Mt Etna, the largest volcano in Europe and one of the most active in the world, lies south of Taormina. Diving Centres Dive Sites and Schools Piazza Armerina You are permitted to climb up to 2900m. Tourist Information office centre Sicily. A rope marks the spot where the volcano’s unpredictability makes it unsafe to go any further. Further south, the town of Syracuse was once a very powerful Greek city. Hotel Reservations Solunto Check out the medieval buildings on the island of Ortigia which lies in the centre of town. Don’t miss the 5th century Teatro Greco – a masterpiece hewn out of rock with a seating capacity for 16,000 people. Calendar of events in Capo D Orlando The five Doric temples in the town of Agrigento are also well worth a visit. They are the most well preserved of Sicily’s Greek ruins and are truly spectacular.  

From early times Sicily has been coveted for its fertile land and today Sicily still has a largely agricultural based economy. Tourist Information office centre Sicily. 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). Tourist Information office centre Sicily A sweet liquid called "manna" is produced in Castelbuono and Pollina. Houses to rent in Taormina This is collected from a species of Ash tree. It solidifies and is used in cakes and sweets. Tourist Information office centre Sicily. Dairy produce includes a number of cheeses such as Ricotta, Pecorino Siciliano and Caciocavallo Ragusano. Taormina Tours and Excursions 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. Eolie Aeolian Islands Car Hire Sulphur mines in Caltanissetta have traditionally played a part in the Sicilian economy. Today chemicals and refined petroleum are modern Sicilian industries. Tourist Information office centre Sicily. The growth of transport companies and the modernisation of Sicily's road system have been essential to Sicily's industrial development. Ragusa Tours and Excursions Chief Sicilian ports are Catania, Messina and Palermo.

Palermo was founded by Phoenicians who sailed there from their native Carthage. Panarea Agriturismo The Greeks colonized the whole island, leaving some of the most beautiful and best-preserved temples they ever built at Agrigento, Selinunte and Segesta. Tourist Information office centre Sicily. Around those glorious sites they planted Sicily's first olive trees and grape vines. Hostels in Ustica 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. Tourist Information office centre Sicily. In Palermo, these groups were known as mafia. Farmhouses in Giardini Naxos

Tourist Information office centre Sicily