Sicily is the largest region in Italy and the largest island in the Mediterranean. Its population is more than 5 million. New motorways and direct flights to Palermo and Catania have led it to becoming one of Italy’s chic tourist destinations.

What makes Sicily unique?

First the geography. The island is mostly hilly and has a dramatic coastline. Mount Etna on the eastern coast is the largest active volcano in Europe. In the summer you can swim in the Ionian Sea and look up and see it puffing away.

In the winter its peak is snow covered and heart stoppingly beautiful. The interior of the island is arid with many small towns perched on the hilltops. Sicily includes numerous small islands such as the Aeolian group with its black larva beaches, all reachable by ferry.

Sicily is close to Africa and you can feel it. The sun is intense in the summer months. Sicilians say "The sun doesn’t just burn you, it bites you". It has the highest average hours of sunshine in the whole of Europe but the autumn and winter can be cold and rainy.

The history of Sicily is rich and diverse, it being the subject of domination of various peoples including the Greeks, Romans, Byzantine, Arabs, Normans and Spanish. In the West the Punic-Arab influence is more obvious whereas in the East coast towns of Messina, Catania and Syracuse the legacy of Greek colonization is prevalent.

Don’t Miss...

1. The architecture and archaeology.
2. The Greek temples at Agrigento and Selinunte
3. Baroque town of Noto
4. Norman churches in Palermo
5. Greek theatre and Roman amphitheatre at Syracuse
6. The Villa Romana del Casale at Piazza Armerina. Apart from the spectacular Roman mosaics the drive gives you the chance of seeing something of the rolling plains of the interior of the island