Best places to see in Sicily
Let’s see the best places to visit in Sicily, which is the region in southern Italy and is the biggest island in the Mediterranean and Italy. There are some groups of islands formed around it: the Aeolian islands that face north in the province of Messina, the Pelagie islands in the province of Agrigento in the south, and the Egadi in the west in the province of Trapani. Its territory stretches for 25,832 km and it is the largest region in Italy and is subdivided into 390 districts. The capital of Sicily is Palermo, the other cities are Agrigento, Catania, Messina, Enna, Trapani, Ragusa, Syracuse, and Caltanissetta.
Mountains, reserves, and Sicilian beaches
Sicily is surrounded in the north by the Tyrrhenian sea, to the east by the Ionian sea, and to the south by the Sicilian Channel and is separated from the Italian peninsular by the straits of Messina. Sicily boasts a crystal clear sea that flows onto its almost tropical beaches where protected marine parks of great beauty have grown. As for mountain ranges, it has the Nebrodi, a mountainous range in northern Sicily, that together with the Peloritani mountains to the east and the Madonie mountains to the west, form a good part of the Sicilian Apennines. On these mountain ranges, you can find organized areas, nature parks, and reserves of undeniable beauty that capture the attention of millions of tourists every year, especially lovers of the outdoors. In the southeast, we have the Iblei mountains and between Agrigento and Palermo, there are the Sicani mountains.
But the highest overall peak is that of Mount Etna, a good 3343 m., and situated in the province of Catania. Mount Etna is an active volcano and the last eruption resulted in 2018. Nowadays Etna is a nature park and a great tourist attraction and you cannot but notice that Etna, the highest active volcano in Europe, offers spectacular places like woodland paths, antique craters, lava grottoes, and fauna and flora that, together with the scenery, truly takes your breath away.
Sicilian history and culture
Sicily was colonized through time by dozens of populations, the most important being the Arabs and Greeks. Nowadays the island has a historical, artistic, and cultural heritage that goes back 3000 years, when the first Greek colony came ashore at Capo Schisò, establishing the first colony called Naxos, in the present town of Giardini Naxos.
The typical Sicilian cuisine, which changes in certain aspects according to the area, however, remains close to its origins, which thanks to a mild climate, even in the coldest months, manages to produce excellent products, worthy of the Mediterranean character and which the Sicilians know how to transform into a unique gastronomic art.
Norman castles, the Baroque cathedrals, but also overwhelming nature like the canyon of the Alcantara gorges. The cities of the present and of the past, offer their own genuine traits, at times contrasting but overflowing with culture and art, like Taormina, Cefalù, Erice, and Siracusa, that leave historical evidence of an antique Greece of worldwide fame. In addition, Palermo, Trapani, Noto, the temples of Agrigento, and Villa Romana del Casale of Piazza Armerina, are all other testimonies to the past, and there are many more that truly deserve to be seen.
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