Neptune's Needle

Ital. Sicilia, region (area; 9,925 sq miles; 1991 pop. 4,966,386), S Italy, mainly situated on the isl. of Sicily, which is bounded by the Mediterranean Sea on the W and S, by the Ionian Sea on the E, and by the Tyrrhenian Sea on the N, and which is separated from the Ital. mainland by the narrow Strait of Messina; 37º30'N 14º00'E. Palermo is (cap.) of Sicily. The largest Mediterranean isl., Sicily is triangular and formerly was sometimes called Trinacria [Gr.=triangle]; capes Boeo (or Lilibeo), Passero, and Punta del Faro (or Peloro) are the vertices of the triangle. The isl. is almost entirely covered by hills and mts. (continuations of the Apennines); Mt. Etna (10,958 ft.), in the E, is the highest point. It has a mild climate and a long, hot growing season; summer droughts are a frequent problem. Sicily has long been noted for the fertility of its soil, its pleasant climate, and its natural beauty. Sicily continues to have an extremely low per capita income and high unemployment. The presence of the Mafia, which is still quite influential, often hinders governmental efforts to institute reforms in the region. Agr. is still the main economic activity. Wheat, barley, maize, olives, citrus fruits, almonds, wine grapes, and some cotton are produced; cattle, mules, donkeys, and sheep are raised. Tuna and sardine fisheries are also important. The chief ports of the isl. are Palermo, Catania, and Messina. Sicily has had a varied and colorful history. The first known inhabitants of the isl. were the Elymi, Sicani, and Siculi. Phoenicians later settled on the W coast, notably at Panormus (now Palermo); Carthaginians founded Lilybaeum and Drepanum (now Trapani ); and on the E and SE coasts Greeks founded (8th-6th cent. B.C.) such cities as Syracuse , Catania , Zancle (now Messina ), Gela , and Selinus, and settled in older towns like Segesta . The Gr. cities flourished and in turn founded such cities as Acragas (now Agrigento ) and Himera . Their originally democratic governments were gradually replaced by tyrannies, particularly those of Phalaris at Acragas and of Gelon, Hiero I, and others at Syracuse. In the 5th cent. B.C., Syracuse gained hegemony over the other cities. Phoenician influence was reinvigorated by Carthaginian expansion; although Hamilcar was repulsed at Himera in 480 B.C., later Carthaginian invaders gained control (by c.400 B.C.) of more than half of the isl. Interlopers from mainland Greece seized the remainder, and Sicily became a battleground for rival empires. A cent. of antagonism bet. Greeks and Carthaginians was followed by strife bet. Romans and Carthaginians, which flared (264 B.C.) in the 1st of the Punic Wars. Rome was victorious by 241 B.C., and after the death (c.215 B.C.) of Hiero II of Syracuse, virtually all of Sicily came under Rome. The Romans completed the enriching Hellenization of Sicilian culture. However, the resources of the island, known as the Breadbasket of Rome, were depleted by the Romans, who also founded the large estates ( latifundia ) that subsequently greatly hampered the economic development of Sicily. Roman rule was often corrupt, and corruption reached a peak under governor Caius Verres (73-71 B.C.). Slave revolts (135-132 B.C. and 104-100 B.C.) were cruelly suppressed. Many remains of the Gr. and Roman periods have been found on Sicily, esp. at Agrigento, Syracuse, Segesta, and Selinunte. After the fall of Rome, Sicily passed from the Vandals (mid-5th cent. A.D.) to the Goths (493) and then to the Byzantines (535). The Arabs conquered the isl. in the 9th cent. after raiding it for 2 cents. They promoted agr., commerce, and the arts and sciences. The Arabs were displaced by the Norman conquest of Sicily (1060-1091), led by Roger I. Roger II became (1130) the 1st king of Sicily; he forced (1139) Pope Innocent II, who claimed suzerainty over Sicily, to invest him with the kingdom, which included the Norman holdings in S Italy. The brilliant court of Roger II did much to introduce Arabic learning to Western Europe. Roger’s last direct descendant, Constance, married Holy Roman emperor Henry VI; their son and heir, Holy Roman emperor Frederick II, was more interested in the kingdom of Sicily (where he reigned as king from 1197 to 1250) than in the Holy Roman Empire. After Frederick’s death and the failures of the last Hohenstaufen claimants (Conrad IV, Manfred, and Conradin), Pope Clement IV crowned (1266) Charles I (Charles of Anjou) king of Naples and Sicily as his vassal. The unpopular govt. of the French brought on the Sicilian Vespers revolt (1282), and the Sicilians chose Peter III of Aragon as king. The resulting war bet. the Angevin line and the Aragonese ended temporarily in 1302, with Frederick II becoming king of Sicily and Charles II of Anjou keeping S Italy (see Naples, Kingdom of ). In 1373, Joanna I of Naples formally renounced Sicily. After the Sicilian branch of Aragon became extinct, Sicily reverted (1409) to the main branch. Under Aragonese rule local liberties were maintained, and the Sicilian natl. assembly enjoyed wide powers. With the accession of the house of Hapsburg to the Span. throne (early 16th cent.), there was more centralization, and Span. governors were sent to Sicily to tighten the imperial bonds. Corruption increased, and the isl. came under the control of a few powerful nobles and churchmen. In 1713 the Peace of Utrecht assigned Sicily to Savoy, which in 1720 exchanged it with Emperor Charles VI for Sardinia. However, as a result of the War of the Pol. Succession, both Sicily and Naples came under (1735) the rule of Don Carlos of Bourbon (later Charles III of Spain). The Bourbon kings resided at Naples, except in 1799 and from 1806 to 1815, when Naples was held by the French. The centralizing policies of the Bourbons were resisted by the Sicilian nobles, who welcomed Br. intervention (1811-1814). Feudal privileges were formally renounced in 1812, but in practice they continued much longer. Naples and Sicily were merged, despite Sicilian protests, in 1816, when Ferdinand I styled himself officially king of the Two Sicilies . The Sicilian spirit of independence gave rise to revolts in 1820 and 1848-1849, which were mercilessly suppressed; the bombardments of Messina (1848) and of Palermo (1849) earned Ferdinand II the nickname “King Bomba.” In 1860, Garibaldi conquered the isl., which then voted to join the kingdom of Sardinia. Even after the unification of Italy was completed, Sicily was neglected by the central govt., and the basic economic and social problems of the isl. long remained unattended. In World War II a large-scale amphibious landing was carried out by the Allies from N Afr. bases on July 9-10, 1943. After heavy fighting, the Allied conquest of Sicily was completed on Aug. 8, 1943. Sicily was given limited autonomy under the Ital. constitution of 1947.

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Compiler

Peter Richards