HISTORY: Phoenician and Greek colonies were settled on the current territory of Sicily around the year 750 BC. Later, Sicily was affected by the Sicilian Wars and the Punic Wars, before being included in the Roman Empire. After the fall of the empire, Sicily was conquered by the Vandals, the Ostrogoths and, later, by the Byzantine Empire. Under the Norman domination, the region became the Kingdom of Sicily, and under the House of Bourbon, the island became part of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. In 1860, Sicily was included in the newly created Kingdom of Italy.
GEOGRAPHY: Sicily, the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, is located southwest of the Italian Peninsula and the Italian region of Calabria, from which is separated by the narrow Messina Strait. Sicily has a varied relief, from the height of the Mount Etna, the tallest active volcano in Europe, with 3,329 meters, to the sinuous hills of the mainland and further, to its beautiful rocky shores. Read More [...]
Sicily is divided into nine provinces: Agrigento, Caltanissetta, Catania, Enna, Messina, Ragusa, Siracusa, Palermo and Trapani. The capital city of Sicily is Palermo, and the main cities are Catania, Messina, Syracuse, Marsala, Ragusa and Trapani. Other cities in Sicily worth visiting are Modica, Noto, Taormina, Cefalù, Agrigento, Erice and Monreale. Small but beautiful islands surrounds Sicily, like Ustica, the Aegadian Islands, the Aeolian Islands, Pantelleria and the Pelagian Islands.
TRANSPORT: The main airports of Sicily are the Vincenzo Bellini-Fontanarossa International Airport, located near Catania, and the Falcone-Borsellino Airport, near Palermo. In Sicily, you can travel by train or by bus, but be aware - depending on the route, some trains or buses can be very slow. A trip from Palermo to Catania, either by train or by bus, takes between 3 and 4 hours. A train or bus ticket for this trip costs about the same, around 13.50€.
MORE INFO: Catania Airport | Palermo Airport | Car Hire | Train Timetables & Fares | Bus Timetables & Fares | Hotels in Sicily | Tours & Activities in Sicily