Sicily

Regione Sicilia

Capital	Palermo
President	Salvatore Cuffaro (UDC-CdL)
Provinces	Agrigento Caltanissetta Catania Enna Messina Palermo Ragusa Syracuse Trapani
Comuni	390
Area	25,708 km²
- Ranked	1st (8.5 %)
Population (2006 est.)  - Total  - Ranked  - Density	5,017,212 4th (8.5 %) 195/km²
Map highlighting the location of Sicilia in Italy

Sicily is an autonomous region of Italy. Also known as Sicilia in Italian, Latin, Sicilian and Spanish, Σικελία in Greek, Sqallija Maltese, it is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, with an area of 25,700 km² and 5 million inhabitants. For much of its existence, Sicily has stood as a crossroads of international turmoil and power ploys while stronger nations used the island as a base from which to launch or expand their sovereignty. In the meantime, the Sicilians often suffered as a result of these international struggles. The following paragraphs provide the reader a brief glimpse of Sicilian history, art, geography, culture, and language on this small, but pivotal, nation.

The Greeks knew Sicily as Trinacria, which refers to its triangular shape. The ancient Siculians, for whom the island was named, are Sicily's first known inhabitants. In 3000 B.C.E. they introduced animal breeding, agriculture, and artisian activities. Later settlers included the Phoenicians, who established trading and construction from the forests. From the eighth to the third century B.C.E. Romans established colonies and further developed agriculture and commerce. Around the time of Christ, Romans harvested the wheat and established granaries. The Romans also further developed commerce, and, as in their other colonies, constructed an excellent road system. In the Middle Ages from the fifth to the fifteen centuries, the economy suffered at first during the Arabic, Goth and Vandal invasions, but once each group settled, the economy advanced, producing such projects as the renovation and fortification of the Port of Palermo. Additional agricultural growth included irrigation, and the planting new crops such as jasmine, citrus, cotton, and others, which remain popular today. Development thrived under the Normans, who built magnificant castles in Monreale and Cefalu. The Swabians introduced large castles and continued the development until the Spanish assumed power. As a colony under Spain's rule in the sixteenth century, Sicily had large farm like feudal estates, but their production rate became low, a tragedy after so much development had occurred during previous settlements. In the modern ages, under the Bourbons in seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the center of politics moved from Palermo to Naples. Baroque architecture became prevalent, and many cities and small towns were established. In the 1860 Sicily and its island neighbors were annexed to Italy; however, in 1946 Sicily was granted its own governance. In 1871 the first railroad was constructed, and in the 1950's, the large estates were divided into smaller plots of land for homeowners. The economy developed. In 1957 hydrocarbon was discovered, and several industrial plants to accommodate its development were built.

Geography

NASA orbital photograph of Sicily

Sicily, the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, is an autonomous region of Italy. It is directly adjacent to the region of Calabria via the Strait of Messina to the east. The Greeks knew Sicily as Trinacria, which refers to its triangular shape.

The Aeolian Islands to the north are administratively a part of Sicily, as are the Aegadian Islands and Pantelleria Island to the west, Ustica Island to the northwest, and the Pelagian Islands to the southwest.

Sicily has been noted for two millennia as a grain-producing territory. However, natural vegetation has been greatly compromised by human influence. Delicious oranges and other fruit trees grow on the coast, while the interior produces olives, wine, and other agricultural products. The mines of the Enna and Caltanissetta districts became a leading sulfur-producing areas in the 19th century, however, sulfur production has declined since the 1950s.

The only wide valley in this otherwise mountainous land is the fertile Plain of Catania on the easern side. Forests occupy 4 percent of the territory. There are ample springs and underground water sources in this area. The climate of Sicily is subtropical and Mediterranean. Annual precipitation on the plains is 16–24 inches (400–600 mm), and in the mountains 47–55 inches (1,200–1,400 mm).

Mount Etna

Mount Etna

Mount Etna is an active volcano on the east coast of Sicily, close to Messina and Catania. It is the largest active volcano in Europe, currently standing about 3,326 m (10,910 ft) high. It is the highest mountain in Italy south of the Alps, and covers an area of 460 square miles. This makes it by far the largest of the three active volcanoes in Italy, being nearly three times the height of the next largest, Mount Vesuvius.

Mount Etna is one of the most active volcanoes in the world and is in an almost constant state of eruption. Although it can occasionally be very destructive, it is not generally regarded as being particularly dangerous, and thousands of people live on its slopes and in the surrounding areas. The fertile volcanic soils support extensive agriculture, with vineyards and orchards spread across the lower slopes of the mountain and the broad Plain of Catania to the south.

Towns and cities

Sicily's principal cities include the regional capital Palermo, and provincial capitals Catania, Messina, Syracuse (Siracusa in Italian), Trapani, Enna, Caltanissetta, Agrigento, Ragusa. Other Sicilian towns include Acireale, Taormina, Giardini Naxos, Piazza Armerina, Bagheria, Partinico, Carini, Alcamo, Vittoria, Caltagirone, Cefalù, Bronte, Marsala, Corleone, Castellammare del Golfo, Calatafimi, Gela, Termini Imerese, Francavilla di Sicilia, Ferla, and Abacaenum (now Tripi).

History

Greek temple at Selinunte dedicated to Hera, built in the 5th century B.C.E.

According to the Greeks, Sicily's earliest inhabitants were the Elymians who may have originated near the Aegean Sea. Later settlers included the Sicani, whose origins may have been from Iberia, and the Siculi or Sicels, who were related to people from southern Italy, such as the Italoi of Calabria, the Oenotrians, Chones, and Leuterni (or Leutarni), the Opicans, and the Ausones.

Sicily was colonized by Phoenicians, Punic settlers from Carthage, and by Greeks, starting in the 8th Century B.C.E. The most important colony was established at Syracuse in 733 B.C.E. Other important Greek colonies included Gela founded in 688 B.C.E., Agrigento, in 580 B.C.E. Selinunte, Himera, and Zancle or Messene (modern-day Messina founded in 756 B.C.E., which is distinctive of the ancient city of Messene in Messenia, Greece). These city states played an important role in classical Greek civilization, having more Greeks and Greek temples than Greece and therefore came to be known as Magna Graecia; in fact, both Empedocles and Archimedes came from Sicily. Even Sicilian politics were connected to Greece; for example, Athens, initiated the disastrous Sicilian Expedition during the Peloponnesian War.

The Greeks experienced conflict with the Punic trading communities which dealt with Carthage located on the African mainland, and which had its own colonies on Sicily. Palermo, known as Zis or Sis (or "Panormos" to the Greeks) was originally a Carthaginian city. It was established in the 8th century B.C.E. Hundreds of Phoenician and Carthaginian gravesites were found in a spacious area of Palermo necropolis, south of the Norman palace where the kings once had a vast park. Greek influence existed primarily in the eastern part of Sicily. For example, Lilybaeum, (today known as Marsala) in the far west, was not thoroughly Hellenized. In the First and Second Sicilian Wars, Carthage was in control of all but the eastern part of Sicily, which Syracuse dominated. In 415 B.C.E., in an effort to re-exert its trading power, Athens launched the Sicilian Expedition, by attacking Sicily, and breaking its seven year truce with,Syracuse. As a result, the Peloponnesian War resumed.

In the 3rd century B.C.E. the Messanan Crisis the Roman Republic intervened in Sicilian affairs, which led to the First Punic War between Rome and Carthage. Once the war was completed in (242 B.C.E.) Rome occupied the entire country of Sicily. In 210 B.C.E. Sicily became Rome's first non-Italian province.

The Carthaginians' initial success during the Second Punic War encouraged many Sicilian cities to revolt. Rome sent troops to quash the rebellions; at this point in battle, the siege of Syracuse, Archimedes was killed. For a short time Carthage held power over portions of Sicily; however, eventually the Sicilians rallied and ousted Carthaginian forces, killing so many of their sympathizers— in 210 B.C.E. that the Roman consul M. Valerian proclaimed to the Roman Senate that "no Carthaginian remains in Sicily".

For the next six centuries, Sicily remained a province of the Roman Empire, and its grain fields, which provided the principal food supply for Rome, were its chief significance. The empire did not attempt to Romanize this region, which remained primarily Greek. At this time in Sicily's history the most notable event in Sicilian was Verres infamous government, which Cicero strongly criticized in his oration, In Verrem in 70 B.C.E. Gaius Verres escaped to avoid a trial by Cicero.

Around 200 C.E. Christianity started to develop in Sicily, and along with it, martyrdom occurred. However, by 313 C.E. Emperor Constantine stopped the prohibition of Christianity, and it developed quickly in the following two centuries.

In 440 C.E., the Vandal king Geiseric controlled Sicily. A few decades later, the Ostrogoths acquired it until 515 C.E. when the Byzantine general Belisarius conquered it. Sicilian Christianity was Orthodox from this time until the 12th century. However, a new Ostrogoth king, Totila, dashed down the Italian peninsula and conquered Sicily in 550 C.E. However, his rule only endured two years, for the Byzantine general, Narses, killed him in 552. From 662-668 C.E., during Byzantine rule, Syracuse was the imperial capital, until Constans II was assassinated. The Byzantine Empire ruled Sicily until the Muslim Arab conquest of 827-902. Sicilians spoke Greek or Italo-Greek dialects until at least the 10th century throughout the country, and in some areas these dialects prevailed for several more centuries.

In 827 C.E. the Moors attacked and conquered western Sicily. By 903 Saracens, an Arabic group, controlled the land and three emirs ruled it, introducing the Islam religion. However, these rulers tolerated both Judaism and Christianity, and under the Kalbid dynasty Palermo became the capital city of the Emirate of Sicily, and this city maintained its leadership under Norman rule when they conquered Sicily in 1060-1090 C.E. At this time Sicily became a kingdom in 1130, and it was established as one of the wealthiest states in Europe. According to historian John Julius Norwich, Palermo under the Normans became wealthier than England during that age. A century later, however, the Norman Hauteville dynasty ended, and the south German or (Swabian) Hohenstaufen dynasty commenced its rule in 1194, with Palermo as its principal seat of governance from 1220. Unfortunately, the Crusades instigated local Christian-Muslim conflicts; therefore, in 1224, Frederick II, grandson of Roger II, removed the remaining Arabs from Sicily.

In 1266 as a result of the conflict between the ruling Hohenstaufen family and the Papacy, Charles I, who was also the duke of Anjou attained control of the island. However, his reign was unpopular. Charles only visited Sicily once, and he replaced the landowners with French supporters and Sicilian administrators with French officials. Although the governing staff were excellent traders and efficient rulers, they disregarded Sicilian customs and distained the inhabitants. Charles I was primarily interested in using Sicily as a base to expand his trade and power in the Mediterranean. Leaders of other nations, including Byzantine King Michael and Peter of Aragon whose wife, Constance, was a Hohenstaufen, were enemies of Charles and they planned to attack him.

Tired of French taxation and control, the native Sicilians conducted their own revolt, the Sicilian Vespers on March 30, 1282. The populace gathered to celebrate Vespers on Easter Monday in Palermo, and French soldiers, whom the people tried to ignore, joined their group. Conflict arose when a French sargeant grabbed a married Sicilian lady, and her husband stabbed him to death. The French retaliated to defend their fellow soldier. Many Sicilian locals immediately fought the French troops while others sent messages throughout the rest of Palermo, evoking a popular revolt in the town. The uprising spread throughout the island, and mass slaughter of Frenchmen occurred. Later the people requested assistance from King Peter and King Michael. The Pope attempted, without success, to persuade the people to resume Angevin rule, and King Charles tried to reconquer the island. However, King Peter confronted the French sovereign, and the people proclaimed Peter III of Aragon as their new ruler. The War of the Sicilian Vespers lasted until the peace of Caltabellotta in 1302. The king's relatives ruled Sicily as independent kingdom until 1409; after that time, the island was governed as part of the Crown of Aragon.

From 1479 Sicily was under Spanish rule. The island experienced difficult periods of rule by the crown of Savoy from (1713-1720) and then the Austrian Habsburgs gave way to union (1734) with the Bourbon-ruled kingdom of Naples as the kingdom of the Two Sicilies.

Sicily in the Middle Ages experienced diseases and natural disasters along with political problems. For example, the nation suffered a ferocious outbreak of plague in (1656). Also known as Black Plague, this disease was first introduced in Europe via Sicily when an Italian ship with infected crew members returning from trade in China docked in Messina in 1347.

In 1693, the island was ravaged by a strong earthquake in the east and south. The tremor claimed over 60,000 victims and demolished the towns in the districts of Siracusa, Ragusa, and Catania. A tsunami immediately ensued along the Ionian coasts of Sicily and the Messina Strait.

Major revolutionary movements occurred in 1820 and 1848 against Bourbon denial of constitutional government. The Sicilian 1848 revolution resulted in a sixteen month period of independence from the Bourbons whose armed forces regained control of the island on May 15 1849.

In late 1852, Prince Emanuele Realmuto had set up power in North Central Sicily. Highly educated, the prince established a political system set to bring Sicily's economy to the highest levels in all of Italy. The Prince's life, however, was shortened by an assassination in 1857. To this day some of his work is still present in the Italian parliament.

Under the rally of Risorgimento, Guiseppe Garibaldi led troops in the invasion of Sicily, adjoining it to the other Italian regions in 1860.

In 1866, Palermo revolted against Italy. September 22 under the leadership of Raffaele Cadorna, the Italian navy responded to this protest by bombing the city, executing the civilian insurgents, and repossessing the island.

Between 1860 and 1871 over 100,000 Sicilians and southern Italian unionists were executed under a brutal campaign by King Victor Emanuel II, who proclaimed himself "King of Italy." The citizens were subjected to ferocious military repression, including martial law, and imprisonment of tens of thousands. Villages were destroyed, and many people were deported. Not surprisingly, the Sicilian economy collapsed; people emigrated in unprecedented numbers. In 1894 labor forces rebelled through the radical Fasci Siciliani only to be suppresssed again by martial law.

Map of the Allied landings in Sicily on 10 July 1943

The mafia criminal organization gained influence in the late 19th century. Facing opposition, many members emigrated to other countries, especially the United States. However, many Sicilians opposed Fascism, including one notable opponent, writer Vitaliano Brancati. The Fascist regime had suppressed them since the 1920s; however, they regained strength following the World War II Allied invasion of Sicily on the night of July 10, 1943 when an allied armada of 2,590 vessels liberated Sicily from Nazi control. It is important to note that, while some Sicilians embraced Fascism, others strongly opposed the ideology, including the writer Vitaliano Brancati. Other important Sicilians, disgrunted with Fascism, moved to the United States. These included conductor Arturo Toscanini, Enrico Fermi, and Jewish Italian, Emilio Segré, a Nobel laureate who taught physics at the University of Palermo and who discovered the first artificially produced element, technetium (Tc), in 1937. The latter two worked on the Manhattan Project. It is unfortunate that Sicily lost such distinguished people who, if granted the freedom, could have greatly bolstered the country's economy and national welfare.

At last Sicily became independent in 1946, and the people could benefit from the partial Italian land reform of 1950-1962 and special funding from the Cassa per il Mezzogiorno, the Italian government's indemnification Fund for the South which the government offered from (1950-1984). Sicily attained a great deal of media coverage and experienced an overall political upheaval in 1992 when two anti-mafia magistrates, Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino, were assassinated.

Mafia

Originating during the mid 19th century, the Mafia provided protection for the absentee owners of the large orange and lemon estates on the outskirts of Palermo. The managers, or gabelloti in time gained money from their administration and purchased the lands. Then they extorted the workers on that land to force them to work for low wages while they reaped the profits. Under situations of great unemployment, the laborers, grateful for work, endured such situations. Thus, the Mafia began to influence the landowners and politicians of Sicily as it formed strong connections and gained significant power.

During Italy's Fascist period, Cesare Mori, prefect of Palermo, was granted special powers to prosecute the Mafia, and many Mafiosi chose to flee abroad, particularly to the United States. Those who remained risked imprisonment. Among those mafiosi who became Americans, Joseph Bonanno, popularly known as Joe Bananas, dominated the Mafia's American branch. Mori started to persecute the Mafiosi involved in the Fascist hierarchy, he was removed, and the Fascist authorities proclaimed that the Mafia had been defeated. Despite his assault on their brethren, Mussolini had his fans in the New York Mafia, notably Vito Genovese.

The United States used the Italian connection of the American Mafiosi during the invasion of Italy and Sicily in 1943. Lucky Luciano and other members of Mafia, who had been imprisoned during this time in the United States, provided information for U.S. military intelligence, who used Luciano's influence to ease the way for advancing American troops.[5]

Some mafia analysts, including Catanese author Alfio Caruso, argue that the U.S. Office of Strategic Services allowed the mafia to re-establish its social and economic power as an anti-government organization in Sicily, a land known for its suspicion of government officials. Furthermore, the U.S.-mafia alliance initiated in 1943 was initiated the mafia's development for the following 60 years. Other analysts, such as Palermitan historian Francesco Renda, insist that this alliance never existed. Instead, Renda states, the mafia exploited the instability of post-fascist Sicily to regain its power. Further, Office of Strategic Services agent W. E. Scotten observed in his 1944 "Report on the Problem of Mafia" the signs of mafia resurgence. He warned of its dangers in establishing social order and economic progress. Many Sicilians, consider "Cosa Nostra," that is, 'our world, tradition, values' to be the real name of the Mafia. Some people, such as Mafia turncoat Tommaso Buscetta, claimed that the word mafia was a literary creation. Others who have left the Mafia, including Antonino Calderone and Salvatore Contorno agree: as men of honor, the organization does not require a name. Mafiosi introduce known members to each other as members of la "cosa nostra" (our thing) or "la stessa cosa" (the same thing). Only non-members require a name to define it; therefore, people outside the organization used the capitalized term—Cosa Nostra.

Joseph Valachi, a former mafia member who became a United States federal witness during the McClellan Commission hearings, first used the expression Cosa Nostra in the early 1960s. At the time, it was considered a proper name; both the FBI and news media described it as such. This description became popular, almost replacing the term Mafia. The FBI added the article la, or 'La Cosa Nostra'. However, in Italy 'la' never precedes Cosa Nostra with respect to Mafia; instead, Italians say "la nostra cosa" when they describe "our thing" in general. The movie, 'The Godfather' by Mario Puzo portrays a detailed example of Sicily and Sicilian mafia traditions.

Government

The provinces of Sicily

(Government type) (Political parties) (Foreign Relations) (Military)

Flag

Sicily's regional flag has been recognized since January 2000, and it has been the island's historical banner since 1282. Its design is divided diagonally yellow over red, with the trinacria, or three points, symbol in the center. The Trinacria is most likely a solar symbol although most recently it represents the islands three points. The head shown on the Sicilian Trinacria is Medusa's face. Other areas, such as the Isle of Man also use the "Trinacria" as their flag.

Economy

(per capita GDP) (Currency)

Agricultural Products

(list)

Import and export

(commodities and trading partners)

Transport

Automobile

Most of Sicily's motorways or (autostrade) run through its northern section. The most noteworthy ones include the A19 Palermo-Catania, A20 Palermo-Messina, A29 Palermo-Mazara del Vallo and the toll road A18 Messina-Catania. Because the topography is mountainous, much of the roadway network is elevated by columns. In southern Sicily, the roadway system consists mainly of well-maintained secondary roads.

Railways

The national railway company, Trenitalia, connects Sicily to Italy. Trains, however, must be loaded onto ferries for the crossing from the mainland. The Stretto di Messina, S.p. A. was scheduled to construct the Strait of Messina Bridge, which would have been the world's longest suspension bridge, in the second half of 2006. The span would have formed the first land link to Italy in history. However, in October of 2006, the Italian Parliament halted the plan due to insufficient support. (http://www.guardian.co.uk/italy/story/0,,1920199,00.html).

Air

Sicily is served by national and international flights, mostly to European locations, to and from Palermo International Airport and the substantially busier Catania-Fontanarossa Airport. There are also minor national airports in Trapani and on the small islands of Pantelleria and Lampedusa.

Metro

The Trenitalia company manages Palermo's urban metropolitan rapid transit service. This system has eleven stations, which include an airport stop.

Sea

Virtu Ferries provides daily transportation between Malta and Sicily, and they stop at Pozzallo or Catania

Demographics

Language

Many Sicilians are bilingual in both Italian and Sicilian, a separate Romance language and not merely a dialect, nor a derivative, of Italian. Like Greek, Arabic, Catalan and Spanish influence. In fact, Sicilianu contains a rich history and a sizeable vocabulary (at least 250,000 words), and its variety reflects the influence of the different conquerors of, and settlers to, this land.

The Sicilian language was an early influence in the development of the first Italian standard, although its use remained confined to an intellectual élite. This was a literary language in Sicily created under the auspices of Frederick II and his court of notaries, or Magna Curia, which, headed by Giacomo da Lentini also gave birth to the Scuola Siciliana, widely inspired by troubadour literature. Its linguistic and poetic heritage was later assimilated into the Florentine by Dante Alighieri, the father of modern Italian who, in his De Vulgari Eloquentia (DVE claims that "In effect this vernacular seems to deserve a higher praise than the others, since all the poetry written by Italians can be called Sicilian" (DVE, I, xii). It is in this language that appeared the first sonnet, whose invention is attributed to Giacomo da Lentini himself.

Sicilian dialects are also spoken in the southern and central sections of the Italian regions Calabria (Calabrese) and Puglia (Salentino); and had a significant influence on the Maltese Language. Malta was a part of the Kingdom of Sicily (in its various forms) until the late 18th century. With the predominance of Italian in Italian schools, the media, etc., Sicilian is no longer the first language of many Sicilians. Indeed, in urban centers in particular, one is more likely to hear standard Italian spoken rather than Sicilian, especially among the young.

Sicilian generally uses the word ending [u] for singular masculine nouns and adjectives, and [a] for feminine. The plural is usually [i] for both masculine and feminine. By contrast, in Italian masculine nouns and adjectives that end in [o] in the singular pass to [i] in the plural, while the feminine counterparts pass from [a] to [e].

The "-LL-" sound (in words of Latin origin, for example) manifests itself in Sicilian as a voiced retroflex plosive with the tip of the tongue curled up and back, a sound which is not part of Standard Italian. In Sicilian, this sound is written simply as "-dd-" although the sound itself is not [d] but rather [ɖ]. For example, the Italian word bello is beddu in Sicilian.

In numerous villages, the Arbëreshë dialect of the Albanian language has been spoken since a wave of refugees settled there in the 15th century. While it is spoken within the household, Italian is the official language and modern Greek is chanted in the local Byzantine liturgy. There are also several areas where dialects of the Lombard language of the Gallo-Italic family are spoken. Much of this population is also tri-lingual, being able to also speak one of the Sicilian dialects as well.

Society and culture

People

The position of Sicily as a stepping stone of sorts in the center of the Mediterranean Basin has lent it strategic importance throughout history, resulting in an endless procession of settlers and conquerors. Modern methods of genetic testing enable us to see which have had the greatest demographic impact. Several studies show strong ties between Sicily, mainland southern Italy and Greece, suggesting that the Siculi, Elymi and Greek colonizations were the most important.

It has been proposed that a genetic boundary divides Sicily into two regions, reflecting the distribution of Siculi and Greek settlements in the east, and Sicani/Elymi, Phoenician/Arab and Norman settlements in the west. However, other research has failed to detect any such division. No data exists on the contribution of Normans, but a number of studies hint that North African and Middle Eastern gene flow was limited by the physical barrier of the Mediterranean Sea and resulting cultural differentiation.

Sicily's population is approximately 5 million, and there are an additional 10 million people of Sicilian descent around the world, mostly in the United States, Argentina, Canada, Australia and other EU countries. The island today, like all of western Europe, is home to growing communities of immigrants, including Tunisians, Moroccans, Nigerians, Indians, Romanians, Russians, Chinese and Gypsies from the Balkans.

Arts

Palermo is the regional capital of Sicily

Landscape with temple ruins on Sicily, Jacob Philipp Hackert, 1778

Sicily is famous for its art and is the birthplace of many poets and writers. In the early 13th century, the Sicilian School, for example, inspired later Italian poetry and created the first Italian standard. The most famous artists include Luigi Pirandello, Giovanni Verga, Salvatore Quasimodo, and Gesualdo Bufalino. Other Sicilian artists include the composers Sigismondo d'India, Girolamo Arrigo, Salvatore Sciarrino, Giovanni Sollima (from Palermo), Alessandro Scarlatti (from Trapani or Palermo), Vincenzo Bellini, Giovanni Pacini, Francesco Paolo Frontini, Alfredo Sangiorgi, Aldo Clementi, Roberto Carnevale (from Catania).

Noto, Ragusa and particularly Acireale contain some of Italy's best examples of Baroque architecture, carved in the local red sandstone. Caltagirone is renowned for its decorative ceramics. Palermo is also a major center of Italian opera. Its Teatro Massimo is the largest opera house in Italy and the third largest in the world, seating 1,400.

Sicily's ancient pottery and rare works of art contain some of the greatest sources of archeological masterpieces in the world. They exemplify the beautiful blending of 200 years of Graeco-Sicel, Roman, and Byzantine culture. The mosaic pieces, a contribution of Byzantine art, are particulary attractive. The Crow financed and commissioned Sicilian medieval art in its first decades of 11 ACE and 12 ACE. The Catholic Church also contributed to maintaining art through its "papal legates." Hauteville dynasty members constructed the first Latin cathedrals, which include the churches of Messina, Lipari, Cefalù, Monreale, Catania, Mazara, and Agrigento. The Latin spacious style from central Italy and northern Europe combined with the Maghreb decorations, and narrative Byzantine mosaics, and Apulian Romanesque sculpture.

Many cities in Sicily have beautiful architecture which include ruins of aquaducts, lovely Roman patrician villas, temples in Segesta, Selinunte and Agrigento and decorations on ancient buildings. Their pottery and rare works of art generally consist of 200 years of Graeco-Sicel , Roman and Byzantine culture and are outstanding among ancient archaeological treasures. The fortresses such as the Castle of Euryalus in Syracuse and archaeological sites of Agriengento, Heraclea, Minoa, Himera, Seguesta, Selinunte contributed to Sicily's vast development at a time in the Middle Ages when most other western European countries' arts and sciences were much less developed.

Royalty exerted much influence in architecture. For example, Roger II built the Cefalù Cathedral and in which he wanted to be buried. In 1132 he ordered the construction of his Royal Palace in Palermo, which included his own "Palantine Chapel, a magnificient example of Sicilian medieval art that he dedicated to St. Peter. This building contained many crowns, furnishing, ceremonial clothes, jewels that still attract visitors. One outstanding item among his collection, now located in the Cathedral Treasury, is the Byzantine imperial crown (Kamelaukion).

Roger II's descendents continued the family tradition of enhancing architecture. For example, his son, William I built the Zisa royal residence in the royal park. William II continued this practice when he constructed two other outstanding edifices, the Cuba and the Monreale Cathedral, whose interior contains lovely Byzantine mosaics and elegant medieval sculpture in the cloister.

Under Emperor Frederick II Hohenstaufen architecture was formal and elegant, designed to focus on royal practical living and defense requirements of the age. Several castles and towers were constructed, such as Castello Ursino in Catania, Castello Maniace, in Syracuse, and the Castles of Augusta and Augusta and Milazzo, and the Towers of Enna, of the Colombaia in Trapani, and of Gela.

Religious leaders, too, contributed to the expansion of Sicilian architecture. For example, Bishop Gualtiero reconstructed much of the old Palermo Cathedral and expanded it to become the greatest cathedral of medieval Sicily.

Architecture took a different development by the first half of the 17th century A.C.E. when Mannerism became popular. Examples of this style include the Quattro Canti (Giulio Lasso); Porta Felice (Pietro Novelli); the churches of Olivella and San Domenico; the old Shipyard (Mariano Smiriglio); the church of the Teatini (Giacomo Besio), the Town Hall in Syracuse (G. Vermexio); the Benedectine Monastery in Catania (V. De Franchis); and the College and Church of the Jesuits in Trapani (N. Masuccio). The Church of the Annunziata dei Teatini in Messina Baroque, (Guaríno Guarini), implemented the Baroque style, which was simplified in Palermo through the works of Paolo Amato (1634-1714): Church of the Salvatore; and Giacomo Amato (1643-1732): Church of the Pietà and Santa Téresa alla Kalsa.

Antonello da Messina, who lived in the 15th century A.C.E., was the most outstanding Sicilian painter and a great European master of his time. His famous paintings include the Portrait of an Unknown Seaman, in the Cefalù Mandralisca Museum, the Three Saints and the splendid Annunzíata in the Palermo Gallery, the San Gregorio polyptych in the Messina Museum, and the Annunciation in the Palazzo Bellomo Museum in Syracuse.

Noteworthy sculptors included Domenico Gagini, who established a workshop which produced great sculptors for several generations, including Antonello Gagini and his sons. Antonello worked with Polidoro da Caravaggio, who sculpted two exquisite lateral doors in the Duomo of Messina.

Sicily is home to two prominent folk art traditions, both of which draw heavily on the island's Norman influence. A Sicilian wood cart, or Carretto Siciliano, is painted with intricate decorations of scenes from the Norman romantic poems, including The Song of Roland. These same stories are shared in traditional puppet theatres which feature handmade wooden marionettes, especially in Acireale, the home town of most of Sicilian puppets.

The 1988 movie Nuovo Cinema Paradiso relayed a story about life in a Sicilian town following World War II.

Language

Sicilian, or "Sicilianu" is a unique Romance language and a blend of Greek, Latin, Aragonese, Arabic, Longobardic and Norman-French, which reflect its rich history and express the influence of the many types of peoples who previously settled the island. <ref. Best of Italy—Modern History>. The "Sicilianu" vocabulary contains at least 250,000 words.

The Sicilian language was an early influence in the development of the first Italian standard, although its use remained confined to an intellectual élite. This was a literary language in Sicily created under the auspices of Frederick II and his court of notaries, or Magna Curia, which, headed by Giacomo da Lentini also gave birth to the Scuola Siciliana, widely inspired by troubadour literature. Its linguistic and poetic heritage was later assimilated into the Florentine by Dante Alighieri, the father of modern Italian who, in his De Vulgari Eloquentia (DVE claims that "In effect this vernacular seems to deserve a higher praise than the others, since all the poetry written by Italians can be called Sicilian" (DVE, I, xii). It is in this language that appeared the first sonnet, whose invention is attributed to Giacomo da Lentini himself.

By the seventeenth century, however, the Sicilian language was mostly spoken by the popolino or working classes; the Italian royalty preferred Tuscan, the Savoys utilized Piedmontese, and the Bourbons of Naples primarily spoke Neopolitan.

Sicilian dialects are also spoken in the southern and central sections of the Italian regions Calabria (Calabrese) and Puglia (Salentino); and had a significant influence on the Maltese Language. Malta was a part of the Kingdom of Sicily (in its various forms) until the late 18th century. With the predominance of Italian in Italian schools, the media, etc., Sicilian is no longer the first language of many Sicilians. For example, the Bible has not been published in Sicilian, which has no unified spelling system. However, the language remains important in the study of name origins, and therefore in history and geneology. <Best of Sicily—the Sicilian Language.> Indeed, in urban centers in particular, one is more likely to hear standard Italian spoken rather than Sicilian, especially among the young.

Sicilian generally uses the word ending [u] for singular masculine nouns and adjectives, and [a] for feminine. The plural is usually [i] for both masculine and feminine. By contrast, in Italian masculine nouns and adjectives that end in [o] in the singular are changed to [i] in the plural, while the feminine counterparts have singular endings of [a] and their plurals are [e].

The "-LL-" sound (in words of Latin origin, for example) is expressed in Sicilian as a voiced retroflex plosive. To produce this sound, which is not found in Standard Italian, the tip of the tongue is curled up and back. In Sicilian, this sound is written simply as "-dd-" although the sound itself is not [d] but rather [ɖ]. For example, the Italian word bello is expressed as beddu in Sicilian.

Other languages and dialects have prevailed in Sicily reflecting the influence of earlier settlement. For example, in several villages, the Arbëreshë dialect of the Albanian language has been spoken since the 15th century when a wave of refugees arrived. Different languages are used for various aspects of life as well: Italian is commonly spoken at home and is the official language. However, modern Greek is chanted in the local Byzantine liturgy. In several areas dialects of the Lombard language which belongs to the Gallo-Italic family are spoken. Furthermore, many of these same people are also tri-lingual since they can also speak one of the Sicilian dialects as well.

In recent years the Sicilian language has been regaining popularity. For example, in the United States, some F.B.I. agents, children of working class Sicilian immigrants fluent in Sicilian, helped that organization to translate discussions of mafia personnel in the 1980's and thus protected American national security. <ref. Best of Sicily—the Sicilian Language> In the past, so many nations and ethnic groups tried to impose their culture and language upon Sicily instead of appreciating the beauty of their native culture. Unfortunately, this situation has occurred in other parts of the world, too. It is heartening, therefore, to note that in Sicily, too, as in Italy, a resurgence of pride in these two old and historical languages is occurring even in this new century. We hope that along with this pride, a new hope and renewed flowering of civilization will accompany life throughout this ancient land in the Mediterranean, which has brought mankind so much history, beauty, and art, and that every country can fully enjoy and appreciate the cultures of their brother nations.

Sources and further reading

• Segre, Cesare, and Carlo Ossola. 1999. Antologia della poesia italiana. Torino: Einaudi. ISBN 8806160389 and ISBN 8806153412
• Migliorini, Bruno. 1992. Storia della lingua italiana. Biblioteca universale Sansoni, 34. Firenze: Sansoni Editore. ISBN 8838313431 and ISBN 9788838313431
• Shapiro, Marianne, and Dante Alighieri. 1990. De vulgari eloquentia: Dante's book of exile. Regents studies in medieval culture. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press. ISBN 0803242115 and ISBN 9780803242111

External links

Sicily Portal

• Piccola Enciclopedia popolare di storia Siciliana di tutti i tempi. (Italian Language). Almanacco Siciliano. Retrieved May 24, 2007.

Maps

• Map sources/GeoHack. Wikimedia Toolserver. Retrieved May 24, 2007.

Images

• Alla scoperta della Sicilia attraverso le sue immagini. (Italian Language). Sentieri del Barocco. Retrieved May 24, 2007.
• Sicily Historical Gallery. Photo Italia. Retrieved May 24, 2007.
• Interview with English teacher and author, Frank Adamo. Teach English in Italy. Retrieved May 24, 2007.
• Sicily map. Sicilia. Retrieved May 24, 2007.

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