Sicily

Sicily Travel Guide

Sicily has beckoned seafaring wanderers since the trials of Odysseus were first sung in Homer's Odyssey. Strategically poised between Europe and Africa, this mystical land of three corners and a fiery volcano was the site of two of the most enlightened capitals of Europe: the ancient Greek city at Siracusa, and, in medieval times, the Arab-Norman one at Palermo. The island has been a melting pot of great Mediterranean cultures: Greek and Roman; then Arab and Norman; and finally French, Spanish, and Italian. Sicily reflects these influences in a rich tapestry of art and architecture that includes massive Romanesque cathedrals, two of the best-preserved Greek temples in the world, Roman amphitheaters, and baroque palaces and churches.