Getting Ready

The first evidence of human habitation on Sicily are cave etchings that date back to 12,000 BC. Settlers from the Middle East founded the first known settlements on the east coast of Sicily between 4000 and 3000 BC. Due to the island’s strategic location at the center of the Mediterranean, it was colonized as early as 2000 BC by settlers from the Iberian Peninsula, ushering in an era of occupation that would last thousands of years. Next came the Siculains (from which Sicily gets its name) from southern Italy, followed by the Phoenicians. The Greeks arrived around 750 BC, founding several important colonies (Syracuse, on the southeastern coast, was the most powerful) and building the great temple complex at Agrigento. Around the same time, Carthaginians from North Africa established a foothold in the far western part of Sicily. Conflicts between Greece and Carthage over control of the island led to the 300-year Greek Punic Wars, the longest wars in antiquity. Rome, a rising power, intervened on the side of the Greeks and began its annexation of Sicily.

Under Roman rule, Sicily served largely as the breadbasket for the Roman Empire, remaining essentially Greek in culture until Christianity began to take hold around 200 AD. The Roman Empire fell in 410 AD – Sicily was briefly occupied by Vandals from North Africa until the Byzantine empire took control in 535 AD. Syracuse briefly replaced Constantinople as the Byzantine capital in 663. In 827, an army of Saracens (Arabs, Berbers, Persians and Spaniards) invaded northern Sicily, and by 902 had completed their domination of the island. Sicily flourished during its 200 years of Arab rule, particularly the capital city of Palermo, which became one of the most magnificent cities in the empire. Though Sicily was an important center of Islam, Christianity was tolerated under Arab rule. Around 1040, dynastic quarrels weakened the Arabs’ hold on Sicily, and the Normans took over the island in 1091 following the siege of Palermo.

The Norman Kingdom of Sicily became one of the wealthiest kingdoms in Europe, and Palermo, which continued as the capitol, was its cultural and architectural jewel. Roman Catholicism became the prominent religion, and the language was fully Latinised. After the 1186 marriage between the Norman ruler and the Princess of Germany, Sicily was ruled by the Hohenstaufen Dynasty, and when that dynasty died out, by the kingdom of Aragon. Major earthquakes struck eastern Sicily in 1542 and 1693 – cities such as Catania and Noto, destroyed by the second quake, were rebuilt in glorious Baroque style.

The Hapsburg Dynasty took over Sicily in 1720, but lost the island to the Bourbon Prince Charles some 15 years later. Sicily remained under Bourbon control during the Napoleonic Wars and afterward was merged with Naples as the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. A series of revolts against the Bourbons in the mid-19th century inspired the Italian commander Giuseppe Garibaldi to begin his battle for the unification of Italy (il Risorgimento). Sicily became part of the Kingdom of Italy in 1860, but Sicilian hopes of social reform were dashed by the introduction of high taxes and military conscription. The new leadership was ineffectual at law and order and ignorant of Sicilian society – in the late 1800s, the mafiosi arose to fill in the gap, acting as intermediaries between the peasants and the bailiffs. Corruption soon grew rampant, and with the peasantry continuing to suffer exorbitant rents, a flood of emigration out of Sicily began. The devastating Messina earthquake in 1908 caused 60,000 fatalities, crippling the island still further.

In 1925, Benito Mussolini rose to power as leader of the Fascist party, and began a successful suppression of the Mafia. As dictator of Italy, Mussolini espoused a nationalistic, anti-communist agenda, with tactics that included censorship and propaganda, though he is credited with achievements in public works. In the late 1930s, he joined the Axis powers and in 1940, led Italy into WWII. Sicily fell under German occupation and suffered heavy bombing during the 1943 Allied invasion, one of the largest amphibious operations of the war. The Allies enlisted the help of the Mafia, which had never been completely eliminated, and when Mussolini and his Fascist governors were deposed, the Mafia returned to their former ways.

Following WWII, Sicily was divided by pro-monarchy, pro-communist, and separatist movements. The island was granted partial autonomy in 1946 – Italy became a republic the same year. The Mafia’s influence continued to grow as they helped suppress leftist movements. With the aid of the Mafia, the conservative Democrazia Cristiana party dominated Sicilian politics for the latter half of the 20th century. Since the late 1980s, crackdowns on Mafia leaders have loosened their power somewhat, and in recent years Sicily has shown a renewed interest in restoring and preserving historic centers and natural areas.