
Lipari © Italian Tourist Board
Sicily, the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, may be just
a short hop from the Italian mainland, across the narrow strait of
Messina, but it is a world apart in atmosphere and attitude.
Everything Italian seems a little more appetising here - not only
the food, but the history and culture as well.
For a long time, Sicily was ignored as a holiday destination,
largely because of the Mafia stranglehold and because of the
poverty of the people. Today, however, the island is experiencing a
tourism boom and a surge in development as the destructive
influences of the Mafia wane. Visitors discover that the Sicilian
people are gracious, noble and welcoming, and that the island
itself offers natural and historic attractions of great beauty and
enormous interest.
The main cities of Palermo and Catania feature some of the most
exquisite architecture in the world, a legacy of the many great
civilisations that have vied for control of this
strategically-situated island over the centuries, from the Greeks
and Romans, to the Arabs and Normans, to (more recently) the
French, Spanish and Italians. There are massive Romanesque
cathedrals, the best-preserved Greek temples in the world, Roman
amphitheatres and magnificent Baroque palaces. The continuous blue
skies and temperate climate, lush vegetation and rich marine life
all add to the island's appeal. Nature has given Sicily Mount Etna,
Europe's tallest active volcano, a dramatic coastline and a fertile
soil that gives forth much of the bounty on which the island's
unique and delicious cuisine is based.
Resorts
See our separate guides to the following Sicily holiday resorts: Palermo, Syracuse, Lipari and Taormina
Attractions

Capuchin Catacombs © Sibeaster
Capuchin Catacombs
The subterranean catacombs that contain the mummified remains of
about 8,000 ancient inhabitants of Palermo may be macabre, but are
fascinating to visit. The Capuchin friars began mummifying and
embalming the bodies of the city's nobles back in 1533, and the
tradition continued for...
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Il trionfo della morte © Sailko
Galleria Regionale
Palermo's largest art museum, devoted to medieval works, is
housed within the gothic-styled Palazzo Abbatellis (built in 1488).
The collection includes several particularly interesting works. The
Bust of Eleanor of Aragon by Francesco Laurana, for
example, dates from 1471 and is considered to be...
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Marionettes © Museo Internazionale delle Marionette
Marionette Museum
One of Palermo's most unique attractions is the engaging Museo
Internazionale delle Marionette, a museum dedicated to the art of
puppetry, an age-old Sicilian form of entertainment. Free shows are
often put on in summer, but the museum collection itself, the
greatest of its...
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Monreale Cathedral © Urban
Monreale Cathedral
Of all the many architecturally beautiful and fascinating places
of worship in Palermo, probably the most renowned is the
12th-century cathedral in the suburb of Monreale, high on the
mountain slope about five miles (8km) from the city centre. The
dazzling cathedral is a...
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Ortygia © realloc
Ortygia
The
Ponte Nuova (New Bridge) connects the mainland city
of Syracuse to the island of Ortygia, where most of the area's
worthy sights are located. The remains of the Temple of Apollo are
sited in the Piazza Pancali: this is the oldest Greek...
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Palazzo Mirto © Motivase
Palazzo Mirto
The excessive opulence of the Baroque period is nowhere better
demonstrated than in the magnificent Palazzo Mirto, one of the few
aristocratic homes of Palermo that is open to the public, offering
visitors a glimpse into the lifestyle of Sicily's noble
19th-century families. The...
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Paolo Orsi Archaeological Museum
Paolo Orsi Regional Archaeological Museum
Syracuse's archaeological museum is one of the most extensive in
all of Italy, preserving relics and remains from the Greek, Roman
and early Christian eras of Sicily's history. The museum building
itself is ultra-modern, consisting of glass-and-steel exhibition
halls connected in a hexagonal shape....
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Greek Theatre © Dario Dado
Parco Archeologico della Neapolis
The Archaeological Park on the western edge of the city of
Syracuse contains the celebrated rock-hewn Greek amphitheatre,
capable of holding about 15,000 people, where Euripides and
Aeschylus' works were performed in the days of antiquity. Today,
Greek dramas are still played here on...
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Regional Archaeological Museum © Dan Bock
Regional Archaeological Museum
Some of Europe's greatest archaeological treasures are tucked
away in Palermo's somewhat musty museum, which is well worth
visiting even though it's rather shabby. The collection is housed
in several old convent buildings, dating back to the 13th Century,
and includes artefacts from the...
see full detailsValley of the Temples (Valle dei Templi)
Although not technically a 'valley' and rather a ridge located
just outside the Sicilian town of Agrigento, the Valley of the
Temples (Valle dei Templi) is one of Italy's oldest and most
interesting archaeological sites. Declared a UNESCO World Heritage
Site in 1997, the...
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Excursions
Catania
The second-largest city in Sicily, Catania sits in the shadow of
Europe's highest volcano, Mount Etna, on the east of Sicily between
Syracuse and Taormina. Ugly, decayed and crime-ridden today, it was
once called the 'city of black and white' because of the...
see full detailsMount Etna
Sicily's greatest natural attraction is the (very) active
volcano, Mount Etna, which has been spewing lava and shaking the
earth for centuries, most recently in 2008, while ash eruptions
occur almost continuosly. About 20 miles (32km) from Catania the
craters below the summit can...
see full detailsSolunto
The Roman ruins at Solunto overlook the coast near Santa Flavia,
on the slopes of Mount Catalfamo. The site was originally a
Phoenician village that was expanded by the Greeks who conquered it
in 396 BC. By 255 BC it had fallen to...
see full detailsUstica
An underwater city and a landscape of petrified black lava are
the characteristics of the unusual little island of Ustica in the
Tyrrhenian Sea, just a short ferry ride of 36 miles (57km) from
Palermo. The ancient volcanic island was originally inhabited by
the...
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