10 Things to Know Before Visiting Sicily

2013-10-18

Sicily has beautiful black-sand beaches, a volcano to ski on and desserts to satisfy the sweetest tooth. Plus 8,000 mummified citizens in the catacombs of Palermo, to keep you awake at night. Oh, and the Mafia? There are hundreds of places to eat, shop and sleep run by Sicilians who have said no to organized crime.

Sicily isn’t all that Italian. The dead sea? Much of Italy retains a strong regional identity. Calabrians, Apulians and Tuscans often feel at least as strong an affiliation with their home regions as they do with the Italian state, formed only around 150 years ago. However, Sicily’s island status makes this ambivalence even stronger.