Visit My-Sicily.com for Sicily Hotels, Holidays and Car Hire.

From early times Sicily has been coveted for its fertile land and today Sicily still has a largely agricultural based economy. Siracusa Syracuse Tours and Excursions. Its main products include wheat (hard wheat from Enna for bread and pasta), barley, corn, peppers, tomatoes, aubergines, courgettes, potatoes, grapes, figs, pears, peaches, La Ficurinnia or the fig of India (from the West Indies) and citrus fruits and almonds (introduced by the Arabs). Siracusa Syracuse Tours and Excursions A sweet liquid called "manna" is produced in Castelbuono and Pollina. Erice Accommodation This is collected from a species of Ash tree. It solidifies and is used in cakes and sweets. Siracusa Syracuse Tours and Excursions. Dairy produce includes a number of cheeses such as Ricotta, Pecorino Siciliano and Caciocavallo Ragusano. Cheap Giarre Hotels The Sicilian fishing industry provides tuna, swordfish, sea bream, sardines, octopus, squid, prawns and mussels. Other industries include wine (for example, Donna Fugata, Regaleali, Malvasia and sweet Marsala), balsamic vinegar, olive oil, honey, bottled water (from Geraci), salt and other food processing. Cheap flats in Sciacca Sulphur mines in Caltanissetta have traditionally played a part in the Sicilian economy. Today chemicals and refined petroleum are modern Sicilian industries. Siracusa Syracuse Tours and Excursions. The growth of transport companies and the modernisation of Sicily's road system have been essential to Sicily's industrial development. Discount cheap lodging Giardini Naxos Chief Sicilian ports are Catania, Messina and Palermo.

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. Cheap flats in Giardini Naxos 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 Tours and Excursions. The Normans took over in 1061. Siracusa Syracuse Tours and Excursions They tore down almost all signs of Arab culture. Palermo Hotels 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 Tours and Excursions. It is to the Normans that we owe the most spectacular of Sicily's architectural treasures. Cheap guesthouses Nebrodi 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 Tours and Excursions. 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. Places of interest in Ustica 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 Tours and Excursions. The aristocracy created during this realm left their magnificent homes, such as Palermo's Palazzo Sclafani and Palazzo Chiaramonte, scattered all over the island. Cheap hostels in Caltanissetta 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.

Over the centuries the Sicilians have valued a close family life with all its responsibilities. Siracusa Syracuse Tours and Excursions. In turn the Sicilian people have looked to themselves in the face of foreign occupation and imposed government. Discount accommodation Eolie Aeolian Islands Partly in response to invasion and colonisation a purely Sicilian hierarchy emerged. Siracusa Syracuse Tours and Excursions This became known as the Sicilian Mafia organised upon what can roughly be translated as "respect", "dignity" and "silence".

Palermo Car Hire
Nightlife Entertainment in Taormina
Cheap hostels in Capo D Orlando
Discount hotels Panarea
Caltanissetta Hotels