ITALY - SICILY
Sicily, the largest island in the Mediterranean was called 'Trinacris' (the triangular) by the Greeks. There is not only Greek culture to marvel at e.g. in the valley of the Temple at Agrigento. There is hardly a significant culture in the Mediterranean which hasn't decided the fate of Sicily over a short or long period of time: 8,000 year old rock paintings in a grotto near Monte Pellegrino show early settlers. From 7000 to 5000 BC there is evidence of Indo-European tribes (e.g. Sikaner and Sikuler) and in 3000 BC the Phoenicians from today's Lebanon set up the first trading posts. The Greek trading period stretched to 300 BC, followed by the Roman era. From 800 to 1000 AD Sicily was conquered by the Arabs and in 1060 the Norman era began. | French and Spanish followed and today you enter a country that can give visual instruction in every era of western history. If you think of the Mafia when hearing 'Sicily' then here's a tip that is not so well known: the word comes from the Arabic 'mu' (=courageous) and 'afat' (=protect). The question of 'why' was already answered in the Norman era. |
 |  | |||
 | ||||
 | ||||
 | ||||
 |  |  |  |  |