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HISTORY OF SICILY
Lying as it does between Europe and Africa, Sicily, the oft-called
'melting pot of the ancient world', has been touched, changed
and marked by a myriad of cultures - first the Greeks and the
Romans, then the Arabs and Normans, and finally, the French, Spanish
and Italians, all of them contributing to an unparalleled historical
legacy. This multi-faceted lineage is evidenced in the fascinating
mix of art and architecture - including two of the best-preserved
Greek temples in the world - as well as in the mixed appearances
of the inhabitants, ranging from the red-haired and blonde and
blue-eyed Norman descendants, to the dark-eyed Mediterranean natives.
A human skull found near Agrigento was dated to over half a million
years old years old, and, at the time of its discovery, was the
oldest complete human skull ever found in Europe. Cave paintings
found in the Addaura Cavern, beneath the slopes of Mount Pellegrino
near Palermo, have been dated to 8000 BC, and suggest that the
Neolithic culture that eventually emerged here was quite similar
to those of central and western Europe. At around 5000 BC, the
Siculi and Sicani cultures (that gave the island its name) were
developing, and, at around 900 BC the Phoenicians began to colonise
the area, founding Carthage in North Africa and Mozia, Solunto
and Palermo in Sicily.
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Greek colonisation of Sicily probably
began around 750 BC, and they founded cities such as Syracuse,
Catania, Zancle (now Messina), Gela, and Selinus. In time, Sicily
and the southern part of the Italian peninsula would be completely
colonised by Greeks, becoming known as Magna Graecia (Greater
Greece) as it boasted more Greeks (and probably more Greek temples)
than Greece itself. Sicilian Magna Graecia was extremely fertile
- olives and vines were introduced, and there was a great deal
of very profitable trading. Rivalries developed, and internal
battles were frequent and bloody. The Greek settlements, initially
democratic in nature, became tyrannical, and war-time alliances
were formed. In BC 480, at the battle of Himera, an alliance of
Agrigento, Syracuse and Gela defeated the Carthaginians, heralding
the beginning of a 'Golden Age'.
In time, however, Carthaginian invaders came to have control over
more than half of the island. Interlopers from mainland Greece
seized the bulk of what remained, and Sicily became a battleground
for the rival empires. A century of antagonism between Greeks
and Carthaginians was followed by strife between Romans and Carthaginians,
which flared in 264 BC with the first of the Punic Wars. Syracuse
fell during the second Punic War (BC 211), heralding the beginning
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Under the Romans Sicily may have
been prosperous, but her resources were depleted. Forests were
destroyed for shipbuilding and the fields subsequently created
filled the 'Breadbasket of Rome'. Economic development was throttled
by the large estates (Latifundia) that were created by the Romans,
whose rule was notoriously corrupt, with slave revolts being quashed
without mercy. Despite the fact that many Greek temples were destroyed,
the Greek culture and language retained their importance and influence.
Christianity began to seriously spread into Sicily sometime after
200 AD, and, in 313, the Emperor Constantine lifted the prohibition
against Christians as the Roman Empire began to look eastwards
towards Constantinople. Following the decline of the Roman Empire,
Sicily was in turn invaded and occupied by Vandals from northern
Africa, Ostrogoths and Byzantines. By the ninth century it was
the turn of Arabs, Berbers and Spanish Muslims, classed collectively
as Saracens.
In 832 AD Arabs conquer Palermo - it becomes their capital and
transforms itself into one of the most flourishing cosmopolitan
places in the world. It is at this time that oranges and lemons
are grown commercially for the first time, and advanced irrigation
were put in place. The previously swingeing taxes are reduced,
and a period of relative religious tolerance is witnessed - roughly
50 years later Syracuse also falls to the Arabs.
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The Arabs were eventually displaced by the Norman conquest of
Sicily (1060–91). It was a Norman knight called Roger de
Hauteville who took and held the fortress with his brothers and
just a few hundred knights hailing from Normandy, Lombardy and
southern Italy. This operation was to form the plan of action
for the Battle of Hastings against the Saxons just a few years
later - it is held that several knights were present at both clashes.
The Norman presence was so slight that they were obliged to accept
and adapt to the pre-existing administrative and judicial systems.
Their embracing and use of Arabic and Byzantine methodology, architecture
and craftsmen resulted in a unique fusion of styles, and a remarkable
and enduring legacy of art and architecture.
Roger the Second became the first king of Sicily in 1130; he was
invested by Pope Innocent II with the Kingdom of Sicily, including
the Norman conquests of southern Italy. Roger ll exerted a strong
influence over the Meditteranean region; he ruled most of Italy
south of Rome, and the realm was the wealthiest in Europe.
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Roger's last direct descendant,
Constance, married the Holy Roman Emperor Henry VI; their son
and heir, Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II von Hohenstaufen ascended
to the throne in 1198. Frederick (known as Stupor Mundi) was an
enlightened ruler, and oversaw Sicily at the height of its Golden
Age. In truth, he ruled most of Italy and parts of Germany, and
he was an admired and brilliant Emperor - his reign saw great
advances in science, law and medicine. However, he had no children,
and after his death, Sicily was sold by the Pope to the King of
England, who in turn gifted it to his son, Edmund of Lancaster.
As you do.
In 1266 the (French) Pope deposed Edmund, and proceeds to gift
Sicily to the French in the person of Charles of Anjou, the brother
of Louis 14th. Sicilian independence was at an end, and the Angevin
dynasty of France proceeded to rule the island with such oppression
and exploitation as it had never previously experienced. Crippling
taxes were levied, and land and property were arbitrarily carved
up among French aristocrats. There was a bloody revolt in 1282,
when the War of the Sicilian Vespers saw Angevin troops and nobles
expelled from Sicily, with thousands of French occupiers massacred.
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The crown of Sicily was offered
to Peter of Aragon, who gladly accepted. He lands at Trapani in
1282 and is acclaimed king at Palermo; excepting brief periods
Sicily was ruled from Spain for the next four centuries, isolating
her from both Sicily and the rest of Italy. During the 14th, 15th
and 16th centuries there was corrupt and ineffectual government;
power was held by the church and assorted noblemen, disease and
poverty were rife, and the island was plundered to fuel Spanish
expansionism. The Inquisition put an end to religious tolerance,
and the people were ousted from their land as the feudal system
was forcedly reintroduced.
The birth of the Mafia can perhaps be traced to the 16th century,
when Sicilians adopted a code of silence - omerta - as a defence
against prosecution. No respite during the 17th century, as repression
continued apace and any attempt at protest was brutally slammed
down, especially the revolts of Palermo and Messina. In 1713 the
Treaty of Utrecht assigned Sicily to Savoy, which went on to exchange
it for Sardinia with Emperor Charles VI.
During the War of Polish Succession, Don Carlos of Bourbon (later
becoming Charles III of Spain) re-conquered the kingdoms of Naples
and Sicily. The year 1815 sees the defeat of Napoleon and the
British (administrators from 1806-1815) abandon Sicily to the
Bourbons. Ferdinand IV of Naples (Ferdinand III of Sicily) officially
merged the kingdoms of Sicily and Naples in 1816 and titled himself
'Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies'. A popular uprising in 1820
forced Ferdinand to concede a constitution, but Austrian intervention
in 1821, post the Congress of Laibach, saw his absolute power
restored. Sicily and Naples were to fall to the forces of Garibaldi
in 1860, and, in 1861, Gaeta, the 'Two Sicilies' became part of
the Kingdom of Italy.
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Post unification, Sicily continued
to be largely ignored by central government, and economic and
social problems remained unattended. New and important industries
came to be developed in northern, not southern Italy, with a resultant
inversion of emigration patterns. Northern Italy used to be an
area from which people emigrated, but the 20th century reversed
this trend, and the increasingly poor south of Italy saw millions
leave for the Americas between 1890 and 1930. In 1943, after years
of depression and poverty, Sicily welcomed the Allies as liberators.
Post war years saw an improvement in standards of living, but
it also saw widespread corruption, with funds from the Marshall
plan to reconstruct areas ruined by Allied bombing were misappropriated.
What construction did occur during the 1860's boom was concrete,
sprawling, unregulated and ugly.
The Sicilian people have a high level of awareness of their ancient
and mediaeval past, and many of them study Latin and Greek at
school. The islanders are increasingly aware of their unique heritage,
and increased efforts are being made to preserve and to celebrate
their artistic and cultural heritage.
Click here to return to
the history index page.
Click here for the full Sicily section of knowital.com
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