Italy: Sicily, that Island below the boot

I got to thinking that today I was going to share with you another part of Italy that isn’t necessarily Italy itself. Italy is located off the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, and below Italy is a small island known as Sicily. With the population being

Sicily Map

over 5.04 million people, it’s one of the larger Italian islands.

Italy is home to nine provinces;

1.) Trapani   4.) Palermo  7.) Messina

2.) Agrigento   5.) Caltanissetta  8.) Catania

3.) Ragusa  6.) Enna  9.) Siracusa

Most people travel to Italy to see the magnificent Colosseum or the Leaning Tower of Pisa, but if you travel to Sicily, you can expect to see  Mount Etna, being the tallest active volcano in Europe, having last erupted in 2011. You can also expect to see some of the clearest blue water with the whitest of white sand.

The island is known for its rugged, volcanic topography, history, culture and architecture. Sicily has long been noted for its fertile soil, pleasant climate, and natural beauty. It has a long, hot growing season, but summer droughts are frequent. Agriculture is the chief economic activity but has long been hampered by absentee ownership, primitive methods of cultivation, and inadequate irrigation.

Sicily is also known for their exquisite cuisine and their excellent espresso. And yes, Sicily is known and remembered for a high corruption of Mafia takeovers. Ever seen the Godfather? It takes place in Sicily.

The idea behind today’s blog was to explore the world of Sicily in a quick and efficient way. And I guess if you all haven’t picked up on this, my family is from Italy and actually, my grandfather’s side of the family is from Sicily, and that’s what inspired today’s blog topic.