Palermo was founded by Phoenicians who sailed there from their native Carthage. Campo Bello di Mazara lodging The Greeks colonized the whole island, leaving some of the most beautiful and best-preserved temples they ever built at Agrigento, Selinunte and Segesta. Cheap accommodation in Giardini Naxos. Around those glorious sites they planted Sicily's first olive trees and grape vines. Discount cheap lodging Agrigento Traces of the Roman period in Sicily can be found in the amphitheatres at Taormina and Siracusa, as well as in that city's Christian catacombs. But perhaps Rome's most lasting (and infamous) contribution to the island came in fostering the great land ownerships which eventually impoverished the peasantry and led, many centuries later, to the founding of secret societies aimed at destroying the fabulously wealthy landlords. Cheap accommodation in Giardini Naxos. In Palermo, these groups were known as mafia. Siracusa Syracuse Hotels  

Ironically, the earthquake that devastated the southeastern provinces in 1693 became the springboard for Sicily's most glorious period, the baroque. Eolie Aeolian Islands lodging It gleams in the cities and towns of Palermo, Catania, Siracusa, Ragusa, Noto, Comiso, Scicli and dozens more, all of which had to be rebuilt from the ground up. Farmhouses in Trapani After the Aragonese, Sicily passed briefly into the hands of the Austrians, to be willingly rescued in 1734 by the Bourbons of Spain, whose throne was actually located in Naples. Cheap accommodation in Giardini Naxos. During one forced exile in Palermo, the Bourbon king Ferdinand's wife Maria Carolina (sister of Marie Antoinette) built La Favorita. , A magnificent refuge in which to hide from the subjects she thoroughly loathed. Cheap flats in Taormina Sicily remained in Bourbon hands until 1861, when unification created the Kingdom of Italy.

The little known Aeolian Islands just of the northern coast of Sicily are an undiscovered delight, particularly if you're looking for peace and quiet surrounded by the pleasures of nature. Cheap accommodation in Giardini Naxos The sea is deep blue, warm and clear, ideal for underwater swimming and fishing, accompanied by flying-fish, swordfish, turtles, sea-horses and hammerfish. Cheap accommodation in Giardini Naxos. The islands are bathed in a limpid clear light, setting off the black volcanic pumice stone. Eolie Aeolian Islands villas Vines are cultivated on the coastal strips and around the towns. Farmhouses in Erice On the island of Vulcano bathe in its warm sea-water, heated by underground volcanic springs. Cheap accommodation in Giardini Naxos. The active volcano on Stromboli offers a spectacular opportunity to observe lava flows and frequent noisy minor eruptions. Giarre Accomodation

Cheap accommodation in Giardini Naxos