. Recent discoveries of dolmens on the island dating to the second half of the third millennium BC seems to offer new insights into the culture of primitive Sicily. It is well known that the Mediterranean region went through a quite intricate prehistory, so much so that it is difficult to piece together the muddle of different peoples who have followed each other. The impact of two influences is clear, however: There is no evidence of any warring between the tribes, but the Sicanians moved eastwards when the Elymians settled in the northwest corner of the island.

The Sicels are thought to have originated in Liguria ; they arrived from mainland Italy in BC and forced the Sicanians to move back across Sicily and settle in the middle of the island.

Studies of genetic records reveal that peoples from various parts of the Mediterranean Basin mixed with the ancient inhabitants of Sicily, including Egyptians and Iberians. The Phoenician settlements in the western part of the island predates the Greeks. The most important colony was in Syracuse ; others were located at AkragasSelinunteGelaHimera and Zancle. Sicily was very fertile, and the successful introduction of olives and grape vines created a great deal of profitable trading; [26] a significant part of Greek culture on the island was that of the Greek religionand many temples were built throughout Sicily, including several in the Valley of the Temples at Agrigento.

Politics on the island was intertwined with that of Greece; Syracuse became desired by the Athenians who set out on the Sicilian Expedition during the Peloponnesian War. Syracuse gained Sparta and Corinth as allies and, as a result, the Athenian expedition was defeated. The Athenian army and ships were destroyed, with most of the survivors being sold into slavery.

Greek Syracuse controlled much of Sicily, though there were a few Carthaginian colonies in the far west of the island. The two cultures began to clash, leading to the Greek-Punic wars. Greece had begun to make peace with the Roman Republic in BC, and the Romans sought to annex Sicily as their republic's first province. Rome intervened in the First Punic Warcrushing Carthage, so that Sicily had become the first Roman province outside of the Italian Peninsula by BC.

Archimedes was murdered in the Second Punic Warwhich saw Carthage again trying to take Sicily from the Roman Republic. They failed, and Rome was even more unrelenting in its annihilation of the invaders this time; Roman consul M. Valerian told the Roman Senate in BC that "no Carthaginian remains in Sicily". Sicily served a level of high importance for the Romans, as it acted as the empire's granary. It was divided into two quaestorshipsin the form of Syracuse to the east and Lilybaeum to the west.

In 70 BC, noted figure Cicero condemned the misgovernment of Verres in his oration In Verrem. The island was used as a base of power numerous times, being occupied by slave insurgents during the First and Second Servile Warsand by Sextus Pompey during the Sicilian revolt. Christianity first appeared in Sicily during the years following AD ; between this time and ADConstantine the Great finally lifted the prohibition on Christianity, but not before a significant number of Sicilians had become martyrsincluding AgathaChristinaLucyand Euplius.

The period of history during which Sicily was a Roman province lasted for around years. As the Western Roman Empire was falling apart, a Germanic tribe known as the Vandals briefly took Sicily in AD under the rule of their king Geiseric but in the island was returned to Odoacerwho was ruling Italy,in the name of the Byzantine Eastern Roman Emperor. The Vandals had already invaded parts of Roman FranceSpain, and Portugal, asserting themselves as an important power in Western Europe.

The Goths were Germanic, but Theodoric sought to revive Roman culture and government and allowed freedom of religion. Forty-seven years later the Gothic War — began between the Ostrogoths and the Eastern Roman Empire, also known as the Byzantine Empire. Sicily was the first part of Italy to be taken by general Belisariuswho was commissioned by Eastern Emperor Justinian I as part of an ambitious attempt to restore the whole Roman Empire, thereby uniting the Eastern and the Western halves.

Totila, in turn, was defeated and killed in the Battle of Taginae by Byzantine general Narses in InEmperor Justinian I made Sicily a Byzantine province and, as in Roman times, Greek continued to be the predominate language spoken on the island.

After the advent of Islam Sicily was invaded by the Arab forces of Caliph Uthman inbut the Arabs failed to make any permanent gains and returned to Syria after gathering some booty. Byzantine Emperor Constans II decided to move from the capital Constantinople to Syracuse in Sicily during The following year, he launched an assault from Sicily against the Lombard Duchy of Beneventowhich then occupied most of southern Italy.

Contemporary accounts report that the Greek language was widely spoken on the island during this period. ByEuphemiusthe Byzantine commander in Sicily, had apparently killed his wife and 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. A Muslim army was then sent to the island consisting of ArabsBerbersCretansand Persians. The Muslim conquest of Sicily was a see-saw affair and met with much resistance.

It took over a century for Byzantine Sicily to be conquered; the largest city, Syracuse, held out until and the Greek city of Taormina fell in It was not until that all of Sicily was conquered by Berbers and Arabs. The Arabs initiated land reformswhich increased productivity and encouraged the growth of smallholdingsundermining the dominance of the latifundia.

The Arabs further improved irrigation systems.

The language spoken in Sicily under Arab rule was Siculo-Arabic and Arabic influence is still present in some Sicilian words today. Although the language is extinct in Sicily, it has developed into what is now the Maltese language on the islands of Malta today.

A description of Palermo was given by Ibn Hawqalan Arab merchant who visited Sicily in A walled suburb, called the Al-Kasr the palaceis 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 reckoned 7, individual butchers trading in shops. Palermo was initially ruled by the Aghlabids ; later it was the centre of Emirate of Sicily under the nominal suzerainty of the Fatimid Caliphate. Throughout this reign, revolts by Byzantine Sicilians continuously occurred, especially in the east, and parts of the island were re-occupied before being quashed.

Agricultural items such as oranges, lemons, pistachio and sugarcane were brought to Sicily. Val di Mazara in the west; Val Demone in the northeast; and Val di Noto in the southeast. As dhimmisthe native Eastern Orthodox Christians were allowed freedom of religionbut had to pay a tax, the jizyaand experienced some limitations to actively participate in public affairs.

The Emirate of Sicily began to fragment as intra-dynastic quarrelling fractured the Muslim regime. Inseventy years after losing their last cities in Sicily, the Byzantines under the Greek general George Maniakes invaded the island together with their Varangian and Norman mercenaries. Although Maniakes was killed in a Byzantine civil war in before completing a reconquest, Normans would complete a conquest of Sicily from the Arabs under Roger I.

InRoger was victorious at Misilmeribut the most crucial battle was the siege of Palermo, which led to most of Sicily coming under Norman control in Roger died in and was succeeded by his son Roger IIwho was the first King of Sicily. The elder Roger was married to Adelaidewho ruled until her son came of age in The Norman Hauteville familywho were descendants of Vikingscame to appreciate and admire the rich and layered culture in which they now found themselves.

And they began implementing their own culture, customs, and politics in the region. Many Normans in Sicily also adopted some of the attributes of Muslim rulers and their Byzantine subjects in dress, language, literature, and even in the presence of palace eunuchs and, according to some accounts, a harem. 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, still with heavy Arab and Greek influence.

Muslims, Jews, Byzantine GreeksLombards, and Normans worked together to form a society that historians have said created some of the most extraordinary buildings that the world has ever seen.

Palermo continued on as the capital under the Normans. Roger's son Roger II of Sicily succeeded his brother Simon of Sicily as Count of Sicily, and was ultimately able to raise the status of the island to a kingdom inalong with his other holdings, which included the Maltese Islands and the Duchies of Apulia and Calabria. 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.

Significantly, immigrants from Northern Italy and Campania arrived during this period. Linguistically, the island shifted from being one third Greek and two thirds Arabic speaking at the time of the Norman conquest to becoming fully Latinised. After a century, the Norman Hauteville dynasty died out; the last direct descendant and heir of Roger, Constancemarried Emperor Henry VI.

The last of the Hohenstaufens, Frederick IIthe only son of Constancewas 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. The pope gladly accepted the role, as it allowed him to detach Sicily from the rest of The Holy Roman Empirethus ending the spectre of the Papal States being surrounded.

Frederick was four when, at Palermohe was crowned King of Sicily in 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 Aragonand began his reclamation of the imperial crown.

Subsequently, due to Muslim rebellions, Frederick II destroyed Arab presence in Sicily, between and he moved all the Muslims of Sicily to the city of Lucera in Apulia. Conflict between the Hohenstaufen house and the Papacy led, into Pope Innocent IV crowning the French prince Charlescount of Anjou and Provenceas the king of both Sicily and Naples. Strong opposition to French officialdom due to mistreatment and taxation saw the local peoples of Sicily rise up, leading in to an insurrection known as the War of the Sicilian Vesperswhich eventually saw almost the entire French population on the island killed.

Peter gained control of Sicily from the French, who, however, retained control of the Kingdom of Naples. The wars continued until the peace of Caltabellotta inwhich saw Peter's son Frederick III recognised as king of the Isle of Sicily, exchange rate calculator anz Charles II was recognised as the king of Naples by Pope Boniface VIII.

The onset of the Spanish Inquisition in led to Ferdinand II decreeing the expulsion of minfin.com.ua.forex.live quotes Jews from Sicily. Just a few years before the latter earthquake, the island was struck by a ferocious plague.

While the Austrians were concerned with the War of the Polish Successiona Bourbon prince, Charles from Spain was able to conquer Sicily and Naples.

However, the advent of Napoleon 's First French Empire saw Naples taken at the Battle of Campo Tenese and Bonapartist King of Naples were installed. Ferdinand III the Bourbon was forced to retreat to Sicily which he was still in complete control of with the help of British naval protection.

Following this Sicily joined the Napoleonic Warsand subsequently the British under Lord William Bentinck established a military and diplomatic presence on the island to protect against a French invasion. After the wars were won Sicily and Naples formally merged as the Two Sicilies under the Bourbons. Major revolutionary movements occurred in and against the Bourbon government with Sicily seeking independence; the second of which, the revolution resulted in a short period of independence for Sicily.

However, in the Bourbons retook the control of the island and dominated it until The Expedition of the Thousand led by Giuseppe Garibaldi captured Sicily inas part of the Risorgimento. Garibaldi's march was completed with the Siege of Gaetawhere the final Bourbons were expelled and Garibaldi announced his dictatorship in the name of Victor Emmanuel II of Kingdom of Sardinia.

As a result of the Kingdom of Italy proclamation, Sicily became part of the kingdom on 17 Nortel toronto stock trading The Sicilian economy and the wider mezzogiorno economy remained relatively underdeveloped after the Italian Unificationin spite of the strong investments made by the Kingdom of Italy in terms of modern infrastructure, and this caused an unprecedented wave of emigration.

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 bandits 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 Italian army were often involved in terrible fights against the mafia members, but their efforts were frequently useless because of the secret co-operation between mafia and local government and also because of the weakness of the Italian judicial system.

In the s, the Fascist regime began a stronger military action against the Mafia, which was led by prefect Euro exchange rate in ireland Mori who was known as the "Iron Prefect" because of his iron-fisted campaigns. This was the first time in which an operation against the Sicilian mafia ended with considerable success. In preparation for the invasion, the Allies revitalized the Mafia to aid them.

The invasion of Sicily contributed to the 25 July crisis ; in general, the Allied victors were warmly embraced by Sicily. Italy became a Republic in and, as part of the Constitution of ItalySicily dolmen stock brokers one of the five regions given special status as an autonomous region.

During this period, the economic and social condition of the island was generally improved thanks to important investments on infrastructures such as motorways and airportsand thanks to the creation of important industrial and commercial areas.

Sicily is a melting pot of a variety of different cultures and ethnicities, including the original Italic peoplethe GreeksRomansByzantinesSaracensNormansSwabiansAragoneseLombardsSpaniardsFrench, and Albanianseach contributing to the island's culture and genetic makeup.

About five million people live in Sicily, making it the fourth most populated region in Italy. In the first century after the Italian UnificationSicily had one of the most negative net migration rates among the regions of Italy because of the emigration of millions of people to 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. The most recent ISTAT figures [75] show around thousand immigrants out of the total options for volatile markets 2nd edition almost 5,1 million population nearly 3,5 percent of the population ; Romanians with more than 50 thousand make up the most immigrants, followed by TunisiansMoroccansSri LankansAlbaniansand others mostly from Eastern Hirose forex [ not in citation given ].

As in the rest of Italy, the official language is Italian and the binary brokers in south africa religion is Roman Catholicism. In Sicily, there are only three metropolitan areas:. Overall, there are fifteen cities and towns which have a population above 50, how to get free sc on free realms with a code, these are:.

Y-Dna haplogroups were found at the following frequencies in Sicily: Further migrations by the Vandals, Normans and Saracens have affected the ethnic composition of the Sicilian people. The Norman civilisation proliferated for several centuries on the island, with a strong impact on the culture and on different populations.

The Norman Kingdom of Sicily was created inwith Palermo as its capital, and would last until the 19th century. A recent genetic study of Southern Italian and Sicilian populations has shown that Sicilians are very similar in genetic makeup to mainlander Italians from the adjacent how much does a wildlife biologist make of Calabria, Basilicata and Apulia. The politics of Sicily takes place in a framework of a presidential representative democracywhereby the President of Regional Government is the head of governmentand 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 gives centre-right results during election. Its best electoral result was in the general electionwhen MIS obtained 0. However, the movement lost all its seats following the general election and the 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 Democracyin opposition to the Italian Communist Party. The Communists and their successors allstocks markets world charts world charts Democratic Party of the Leftthe Democrats of the Left immediate withdraw binary options the present-day Democratic Forex chart pattern scanner had never won in the region until Sicily is now governed by a centre-left coalition between Democratic Party and the centre-party Union of Christian and Centre Democrats.

Rosario Crocetta is the current President since Administratively, Sicily is divided into nine provinces, each with a capital city of the same name as the province.

Small surrounding islands are also part of various Sicilian provinces: Thanks to the regular growth of the last years, Sicily is the eighth richest region of Italy in terms of total GDP see List of Italian regions by GDP. A series of reforms and investments on agriculture such as the introduction of modern irrigation systems have made this important industry competitive.

Today Sicily is investing a large amount of money forex trading plattformen structures of the hospitality industryin order to make tourism more competitive. Sicily has long been noted for its fertile soil due to the volcanic eruptions in the past and present.

The local agriculture is also helped by the pleasant climate of the island. The main agricultural products are wheat, citronsoranges Arancia Rossa di Sicilia IGPlemons, tomatoes Pomodoro di Pachino IGPolivesolive oilartichokesOpuntia ficus-indica Fico d'India dell' Etna DOPalmondsgrapespistachios Pistacchio di Bronte DOP and wine.

Cattle and sheep are raised. The cheese productions are particularly important thanks to the Ragusano DOP and the Pecorino Siciliano DOP. Ragusa is noted for its honey Miele Ibleo and chocolate Cioccolato di Modica IGP productions. Sicily is the third largest wine producer in Italy the world's largest wine producer after Veneto www forex tradingcharts com Emilia Romagna.

In recent decades the wine industry has improved, new winemakers are experimenting with hukum forex menurut muhammadiyah native varietals, and Sicilian wines have become better known. Other important native varietals are Nerello Mascalese used to make the Etna Rosso DOC wineFrappato that is a component of the Cerasuolo di Vittoria DOCG wineMoscato di Pantelleria also known as Zibibbo used to make different Pantelleria wines, Malvasia di Lipari used for the Malvasia di Lipari DOC wine and Catarratto mostly used to make the white wine Alcamo DOC.

Furthermore, in Sicily high quality wines are also produced using non-native varietals like SyrahChardonnay and Merlot. Sicily is also known for its liqueurs, such as the Amaro Averna produced in Caltanissetta and the local limoncello.

Fishing is another fundamental resource for Sicily. There are important tunasardineswordfish and European anchovy fisheries.

Mazzara del Vallo is the largest fishing centre in Sicily and one of the most important in Italy. Improvements in Sicily's road system have helped to promote industrial development. The region has three important industrial districts:. In Palermo there are important shipyards such as Fincantierimechanical factories of famous Italian companies as Ansaldo Bredapublishing and textile industries.

Chemical industries are also in the Province of Messina Milazzo and in the Province of Caltanissetta Gela. A table showing Sicily's different GDP nominal and per capita growth between and After the table which shows Sicily's GDP growth, [] this table shows the sectors of the Sicilian economy in Highways have recently been built and expanded in the last four decades.

The most prominent Sicilian roads are the motorways forex support resistance trading as autostrada running through the northern section of the island.

Much of the motorway network is elevated by columns due to the mountainous terrain of the island. The first railway in Sicily was opened in 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 narrow gauge railways 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 and Rome; this is achieved by the trains being loaded onto ferries which cross to the mainland.

In Catania there is an underground railway service metropolitana di Catania ; in Palermo the national railway operator Trenitalia operates a commuter rail Palermo metropolitan railway service forex stock simulator, the Sicilian Capital is also served by 4 AMAT Comunal Public Transport Operator tramlines; Messina is served by a tramline.

Mainland Sicily has several airports which serve numerous Italian and European destinations and some extra-European. By sea, Sicily is served by several ferry routes and cargo ports, and in all major cities, cruise ships dock on a regular basis. Plans for a bridge linking Sicily to the mainland have been discussed since Throughout the last decade, plans were developed for a road and rail link to the mainland via what would be the world's longest suspension bridgethe Strait of Messina Bridge.

Planning for the project has experienced several false starts over the past few years. Sicily's sunny, dry climate, scenery, cuisine, history and architecture attract many tourists from mainland Italy and abroad. The tourist season peaks in the summer months, although people visit the island all year round.

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. This increased the attraction of Sicily as a tourist destination. There are seven UNESCO World Heritage Sites on Forex peace army fng. By the order of inscription:. 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 Salary of stock traders world are located in Sicily. Here is a short list of the major archaeological sites:.

The excavation and restoration of one of Sicily's best known archaeological sites, the Valley of the Temples in Agrigento, was at the direction of the archaeologist Domenico Antonio Lo Faso PietrasantaFifth Duke of Serradifalcoknown in archaeological circles simply as "Serradifalco". He also oversaw the restoration of ancient sites at SegestaSelinunteSiracusa and Taormina. The Coastal towers in Sicily Torri costiere della Sicilia are old watchtowers along all the coast of the isle.

In Sicily, the first coastal towers date back to the period between and of the Aragonese monarchy. From the threat came from the south, from North Africa to Maghrebmainly to Barbary pirates and corsairs of Barbary Coast. Inthe Turks settled in Algiersand fromthe corsair Hayreddin Barbarossa under the command of Ottoman Empireoperated from that harbour.

Most of the existing towers were built on architectural designs of the Florentine architect Camillo Camilliani from [] toand involved the coastal periple of Sicily.

The typology changed completely in ', because of the new higher fire volumes of cannon vessels, the towers were built on the type of Martello towers that the British built money exchange rate south african rand the UK and elsewhere in the British Empire.

In the U. Marines stock market stochastics definition Navy, in the Battle of Dernenear Tripoli, destroy all of the Barbary pirates, and to binary options method mironov realistic to an end to piracy acts. Ligny Tower - Trapani.

Torre Cabrera Marina di Ragusa Marina di Ragusa. Forex utv 330 driver Cabrera Pozzallo Pozzallo. Vignazza Tower Giardini Naxos. To have seen Italy without having seen Sicily is to not have seen Italy at all, for Sicily is the clue to everything.

Sicily has long been associated with the arts ; many poets, writers, philosophersintellectuals, architects and painters have roots on the island. The history of prestige in this field can be traced back to Greek philosopher Archimedesa Syracuse native who has gone on to become renowned as one of the greatest mathematicians of all time.

Terracotta ceramics from the island are well known, the art of ceramics on Sicily goes back to the original ancient peoples named the Sicaniansit was then perfected during the period of Greek colonisation and is still prominent and distinct to this day. Famous painters include Renaissance artist Antonello da MessinaRenato Guttuso and Greek born Giorgio de Chirico who is commonly dubbed the "father of Surrealist art " and founder of the metaphysical art movement.

The Sicilian Baroque has a unique architectural identity. NotoCaltagironeCataniaRagusaModicaScicli and particularly Acireale contain some of Italy's best examples of Baroque architecturecarved 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 palazzi built as private residences for the Sicilian aristocracy.

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 typically included at least two or three of the following features, coupled with a unique freedom of design that is more difficult to characterise in words.

Palermo hosts the Teatro Massimo which is the largest opera house in Italy and the third largest in all of Europe. Sicily's composers vary from Vincenzo BelliniSigismondo d'IndiaGiovanni Pacini and Alessandro Scarlattito contemporary composers such as Salvatore Sciarrino and Silvio Amato. Many award-winning and how to trade palm oil futures films of Italian cinema have been filmed in Sicily, amongst the most noted of which are: Visconti 's " La Terra Trema " and " Il Gattopardo "Pietro Germi 's " Divorzio all'Italiana " and " Sedotta e Abbandonata ".

The golden age of Sicilian poetry began in the early 13th century with the Sicilian School of Giacomo da Lentiniwhich was highly influential on Italian literature. Some of the most noted figures among writers and poets are Luigi Pirandello Nobel laureate,Salvatore Quasimodo Nobel laureate,Giovanni Verga the father of the Italian VerismoDomenico TempioGiovanni MeliLuigi CapuanaMario RapisardiFederico de RobertoLeonardo SciasciaVitaliano BrancatiGiuseppe Tomasi di LampedusaElio VittoriniVincenzo Consolo and Andrea Camilleri noted for his novels and short stories with the fictional character Inspector Salvo Montalbano as protagonist.

On the political side notable philosophers include Gaetano Mosca and Giovanni Gentile who wrote The Doctrine of Fascism. Today in Sicily most people are bilingual and speak both Italian and Siciliana distinct and historical Romance language. Some of the Sicilian words are loan words from GreekCatalanFrench, ArabicSpanish and other languages. However the use of 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 Sicilyan Italian dialect that is a kind of mix between Italian and Sicilian.

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 and his court of notaries, or Magna Curiawhich, headed by Giacomo da Lentinialso gave birth to the Sicilian Schoolwidely inspired by troubadour literature.

Its linguistic and poetic heritage was later assimilated into the Florentine by Dante Alighierithe father of modern Italian who, in his De vulgari eloquentiaclaims that "In effect this vernacular seems to deserve a higher praise than the others, since all the poetry written by Italians can be called Sicilian". 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 protons both for nuclear physics experiments and for particle therapy to treat cancer proton therapy.

In the Observatory of Palermo the astronomer Giuseppe Piazzi discovered the first and the largest asteroid to be identified Ceres today considered a dwarf planet on 1 January ; [] Catania has two observatories, one of which is situated on Mount Etna at 1, metres 5, feet. Syracuse is also an experimental centre for the solar technologies through the creation of the project Archimede solar power plant that is the first concentrated solar power plant to use molten salt for heat transfer and storage which is integrated with a combined-cycle gas facility.

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All the plant is owned and operated by Enel. 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 fermions.

As in most Italian regions, Christian Roman Catholicism is the most predominant religious denomination in Sicily, and the church still plays an important role in the lives of most people.

Before the invasion of the Normans, Sicily was predominantly Eastern Orthodoxof which few adherents still remain today. 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, years and possibly for more than 2, years. Some scholars believe that the Sicilian Jewry are partial ancestors of the Ashkenazi Jews. Islam was present during the Emirate of Sicilyalthough Muslims were also expelled.

Today, mostly due to immigration to the island, there are also several religious minorities, such as Jehovah's Witnesses, Islam, Judaism, and Sikhism.

There are also a fair number of Evangelical Church members and practitioners who reside on the island. 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. The ingredients are typically rich in taste while remaining affordable to the general public [] The savoury dishes of Sicily are viewed to be healthyusing fresh vegetables and fruits, such as tomatoes, artichokesolives including olive oilcitrusapricotsauberginesonions, beansraisins commonly coupled with seafood, freshly caught from the surrounding coastlines, including tunasea breamsea basscuttlefishswordfishsardinesand others.

Perhaps the most well-known part of Sicilian cuisine is the rich sweet dishes including ice creams and pastries. Like the cuisine of the rest of southern Italy, pasta plays an important part in Sicilian cuisine, as does rice; for example with arancini. Parsley is used abundantly in many dishes. Although Sicilian cuisine is commonly associated with sea food, meat dishes, including gooselambgoat, rabbit, and turkeyare also found in Sicily.

It was the Normans and Swabians who first introduced a fondness for meat dishes to the island. The most popular sport on Sicily is footballwhich came to the fore in the late 19th century under the influence of the English. Some of the oldest football clubs in all of Italy are from Sicily: To date 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.

Palermo and Catania have a heated rivalry and compete in the Sicilian derby together: In the island, the most noted footballer is Salvatore Schillaciwho won the Golden Boot at the FIFA World Cup with Italy.

Although football is by far 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 National Championship of Excellence. They have even participated at European level in the European Challenge Cup. Competing in the basketball variation of Serie A is Orlandina Basket from Capo d'Orlando in the province of Messinawhere the sport has a reasonable following.

Various other sports that are played to some extent include volleyball, handballand water polo. Previously, in motorsportSicily held the prominent Targa Florio sports car race that took place in the Madonie Mountains, with the start-finish line in Cerda. From 28 September to 9 October Trapani was the location of Acts 8 and 9 of the Louis Vuitton Cup. This sailing race featured, among other entrants, all the boats that took part in the America's Cup. Each town and city has its own patron saint, and the feast days 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 scenewhich 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 Epiphanyoften highlighted by the arrival of the magi on horseback.

Oral tradition plays a large role in Sicilian folklore. 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 Festivalwhich is held annually in Ramacca in April. The most important traditional event in Sicily is the carnival. The Opera dei Pupi Opera of the Puppets; Sicilian: The sides of donkey carts are decorated with intricate, painted scenes; these same tales are enacted in traditional puppet theatres featuring hand-made marionettes of wood.

A great place to see this marionette art is the puppet theatres of Palermo. The Sicilian marionette theatre Opera dei Pupi was proclaimed in and inscribed in in the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists. 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 Canino of Partinico and Alcamo ; Crimi, Trombetta and Napoli of CataniaPennisi and Macri of AcirealeProfeta of LicataGargano and Grasso of Agrigento.

Other beautiful marionettes are on display at the Museo Civico Vagliasindi in Randazzo. There are several cultural icons and regional symbols in Sicily, including flags, carts, sights and geographical features. The Flag of Sicilyregarded as a regional icon, was first adopted inafter the Sicilian Vespers of Palermo. It is characterised by the presence of the trinacria triskelion in its middle, the winged head of Medusa and three wheat ears.

The three bent legs are supposed to represent the three points of the island Sicily itself.

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The colours, instead, respectively represent the cities of Palermo and Corleoneat those times an agricultural city of renown.

Palermo and Corleone were the first two cities to found a confederation against the Angevin rule. It finally became the official public flag of the Regione Siciliana in Januaryafter the passing of an apposite regional law which advocates its use on public buildings, schools and city halls along with the national Italian flag and the European one.

Familiar as an ancient symbol of the region, the Triskelion is also featured on Greek coins of Syracusesuch as coins of Agathocles — BC. The symbol dates back to when Sicily was part of Magna Graeciathe colonial extension of Greece beyond the Aegean. The three legs of the triskelion are also reminiscent of Hephaestus 's three-legged tables that ran by themselves, as mentioned in Iliad xviii.

The Sicilian cart is an ornate, colourful style of horse or donkey-drawn cart native to Sicily. Sicilian wood carver 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. The Sicilian 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 driving capusually worn by car drivers.

The coppola is usually made in tweed. Today it is widely regarded as a definitive symbol of Sicilian heritage. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. This article is about the region of Italy. For other uses, see Sicily disambiguation. For the Roman province, see Sicilia Roman province. For the Italian film, see Sicilia! Magna GraeciaAncient Romeand Sicilia Roman province. Norman conquest of southern Italy.

Kingdom of Sicily and List of monarchs of Sicily. List of airports in Sicily. Strait of Messina Bridge.

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Autonomous region of Italy. River length in km mi Salso. RA15 Catania's Bypass West. A29 Palermo-Mazara del Vallo. Castle of the Counts of Modica. Wikimedia Commons has media related to Sicily. Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Sicily.