Sicily

Sicily (Sicilia in Italian, Latin, Sicilian and Spanish, Σικελία in Greek, Sqallija Maltese) is an autonomous region of Italy and the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, with an area of 25,708 km² (9,926 sq. miles) and five million inhabitants.

Sicily is directly adjacent to the region of Calabria via the Strait of Messina to the east. In Latin, Sicily is Trinacria.

The volcano Etna, situated close to Catania, is 3,320 m (10,900 ft) high, making it the tallest volcano in Europe. It is also one of the world's most active volcanoes.

The Aeolian islands to the north are administratively a part of Sicily, as are the Aegadian Islands and Pantelleria Island to the west, Ustica Island to the north-west, and the Pelagian Islands to the south-west.

Tears of lava, limestone plains swept by the wind, sunny lands the colour of bronze: one by one the islands decorate the Sicilian coast like a string of pearls on the neck of a beautiful woman. There are fourteen of these daughters of Sicily, not including Motya, which at low tide is sometimes linked to the coast of Marsala. Fourteen paradises of untouched beauty. Some have an African charm, such as the Pelagie, in the province of Agrigento, and Pantelleria in the province of Trapani. Others, the uncontested mistresses of the sea and its secrets, Levanzo, Favignana, and Marettimo, form the archipelago of the Egadi in the sea off Trapani. Further north, in splendid isolation, is Ustica, the island of Circe, with its unspoilt marine reserve. And in the Aeolian islands, in the province of Messina, water meets fire. Here nature still dictates. Its rhythms, and travellers can let themselves be enchanted by the magic spell of the fishermen and farmers who inhabit these isles, the last custodians of the ancient Mediterranean traditions. The choice is yours - between the lively throngs on the Aeolian Islands, the peace and quiet Pelagie, and the perfumes of the Egadi.