SICILY

ne of the most beautiful         of Temples.
places on the Earth, Sicily
recently was associated         The architectural style of the
only with mafia. Now the              cities in the Eastern part of
situation has completely changed.     Sicily was formed under the
Mafia is almost defeated and the      Baroque influence, and received
island has become travelers'          the name of the Sicilian Baroque.
paradise, very popular resort         The most outstanding cities of
whose beauty is supplemented with     the East are Ragusa, Modica,
the wide range of architectural       Scicli, Ispica and Noto.
and cultural attractions.             Magnificent "stone gardens",
                                      remains of the Sicilian Baroque
Sicily is a mix of cultures and       era are included in World
nations. The explanation lies in      Heritage List of UNESCO.
its rich history. During the
centuries Sicily was ruled by         Other interesting towns to visit
Asians, Africans and Europeans        on Sicily are Taormina, called
that formed the special Sicilian      the "pearl of the Ionian Sea",
nation. On the island you can         Enna, which is "Sicily's belly
still see Phoenician settlements,     button", "the ceramic town"
Punic cities, Greek temples,          Caltagirone and Catania, with its
Roman amphitheatres, Norman Arab      Baroque palaces. Catania is also
castles and Aragonese churches.       known for its intense nightlife.

Cities with the Greek origin are      The capital of Sicily, Palermo,
mostly situated on the west side      is an ancient city founded
of the island. These cities are       between the 8th and the 6th
Selinunte, Segesta, Siracusa and      century B.C. Palermo stands on
Agrigento. There, on the West         the shore of its own wide bay
also lies the impressive Valley       underneath the limestone bulk of

Monte Pellegrino. The historical      addition, I should mention, that
part of Palermo strikes with the      the sea is not only beautiful,
fusion of Arabic and Viking           but also very good for swimming.
influences, reflected in the          Nearby Sicily you also can find a
medieval buildings of the 11th        huge amount of the small islands,
and 12th centuries. Palazzo dei       which are also worth visiting.
Normanni is the best sample of
the style.                            Above the blue of the sea and the
                                      greenery of the fields rise
All the cities on Sicily are not      magnificent mountains. Europe's
very big. Palermo, the biggest        greatest natural wonder, Mount
one, has the population of 652        Etna is situated on Sicily.
000. The typical Sicilian city is
more like village with small          The other thing Sicily is famous
houses, and the cozy atmosphere       for is its cuisine. Like all on
of a place where everybody knows      the island, the food represent a
each other.                           refined mix of East and West. The
                                      main ingredient is fish. As a
The best of Sicily is its nature.     land with a lot of vineyards,
You can never forget the              Sicily has its own wines that are
beautiful landscapes of hills,        rapidly becoming world-popular.
vineyards, olive groves, almond
orchards and endless wheat            This island, separated from the
fields. Sicily is an island and,      other parts of Italy has its
thus, is surrounded by the sea so     special magic and is the perfect
blue that it seems unreal. In         place for rest.

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