| The island of Sicily has been inspiring travelers for | | | | center of an extensive kingdom, the Kingdom of Sicily, |
| thousands of years with its exhilarating combination of | | | | which it ruled for seven centuries, beginning in the |
| natural beauty and rich cultural heritage. Visitors from | | | | Middle Ages. Its other attractions for culture seekers |
| antiquity through modern times have been drawn to | | | | include its many archaeological parks such as the ones |
| the Mediterranean's largest island and impressed by | | | | at Selinunte and Piazza Armerina. |
| everything it has to offer. | | | | Travelers have appreciated the natural beauty of Sicily |
| The culture of Sicily is singularly unique, shaped as it is | | | | since the time of Ulysses, who sailed along its coast |
| by a wide variety of influences. Beginning in ancient | | | | witnessing its magnificent sunsets. The coast is not the |
| times, Sicily has been infused with a mix of cultural | | | | only place from which to view this spectacle, however; |
| traditions, thanks to its positioning as a key fixture of | | | | the ruins of Megara Hyblea and the Greek theatre at |
| multiple Mediterranean trade routes. Thus today Sicily | | | | Taormina have also been noted for their spectacular |
| reflects influences from Angevin, Aragonese, | | | | natural views. Those who visit the island in search of |
| Byzantine, Catalan, Greek, Muslim, Norman, and Roman | | | | adventure may find it by climbing Mount Etna, the |
| contributors, which combine in a colorful pastiche to | | | | highest peak in Italy outside of the Alps as well as the |
| make modern Sicily into a one of a kind, open air | | | | largest active volcano in Europe, or by swimming in the |
| museum. | | | | sea at Camarina, where countless ancient ships lie |
| The many Sicilian architectural remains, considered to | | | | hidden beneath the waves and the sand. |
| be some of the finest from all antiquity, date back as | | | | In visiting Sicily you will be in the company of such |
| far as the 13th to the 17th centuries BCE, which is the | | | | renowned commentators as the Roman philosopher |
| period from which the ancient and enchanting | | | | Cicero, who described Syracuse as the greatest and |
| Necropolis at Pantalica originates. This "City of the | | | | most beautiful city of all Ancient Greece. And although |
| Dead" contains over 5000 tombs from ancient times, | | | | one 19th century commentator described the island as |
| yet has been described as "a charming place to live". | | | | being "Seared and riven by lava and sun, like a hell on |
| Other architectural elements date from the 8th century | | | | Earth, inhabited by people more devil-like than human", |
| BCE, when the island was colonized by the first Greek | | | | other visitors have had much more favorable things to |
| settlers, imprinting Sicily with the lasting marks of the | | | | say. Among these visitors have been the countless |
| Hellenic civilization that they brought with them. At one | | | | members of the European gentry to make Sicily a |
| time an independent Greek city-state, Sicily is still home | | | | stop on their Grand Tour of Europe, a tradition popular |
| to one of the greatest examples of Greek art and | | | | from the 17th to 19th centuries. One of the more |
| architecture in the world, the Valle dei Templi, or Valley | | | | well-known of these travelers was the famous intellect |
| of the Temples, which is not only one of the island's | | | | Wolfgang Goethe, who wrote about the island of Sicily |
| central attractions but also an Italian national monument | | | | in his Italienische Reise, or Italian Journey. |
| and UNESCO Heritage Site. Sicily was once even the | | | | |