Sicily landscape, East Coast, Sicily, Italy, Europe
Sicily is the largest island in the
Mediterranean Sea; along with surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of
Italy, the
Regione Siciliana (
Sicilian Region). Sicily is located in the central
Mediterranean. It extends from the tip of the
Apennine peninsula from which it is separated only by the narrow
Strait of Messina, towards the
North African coast. Its most prominent landmark is
Mount Etna, which is at 3,320 m (10,890 ft) the tallest active volcano in
Europe and one of the most active in the world.
The island has a typical
Mediterranean climate. The earliest archeological evidence of human dwelling on the island dates from as early as
8000 BC. At around 750 BC, Sicily became a
Greek colony and for the next 600 years it was the site of the Greek-Punic and
Roman-Punic wars, which ended with the
Roman destruction of
Carthage. After the fall of the
Roman Empire in the
5th century AD, Sicily often changed hands, and during the early
Middle Ages it was ruled in turn by the
Vandals,
Ostrogoths, Byzantines,
Arabs and
Normans.
Later on, the
Kingdom of Sicily lasted between 1130 and 1816, first subordinated to the crowns of
Aragon, Spain, the
Holy Roman Empire, and finally unified under the
Bourbons with
Naples, as the
Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. With the
Expedition of the Thousand, a Giuseppe Garibaldi-led revolt during the
Italian Unification process, it became part of Italy in
1860 as a result of a plebiscite. After the birth of the
Italian Republic in 1946, Sicily was given special status as an autonomous region. Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature, cuisine and architecture. Sicily also holds importance for archeological and ancient sites such as the
Necropolis of Pantalica, the
Valley of the Temples and
Selinunte. Sicily has a roughly triangular shape, which earned it the name Trinacria, from
Greek treis 'three' and akra 'promontory'. To the east, it is separated from the
Italian region of
Calabria by the Strait of Messina, about 3 km (1.9 mi) wide in the north, and about 16 km (9.9 mi) in the southern part.[5]
Northern and southern coasts are each about 280 kilometres (170 mi) long measured as a straight line, while the eastern coast measures around
180 kilometres (
110 mi); total coast length is estimated at 1,484 km. The total area of the island is 25,711 square kilometres (9,927 sq mi), while the
Autonomous Region of Sicily (which includes smaller surrounding islands) has an area of 27,
708 square kilometres (10,698 sq mi). The terrain of inland Sicily is mostly hilly, and intensively cultivated wherever it was possible. Along the northern coast, mountain ranges of
Madonie, 2,
000 m (6,600 ft),
Nebrodi,
1,800 m (5,900 ft), and
Peloritani, 1,
300 m (4,300 ft), represent an extension of mainland
Appennines. The cone of Mount Etna dominates over the eastern coast
. In the south-east lie lower
Hyblaean Mountains, 1,000 m (3,300 ft). The mines of the
Enna and
Caltanissetta district were a leading sulfur-producing area throughout the
19th century, but have declined since the
1950s. Sicily and its small surrounding islands have some highly active volcanoes. Mount Etna, with a height of 3,320 m (10,890 ft), is the tallest active volcano in Europe and one of the most active in the world. The
Aeolian Islands in the
Tyrrhenian Sea, to the northeast of mainland Sicily, exhibit a volcanic complex including
Stromboli.
Currently active also are the three volcanoes of
Vulcano, Vulcanello and
Lipari, usually dormant.
Off the southern coast of Sicily, the underwater volcano of
Ferdinandea, which is part of the larger
Empedocles, last erupted in 1831. It is located between the coast of
Agrigento and the island of
Pantelleria (which itself is a dormant volcano), on the underwater
Phlegraean Fields of the
Strait of Sicily. The autonomous region also includes several neighboring islands: the
Aegadian Islands, the Aeolian Islands, Pantelleria and Lampedusa. Sicily has a typical Mediterranean climate with mild and wet winters and hot, dry summers. According to the
Regional Agency for
Waste and
Water, on 10
August 1999, the weather station of
Catenanuova (EN) recorded a maximum temperature of 48.5 °C (
119 °F), which is the highest temperature ever recorded in Europe by the use of reliable instruments. The official
European record measured by minimum/maximum thermometers is recognized to
Athens, Greece, as communications reported a maximum of 48.0 °C (
118 °F) in
1977.
Total precipitation is highly variable, generally increasing with elevation.
In general, the southern and southeast coast receives the least rainfall (less than 20 in., or 50 cm), and the northern and northeastern highlands the most (over 40 in., or
100 cm). Sicily is an often-quoted example of man-made deforestation, which was practiced since
Roman times, when the island was made an agricultural region.