Tourist attractions in Giardini Naxos 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. Sicily airport car hire booking 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. Egadi Islands Car Hire  

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. Tourist Information office centre Messina 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. Tourist attractions in Giardini Naxos. The Normans took over in 1061. Tourist attractions in Giardini Naxos They tore down almost all signs of Arab culture. Tourist attractions in Lampedusa 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. Tourist attractions in Giardini Naxos. It is to the Normans that we owe the most spectacular of Sicily's architectural treasures. Milazzo villas 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. Tourist attractions in Giardini Naxos. 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. Caltanissetta Car Hire Eventually, in 1302, the French gave way to the Aragonese (part of the same dynasty which sponsored Christopher Columbus), who dominated until 1734. Tourist attractions in Giardini Naxos. 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 accommodation in Lampedusa 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.

'To have seen Italy without having seen Sicily is not having seen Italy at all, for Sicily is the key to everything.' So said Goethe. Tourist attractions in Giardini Naxos. Tuscany might want a look in, and Rome might beg to differ, but Sicily, with a history of foreign occupation across the centuries, is certainly fascinating, with a real pot-pourri of culture, cuisine and architecture. Plus the odd volcano. Taormina Accommodation

Tourist attractions in Giardini Naxos