The Place

It's more than an island! Discover Sicily and discover the world. The world's first multicultural society, our island is Italy's (and Europe's) San Giovanni Rotondo alberghi Albergo nei pressi del Santuario di San Pio e l'ospedale "Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza" a San Giovanni Rotondo. most historically cosmopolitan region, having been ruled by Asians, Africans and Europeans. Sicily is black and white and a million shades of gray. There's no other place on Earth like it. Our island is a unique place full of art, archeology, history, folklore and breathtaking scenery. And, of course, great food. It's almost a nation unto itself. The enchanting land where Archimedes taught and Saint Paul preached was a Greek colony, a Roman province, an Arab emirate and a Norman kingdom. The Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Swabians, Angevins, Aragonese and Jews made this unique island their own, leaving behind an eclectic history that you can still touch today. And Sicily will touch you. Sicily is Europe, Africa and Asia on one island. Greek tyrants, Arab emirs, Norman knights, Byzantine bishops and Holy Roman Emperors made it the place it is. Experience their eternal legacy in Phoenician settlements, Punic cities, Greek temples, Roman amphitheatres, Norman-Arab castles and Aragonese churches. Thirty centuries of history expressed in the Classical, the Romanesque, the Gothic, the Baroque...

Sikania to its most ancient peoples, our island was Sikelia, Plato's utopian society, to the ancient Greeks. Later, the sonnet was created at the Court of Frederick II, and the Sicilian language claimed its place in the literature of Dante and Boccaccio. Sunny Sicily is Punic Palermo, towering Taormina, ancient Agrigento, splendid Siracusa, and medieval Monreale and Cefalù.

And God created Sicily. The place where the mountains meet the sea. Sicilia,the island in the sun, is home to Heavenly beaches, majestic mountains and Europe's greatest natural wonder, Mount Etna. Sicily's coasts are gold with orange and lemon orchards. Each scenic region offers something different. In northeastern Sicily's Nebrodi Mountains you'll find unexpectedly lush forests. In the central regions you'll encounter rugged land and rolling hills. Dignified vineyards, ancient olive groves, hardy almond orchards and endless wheat fields complete the picture. Summer is amber land under a sky of blue. Winter finds palm trees dusted with snow in a surreal symphony. Spring is a rainbow of wild flowers set against greenest fields...

If you could choose just one place to visit where you could witness everything from the culture of Hellenic antiquity to the glories of the Middle Ages and the wonders of the Renaissance, shaped by a dozen civilizations, Sicily would be that place. And this website would be a good starting point.

Is Sicily Italy? Yes, our island is Italian. And French and Spanish and Greek, with a few German and Arab nuances in its cultural mix. It is the world's island. A place where time and tradition have been forged by peoples and faiths from the north and south, from the east and west. Beauty in diversity: Europe, Africa and Asia in one magical moment...

Bedda, the Sicilian word for "beautiful," is the way we Sicilians describe this place.

You won't be the first guest to enjoy Sicilian hospitality. Cicero, Saint Louis, Richard Lionheart and Eleanor of Aquitaine have already tested the waters for you. Yes, our island has been extending hospitality to first-time visitors for three thousand years. You can be one of them.

We like to think that if the internet existed in Cicero's time he would have visited this site before coming to the island. You won't need papyrus or a Roman courier, just a keyboard and mouse. We'll take care of the rest.

A world unto itself, this island, in all its complexities, is a land like no other.

In Sicily tourism (a word we don't like too much) isn't just sightseeing. It's an entire culture.

Come visit our sunny island. We've been expecting you for three thousand years!

The Discovery

Welcome to the world's favorite Sicilian website, online since 1999! The Sicily you never knew existed. The island's definitive (and largest) online destination guide is full of information and easy to use.

Sights, scenery, cities, shopping, history, culture, nature, beaches, hotels, restaurants, travel planning, arts, fashion, food and wine, and an online magazine with real information you won't find on any other site, written for thinking people. All uniquely indexed and easy to find. If you have even a general idea of what you're looking for, you'll find it here:

Come to Sicily...

Top 12 destinations in Sicily

Scenery & Geography of Sicily.

Tours of Sicily and shore excursions.

Hotels, Flights, Cars reserved online.

Restaurants reviewed.

Travel Faqs with practical information.

Sicily Airports - getting into town.

Airlines servicing Sicily's major airports.

Travel Ideas for your visit to our island.

Sicily Map indicating roads and cities.

Sicily Weather forecasts, temperatures.

Beaches in Sicily - a selected listing.

Travel Services for unique experiences.

Palermo - guide to Sicily's largest city.

Bed & Breakfasts, other accommodations.

Guest Farms - country retreats (agriturismo).

Villas in Sicily and how to find one.

Golf courses and resorts.

Tour Guides listed by locality.

Sicily for Children - fun for families!

Net & Mobile phone service in Italy.

Travel Guide Books reviewed.Shopping for local products.

Featuring descriptions of places you'll want to visit, indexed by both city and things to see and do, along with some useful travel faqs, history (with sections on customs, culture, the Sicilian language, life, genealogy and much more), and even a good book page, this publication offers timely, useful information, provided by a qualified staff based in Sicily - not just travel writers or tour guides but insightful archeologists and widely-published historians who really know the people and place, presenting facts and details you won't find anyplace else. Viewed eight thousand times each day, our pages present varied (even controversial) points of view. The real Sicily, not the generic "tourism" version presented by other sites. Most online destination guides list their descriptions by locality. With Best of Sicily, you can search for a city, town or historical site by locality but also by the kind of thing to see. In Sicily archeology alone makes for an adventure, but it's just part of this island's historic heritage.

We're not a travel agency (although we promote several 'co-branded' tours), but you can find a flight, book your hotel and reserve a car through this site. Plan your entire visit (with a great links page), or just find out more about the place and its people. There's something here for almost everybody interested in something Sicilian. Every day, we're Sicily's international point of reference for thousands of the Web's most discerning readers: Travelers, teachers, students, journalists, food and wine aficionados, culture vultures, adventurous trekkers and virtual tourists. Informed readers, not just "visitors."

This site is for you. Just real, practical information. On our Sicilian history pages, with their links to hundreds of articles, you won't find just a lifeless narrative account of the 'who' and 'what' of ancient, medieval and modern Sicilian history, you'll understand the 'how' and the 'why' that makes a very special place come to life.