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Sicily is the largest island in Mediterranean, a place of sea and sun, raped and possessed but not truly
conquered. Sicily was inhabited in ancient times by Sikels, Sicans and Elymians but around the 10th
century B.C. it was opened up to settlement by Phoenician colonisers and later on, from 734 B.C. onwards,
the Greek began to arrive, attracted by the ports and fertile soil. The Phoenicians, who had settled in the
western part of the island, set up towns such as Panormo (Palermo), Solunto e Mozia and were allied with
the native Elymians, whose main settlements were at Segesta, Erice and Entella.
Entella The Greeks called the
island Trinacria, from trèis acra or with three promontories. The most important Greek cities were Naxos
(735 B.C.) and Catania (735 B.C.). In
n 212 B.C. Sicily became a province of the Roman Empire taking over the
dominant role played by Syracuse and playing a fundamental part in the destruction of Carthage. With
W the
end of the Roman Empire,, Sicily suffered a series of invasions, firstly the Vandals,
Vandals in 468 A.D. and then the
Ostrogoths in 491, until, in 535, Belisarius conquered the island leading to a long period of Byzantine
domination. This was characterized by the consolidation of the Christian traditions of the island and the
construction of new cathedrals and monasteries. The long period of peace that started with the Byzanthine
period domination was interrupted in 827 by the arrival of the Arabs in Mazara del Vallo. The Arab
conquest of Sicily was long and bloody. Palermo
Pa
under the Arab domination, became one of the most
important centres for trade
de in the Mediterranean and in 948, as Sicily was made an emirate, Palermo
became its capital. There were about three hundred mosques, numerous luxurious palaces, gardens and
crowded markets similar
ar for its importance to Cordova and Cairo. The Arab occupation lasted until 1072,
when the Normans captured Palermo and it was a period of great splendour: in the 12th century Palermo
was the beautiful capital of the kingdom of Sicily. This period saw the building of Palatine Chapel and
Monreale Cathedral, as well as the conversion of numerous mosques into church starting with Palermo
Cathedral, then S. Giovanni degli Eremiti, the “Martorana”. In 1185, the kingdom of Sicily passed from
Norman control into the hands of Swabian dynasty of the Hohenstaufen,, following the marriage between
Constance de Hauteville, daughter of Roger II,
II and Henry VI of Swabia, third child of Frederik Barbarossa,
who was proclaimed king of Sicily. The court of Frederick II, known
wn as Stupor Mundi because of its
imposing image of scholar and lover of the arts, saw the birth of the first Sicilian Poetry School, which
provided the first example of literature written in Italian tather than in Latin. With the death of Fredericke,
Sicily entered a darker period : the Angevins who were so quick to spread the bad reputation of the French
in governing the island. Charles of Anjou moved the capital of the kingdom to Naples, imposed very eavy
taxation, provoking the famous revolt of the Sicilian
Sicilian Vespers which led to the French being expelled from
the island. The kingdom then passed into the hands of the Crown of Aragon and in 1415 came under the
control of a Spanish viceroy. During the Spanish Empire Sicily was once again badly governed, while
growing popular discontent induced the Spanish to introduce the Holy Inquisition. During the 18th century,
Sicily came under the control of the House of Savoy (1713), then the Austrians (1722),
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and finally the
Bourbons (1734), whose style of government led to popular discontent and to the Revolution of 1848.
Finally, Sicily was annexed to the kingdom of Italy, with Italian Unification in 1860 and in 1846 it was
granted a special statute, making it an autonomous region.