Introducing Sicily
Nourishment, Environment and Nature

With a total surface area of 25,460 sq. Km, Sicily is the largest island in the Mediterranean basin. Around it lies a number of smaller islands: to the north the Aeolian islands and Ustica, to the West the Egadi, and to the south the Pelagie islands and Pantelleria (making a total surface area of 25,708 sq. Km). Sicily boasts around 1,000 Km of coastline, most-ly rocky in the north and sandy in the south.

The landscape is varied, prevalently maintains and hilly, but with an expanse of plains around Catania.In the eastern part of the island Mount Etna (about 3,330 m) is Sicily's highest mountain, the whole of which is a protected area within a national park. Still active, it is the biggest volcano in Europe. Along the north coast, from east to west, lies a stretch of the Peloritani and the Nebrodi and Madonie Mountains, some of their peaks reaching 2,000 m.The area to the West of the river Torto has an irregular lime-stone formation, patchy or continuous, alternating with low rolling hills. Over to the east of the island, between Messina and Mount Etna, lies the easternmost tip of the Peloritani chain, very similar to the mountains of Calabria. The Southeast corner comprises a series of high plateaus made up of lava, tuff and above all limestone, and features a number of impressive gorges carved out by water erosion through the cen-turies.The innermost part of the island is predominantly hilly, consist-ing mainly of the so called A1topiano Solfifero (literally the sulphur uplands'), with altitudes ranging from 500-700 m. Its summit, however, with the snow, rises to almost 1,OOOm.

The climate is unmistakably Mediterranean, with hot, dry summers and short, mild winters.The average number of hours of sun per year is 2,500, as against the 2,000 hours of the Italian peninsula and the 1,800 hours of the South of France. Rainfall is low and occurs almost solely in winter months.The hottest weather is in July and August (overage 26°C), and the coldest in December and February (average 10-140C). Sea temperature's range from l60Cin winter to 270C in summer:Beach holidays are obviously for summer; but visitors in search of culture and history would be advised to come to the island in spring (mid-April to mid-June) and autumn (September and October).

GOVERNAMENT AND POPULATION

Sicily and its islands became a self-governing region in 1946, with Palermo as capital; it has had its own parliament since 1947. The total population is over 5,1 million, with a density of 190 per sq. Km.

In Sicily there are sharp and sudden changes in geology and climate from one part of the island to the next. This has given rise to an extraordinarily rich flora, ranging from the subtropical to species more typical of Northern Europe. The coastal areas, up to a height of 300m, feature mostly citrus orchards, olive trees and vineyards.Almost all the plant life on the island was brought by the various peoples who invaded these shores during the course of the centuries: the Greeks and the Phoenicians, for example, brought vines, olives, figs and pomegranate, while the Arabs were the first to plant lemons and almonds.Oranges have been grown on the island only since the fifteenth century, as have tomatoes and prickly pears, which arrived after the discovery of America. The mandarin, on the other hand, was imported at the beginning of the nineteenth century

The mountain slopes, up to an altitude of 600m, are covered with characteristic examples of Mediterranean scrub: broom, lavender, rosemary, wild olive, dwarf palm, lentisk and many others. Also to be found are cork oaks, oleanders, carob trees and tamarisks.Following the disappearance of the great forests which once covered the whole of the island, only a few woodland areas remain, mostly an high mountain slopes, and particularly an Nebrodi, Madonie, Peloritani and Etna. The woodlands comprise for the most part oak trees, holm oaks, cork oaks, chestnut trees and beech trees. Pinewoods are now a rarity, as is the Sicilian firtree, practically extinct. Other examples of local flora include the agave, palm, plane trees, ficus, cedar, mulberry and eucalyptus, along with a colourful range of flowers