Sicily for Students. By Best of Sicily. A Study Resource
Info for Teachers & Parents

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About Sicily.
Sicily is the largest region of Italy and the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, located in the middle of this large body of water. While most of Sicily is hilly or mountainous, it has coastal plains and salt marshes, and a great variety of plant and animal life.
   Sicily is sometimes considered the world's most conquered island because from the earliest times it was the home of peoples from many different lands.
   This has influenced the Sicilian language, the Sicilian culture and even its food. Five million Sicilians live on the island. Sicily's largest cites, Palermo and Catania, each have around a million residents who live in the city or near it. Sicily's other large cities are Messina, Siracusa, and Trapani.
   The name Sicily comes from the names of the island's original inhabitants, the Sicels and Sicans. Though it is part of Italy today, Sicily was settled by Greeks around eight centuries BC (BCE), or almost three thousand years ago. This makes Sicily one of Europe's oldest societies. Sicily has sometimes been part of empires and countries ruled from far away, from the Asian and African parts of the Mediterranean Sea.
   Sicily is full of ancient Greek temples, such as the one at Segesta, and medieval castles like the one at Caccamo, but also beautiful Baroque palaces.
   Over the centuries Sicily has been the birthplace of many great writers, composers and artists.
   The most important part of the Sicilian economy is based on the production of foods such as citrus fruits, wine and olive oil. Tourism is a very important industry. Sicily has a number of companies involved in manufacturing and information technology.
   Link to a page in the subject boxes here or from the map of Sicily that follows.

History and culture.
Greek temple at Agrigento  Timeline
 Ancient Times
 Middle Ages
 Greeks
 Phoenicians
 Carthaginians
 Romans
 Arabs
 Normans
 Swabians
 Jews
 Faith & Religion
 Sicilian Vespers

Places and Geography.
Mount Etna.  Introduction
 Regions
 Agrigento
 Cefalù
 Monreale
 Mount Etna
 Mozia
 Palermo
 Siracusa
 Roman Villa
 Madonie Mountains
 Nebrodi Mountains
 Taormina/Naxos

People and Biography.
King Frederick II.  Archimedes
 Aeschylus
 Roger II
 Frederick II
 Emilio Segré
 Vincenzo Bellini
 Joan Plantagenet
 Abdullah al Idrisi
 Benjamin of Tudela
 Constance of Aragon
 Margaret of Navarre
 Alessandro Scarlatti
 Antonello da Messina

Nature and Animals.
The red fox.  Vendicari Marsh
 Alcantara Gorge
 Sicilian Pine
 Rock Partridge
 Red-foot Falcon
 Wild Cats
 Red Fox
 Porcupines
 Little Egret
 Bonelli's Eagle
 Hermann's Tortoise
 San Fratello Horse
 Oldest Living Tree

Click on the name of a place to link to its page.
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© 1999-2017 Best of Sicily Travel Guide. Sicily for Students is a study and reference resource (with links to pages on Best of Sicily), having a focus on Sicilian history, biography, society, geography and nature, intended for students who are at least 12 years of age. This website is PICS rated for young teen readers. Please visit our page for teachers and parents for more information about this website.