Sicily is a mountainous island — an extension of the Apennine Mountains separated from the mainland by the Straits of Messina. Last minute accommodation Piazza Armerina There are many reasons to visit Sicily: water sports, beaches of rock and sand (including black sand), natural beauty, good food and friendly people. Hotels Siracusa Syracuse  

Last minute accommodation Piazza Armerina Heavily bombed during World War Two, shaken again in 1968 by another earthquake, ravaged in recent decades by organized crime, Sicily remains what it has always been. Flats in Ustica A spectacular land of rugged mountains, golden wheat fields and rocky coasts inhabited by a fiercely independent people who bring passion to everything they do, be it a religious celebration or a holiday dinner. Self catering accommodation Messina

Palermo was founded by Phoenicians who sailed there from their native Carthage. Milazzo Accommodation The Greeks colonized the whole island, leaving some of the most beautiful and best-preserved temples they ever built at Agrigento, Selinunte and Segesta. Last minute accommodation Piazza Armerina. Around those glorious sites they planted Sicily's first olive trees and grape vines. Last minute accommodation Sant Agata Militello 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. Last minute accommodation Piazza Armerina. In Palermo, these groups were known as mafia. Calendar of events in Trapani

Last minute accommodation Piazza Armerina