Tag: Sicily

Best Time to Visit Sicily, Italy: Weather, Festivals & Touring

Best Time to Visit Sicily, Italy: Weather, Festivals & Touring The Valley of the Temples, Agrigento, in spring morning light with almond blossom in the foreground. Sicily rewards travellers who choose their season carefully. Arrive in the wrong month and you’re touring the Valley of the Temples under a punishing midday sun, watching shops shutter […]

Mediterranean Islands Itinerary: Malta, Sicily, Sardinia & Corsica

A 25-Day Mediterranean Islands Itinerary: Malta, Sicily, Sardinia & Corsica for Mature Travellers From Valletta’s Baroque harbour to Corsica’s mountain citadels, this itinerary layers four distinct island histories into a single route. Four islands, four very different histories, and one sea that has connected them for three thousand years — that is the premise behind […]

Palermo, Sicily

Palermo, Sicily Palermo Cathedral mixes Arab and Norman styles, a testament to Sicily’s multicultural history. The capital of Sicily and the island’s chaotic heart, Palermo is where civilisations – Arab, Norman, Italian – collide. Palermo was founded by Phoenician traders in the 8th century BC. It then passed to the Carthaginians, before coming under Roman […]

Agrigento, Italy

Agrigento, Italy Temple of Castor and Pollux, Agrigento. The city of Agrigento (Greek: Akragas) has been a hub of people and trade for over 2, 500 years. As Akragas it was among the greatest cities of the Greek world, with a population of between 200, 000 and 800, 000 before 406 BCE. Today, Agrigento is home […]

Noto, Italy

Noto, Italy Palazzo Ducezio and the Basilica Minore di San Nicolò, Noto. Long off the tourist trail, the city of Noto – capital of Sicilian baroque – is one of the most beautiful cities in Sicily. A golden gem surrounded by stunning coastal and scenery, Noto offers all the charm of Italy’s major tourist destinations […]

Sicily, Italy

Sicily, Italy An autonomous region of Italy, Sicily is a world apart: an ancient and rugged island shaped by successive waves of civilisation. Long the crossroads of the Mediterranean, Sicily is surprisingly untouched by modernity, a place where ancient local traditions and lifestyles live on today. Sicily’s history has been shaped by a succession of […]

Early History of Sicily: From the Phoenicians to the Arab Conquest

Early History of Sicily: From the Phoenicians to the Arab Conquest (800 BC to the 10th Century) Sicily in Southern Italy is the largest island in the Mediterranean, separated from the mainland by the Strait of Messina and lying just 160 kilometres from Tunisia, the northern tip of Africa. Together with its surrounding islands (Egadi, […]

Mediterranean Islands: Malta, Sicily, Sardinia and Corsica

Malta, Sicily, Sardinia and Corsica: An Educational Journey through Western Mediterranean This article takes you on a journey through the beautiful islands of the western Mediterranean – Malta, Sicily, Sardinia and Corsica – by tracing their centuries-long history. Many civilisations and empires arose, flourished, and declined around the shores of the Mediterranean. Its islands bear […]

About Malta, Sicily, Sardinia and Corsica: islands of the western Mediterranean

we will answer some frequently asked questions that travellers have about Malta, Sicily, Sardinia and Corsica, before an in-depth look at the key destinations and main highlights