Sicily is one of the great enigmas, an island of incomparable beauty and cultural wealth. Yet it is also a world apart, separated from mainstream European life by a tumultuous history that has left a troubled preset and the monuments of a glorious past. The result is a society rich in ambiguity and an island almost unmatched for the myriad pleasures of its art and architecture, food, landscapes, and outdoor activities.

Sicily’s location has been its blessing and its curse. At one time, when the known world barely extended beyond the Mediterranean, it was at the crossroads of Africa and Europe, a conduit for trade and peoples. The island was once a paradise on earth, a wealthy and fertile enclave of teeming seas, olive trees, citrus groves, vineyards, and rolling wheat fields.

The Mediterranean’s largest island, Sicily’s breathtaking landscapes form a triangle measuring 25,709 square kilometres. it lies just 3 kilometres from the Italian mainland and 140 kilometres from Africa. To the east, its shores are washed by the Ionian Sea, to the north by the Tyrrhenian, and to the south by the Mediterranean.