Tourism is an important earner of foreign currency. Siracusa Syracuse Holiday Accommodation. There are many castles and churches in Sicily to attract the tourist and important towns such as Taormina and Cefalu thrive on the tourist industry. Egadi Islands lodging Tours are available to visit Sicily's active volcanoes: Mount Etna, Europe's tallest volcano, and Stromboli, one of the Aeolian Islands. Information about Taormina Other places of interest are Madonie National Park, the Baroque towns of south-eastern Sicily, the Cathedral of Monreale, the Dorian Temple and Theatre at Segesta, the ancient Greek Theatre of Taormina, the ancient town of Syracuse and the archaeological area of Agrigento. Noto Holiday Flats  

Sicily was chosen by the Gods of Olympus as the scene of their stories of love and hatred, of passion and revenge, of sudden wrath and deep compassion. Acireale lodging And today it's still a land of fire and passion. Siracusa Syracuse Holiday Accommodation. It's also a land of great beauty and contrast, not least the contrast between what the local politicians say they'll do with the money, and what eventually ends up getting built/maintained/improved. Siracusa Syracuse Holiday Accommodation. In ancient times, Sicily was covered with extremely rich farmland, whose copious wheat harvests fed virtually the entire western part of the Roman Empire. Siracusa Syracuse Holiday Accommodation Its thick forests were renowned, but the Romans plundered them to build their great naval fleets and the myriad wooden homes that fueled Nero's infamous fire. Noto Tours and Excursions Like much of southern Italy, Sicily has been the ground upon which the boots of Western civilization have trod. Information about Cefalu

As elsewhere in the Roman Empire, the Romans were replaced by the Vandals and the Ostrogoths, who demolished far more than they built (one rare example is the villa of Piazza Armerina) and were swept away by the Byzantines. Taormina Accommodation The Arabs who followed them moved the capitol from Siracusa to Palermo, renamed most of the existing towns, and planted the first carobs, date-palms, citrus trees, jasmines and melons. Siracusa Syracuse Holiday Accommodation. The Normans took over in 1061. Siracusa Syracuse Holiday Accommodation They tore down almost all signs of Arab culture. Hostels in Giarre They brought the island to a new level of prosperity and planted a different kind of seed, still visible today in the blonde and red tresses of many Sicilians. Siracusa Syracuse Holiday Accommodation. It is to the Normans that we owe the most spectacular of Sicily's architectural treasures. Last minute accommodation Ragusa From the cathedrals of Cefalù, Messina and Monreale to Palermo's Zisa and Cuba, the churches of San Giovanni degli Eremiti, San Cataldo and the Martorana. Under the realm of Frederick II, the Swabian king, Sicily became one of the centers of the Western world, and perhaps it is not surprising that the principal architectural endeavors of this era. These lasted only from 1220 to 1250, were of a military nature, such as the castles in Siracusa, Catania and Salemi. Siracusa Syracuse Holiday Accommodation. When Frederick died in 1250, his successor Manfred was murdered by the ruthless Charles of Anjou, whose French allies streamed into the island and established a new aristocracy so despised that it led to the popular uprising called the Sicilian Vespers. Cheap hostels in Agrigento Eventually, in 1302, the French gave way to the Aragonese (part of the same dynasty which sponsored Christopher Columbus), who dominated until 1734. Siracusa Syracuse Holiday Accommodation. The aristocracy created during this realm left their magnificent homes, such as Palermo's Palazzo Sclafani and Palazzo Chiaramonte, scattered all over the island. Tourist attractions in Segesta The Aragonese clergy, while wielding the heavy arm of the Inquisition, effectively conspired to keep almost all artistic traces of the Renaissance out of the island.

Siracusa Syracuse Holiday Accommodation