Sicily is
the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea; along with surrounding minor
islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, and it is officially
referred to as Regione Siciliana (Sicilian Region).
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| foto:wikipedia |
Sicily is
located in the central Mediterranean. It extends from the tip of the Apennine
peninsula, from which it is separated only by the narrow Strait of Messina,
towards the North African coast. Its most prominent landmark is Mount Etna,
which, at 3,350 m (10,990 ft), is the tallest active volcano in Europe and one
of the most active in the world. The island has a typical Mediterranean
climate.
The
earliest archeological evidence of human dwelling on the island dates from as
early as 8000 BC. At around 750 BC, Sicily was host to a number of Phoenician
and Greek colonies, and for the next 600 years, it was the site of the
Greek–Punic and Roman–Punic wars, which ended with the Roman destruction of
Carthage. After the fall of the Roman Empire in the 5th century AD, Sicily
frequently changed hands, and during the early Middle Ages, it was ruled in
turn by the Vandals, Ostrogoths, Byzantines, Arabs and Normans.
