Editing Sicily (section)

==Tourism==
[[File:Spiaggia Isola dei Coniglio Lampedusa.JPG|thumb|[[Lampedusa]], [[Pelagie Islands]]]]

Sicily's sunny, dry climate, scenery, cuisine, history, and architecture attract many tourists from the rest of  Italy and abroad. The tourist season peaks in the summer months, although people visit the island all year round. [[Mount Etna]], the beaches, the archaeological sites, and major cities such as [[Palermo]], [[Catania]], [[Syracuse, Sicily|Syracuse]] and [[Ragusa, Sicily|Ragusa]] are the favourite tourist destinations, but the old town of [[Taormina]] and the neighbouring seaside resort of [[Giardini Naxos]] draw visitors from all over the world, as do the [[Aeolian Islands]], [[Erice]], [[Terrasini]], [[Castellammare del Golfo]], [[Cefalù]], [[Agrigento]], the [[Pelagie Islands]] and [[Capo d'Orlando]]. The last features some of the best-preserved temples of the ancient Greek period. Many Mediterranean cruise ships stop in Sicily, and many wine tourists also visit the island.

Some scenes of several Hollywood and [[Cinecittà]] films were shot in Sicily. This increased the attraction of Sicily as a tourist destination.<ref>[http://www.thegodfathertrilogy.com/gf1/gf1scene_sicily.html The Godfather. Sicilian Shooting* Locations]. thegodfathertrilogy.com</ref>

===UNESCO World Heritage Sites===
[[File:Mosaic in Villa Romana del Casale, by Jerzy Strzelecki, 13.jpg|thumb|One of the mosaics in Villa Romana del Casale]]
There are seven [[UNESCO World Heritage Sites]] on Sicily. By the order of inscription:
* '''[[Valle dei Templi]]''' (1997) is one of the most outstanding examples of [[Magna Graecia]] art and architecture, and is one of the main attractions of Sicily as well as a national monument of Italy. The site is located in [[Agrigento]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/831 |title=Archaeological Area of Agrigento – UNESCO World Heritage Centre |publisher=Whc.unesco.org |date=7 December 1997 |access-date=6 May 2009}}</ref>
* '''[[Villa Romana del Casale]]''' (1997) is a [[Roman villa]] built in the first quarter of the 4th century and located about {{convert|3|km|0|abbr=on}} outside the town of [[Piazza Armerina]]. It contains the richest, largest and most complex collection of Roman mosaics in the world.<ref>R. J. A. Wilson: ''Piazza Armerina''. In: Akiyama, Terakazu (Ed.): ''The dictionary of Art. Vol. 24: Pandolfini to Pitti.'' Oxford 1998, {{ISBN|0-19-517068-7}}.</ref>
* '''[[Aeolian Islands]]''' (2000) are a [[Volcano|volcanic]] [[archipelago]] in the [[Tyrrhenian Sea]], named after the demigod of the winds [[Aeolus]]. The Aeolian Islands are a tourist destination in the summer, and attract up to 200,000 visitors annually.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/908 |title=Isole Eolie (Aeolian Islands) – UNESCO World Heritage Centre |publisher=Whc.unesco.org |date=30 November 2000 |access-date=6 May 2009}}</ref>
* '''[[Val di Noto|Late Baroque Towns of the Val di Noto]]''' (2002) "represent the culmination and final flowering of [[Baroque]] art in Europe".<ref>[https://whc.unesco.org/archive/advisory_body_evaluation/1024rev.pdf Noto (Italy) – No 1024rev], ICOMOS, January 2002, Advisory Body Evaluation, Unesco</ref> It includes several towns: [[Caltagirone]], [[Militello in Val di Catania]], [[Catania]], [[Modica]], [[Noto]], [[Palazzolo Acreide]], [[Ragusa, Italy|Ragusa]] and [[Scicli]].
* '''[[Necropolis of Pantalica]]''' (2005) is a large [[Necropolis]] in Sicily with over 5,000 tombs dating from the 13th to the 7th centuries BC. [[Syracuse, Sicily|Syracuse]] is notable for its rich Greek history, culture, amphitheatres and architecture. They are situated in south-eastern Sicily.
* '''[[Mount Etna]]''' (2013) is one of the most active volcanoes in the world and is in an almost constant state of activity and generated myths, legends and naturalistic observation from Greek, Celts and Roman classic and medieval times.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.italymagazine.com/news/mount-etna-becomes-world-heritage-site |title=Mount Etna Becomes a World Heritage Site |publisher=Italy Magazine |date=4 May 2013}}</ref>
* '''Arab-Norman [[Palermo]] and the cathedral churches of [[Cefalù]] and [[Monreale]]'''; includes a series of nine civil and religious structures dating from the era of the Norman kingdom of Sicily (1130–1194)<ref>{{cite web |url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1487/ |title=Arab-Norman Palermo and the Cathedral Churches of Cefalú and Monreale |first=UNESCO World Heritage |last=Centre}}</ref>
[[File:Cathedral of San Giorgio in Modica.JPG|thumb|Cathedral of San Giorgio in Modica]]

====Tentative UNESCO World Heritage sites====
[[File:Sicilia Taormina4 tango7174.jpg|thumb|[[Taormina]]'s central square at sunset]]
* [[Taormina]] and Isola Bella;<ref>{{cite web|url = https://www.worldheritagesite.org/tentative/id/1164|title = Taormina and Isola Bella |website = World Heritage Site |url-status = live|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190522180028/https://www.worldheritagesite.org/tentative/id/1164 | archive-date = 22 May 2019}}</ref>
* [[Motya]] and [[Marsala|Libeo Island]]: The Phoenician-Punic Civilisation in Italy;<ref>{{cite web|url = https://www.worldheritagesite.org/tentative/id/2029|title = Mothia and Libeo Island: The Phoenician-Punic Civilization in Italy |website = World Heritage Site |url-status = live|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190522181732/https://www.worldheritagesite.org/tentative/id/2029| archive-date = 22 May 2019}}</ref>
* [[Scala dei Turchi]];<ref>[http://www.worldheritagesite.org/alltentative.html All Tentative Sites] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130114084757/http://www.worldheritagesite.org/alltentative.html |date=14 January 2013}}. World Heritage Site. Retrieved on 18 December 2012.</ref>
* [[Strait of Messina]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.repubblica.it/cronaca/2015/04/18/news/_stretto_messina_sia_patrimonio_dell_umanita_nase_l_asse_tra_i_comuni_di_calabria_e_sicilia-112283979/ |title="Stretto Messina sia patrimonio dell'Umanità". Nasce l'asse tra i comuni di Calabria e Sicilia |date=18 April 2015}}</ref>

===Archaeological sites===
Because many different cultures settled, dominated or invaded the island, Sicily has a huge variety of [[archaeological sites]]. Also, some of the most notable and best preserved temples and other structures of the Greek world are located in Sicily.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Jürgen |first1=Järvik |title=Greek & Roman Sites in Sicily |url=https://grandeflanerie.com/portfolio/greekromansicily/ |website=Grande Flânerie |date=13 October 2019 |publisher=WordPress |access-date=10 May 2022 |archive-date=24 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200924150435/https://grandeflanerie.com/portfolio/greekromansicily/ |url-status=dead}}</ref> Here is a short list of the major archaeological sites:
* Sicels/Sicans/Elymians/Greeks: [[Segesta]], [[Eryx (Sicily)|Eryx]], [[Ispica|Cava Ispica]], [[Thapsos]], [[Pantalica]];
* Greeks: [[Syracuse, Sicily|Syracuse]], [[Agrigento]], [[Segesta]], [[Selinunte]], [[Gela]], [[Kamarina, Sicily|Kamarina]], [[Himera]], [[Megara Hyblaea]], [[Naxos (Sicily)|Naxos]], [[Heraclea Minoa]];
* Phoenicians: [[Motya]], [[Soluntum]], [[Marsala]], [[Palermo]];
* Romans: [[Piazza Armerina]], [[Centuripe]], [[Taormina]], [[Palermo]];
The excavation and restoration of one of Sicily's best known archaeological sites, the [[Valle dei Templi|Valley of the Temples]] in Agrigento, was at the direction of the archaeologist [[Domenico Lo Faso Pietrasanta|Domenico Antonio Lo Faso Pietrasanta]], Fifth Duke of [[Serradifalco]], known in archaeological circles simply as ''"Serradifalco"''. He also oversaw the restoration of ancient sites at [[Segesta]], [[Selinunte]], [[Syracuse, Sicily|Siracusa]] and [[Taormina]].

===Castles===
In Sicily there are hundreds of castles, the most relevant are:
[[File:CastelloUrsino1CT.JPG|thumb|[[Castello Ursino]] in [[Catania]]]]
[[File:Palermo-Zisa-bjs2007-01.jpg|thumb|[[Zisa, Palermo|Zisa Castle]] in [[Palermo]]]]
[[File:Castello di Alcamo 0024.JPG|thumb|[[Castle of the Counts of Modica (Alcamo)]] in [[Alcamo]]]]
[[File:Castello Donnafugata, Ragusa.JPG|thumb|Castello di Donnafugata near [[Ragusa, Italy|Ragusa]]]]
{| class="wikitable"
|- style="background:#efefef;"
!Province
!Castles
!Commune
|-
|rowspan="3"|[[Province of Caltanissetta|Caltanisetta]]
|Castello Manfredonico
|[[Mussomeli]]
|-
|U Cannuni
|[[Mazzarino, Sicily|Mazzarino]]
|-
|Castelluccio di Gela
|[[Gela]]
|-
|rowspan="4"|[[Province of Catania|Catania]]
|[[Castello Ursino]]
|[[Catania]]
|-
|Castello Normanno
|[[Adrano]]
|-
|Castello Normanno
|[[Paternò]]
|-
|Castello di Aci
|[[Aci Castello]]
|-
|[[Province of Enna|Enna]]
|[[Castello di Lombardia]]
|[[Enna]]
|-
|rowspan="6"|[[Province of Messina|Messina]]
|Forte dei Centri
|[[Messina]]
|-
|Castello di Milazzo
|[[Milazzo]]
|-
|Castello di Federico II
|[[Montalbano Elicona]]
|-
|Castello di Sant'Alessio Siculo
|[[Sant'Alessio Siculo]]
|-
|Castello di Pentefur
|[[Savoca]]
|-
|[[Schisò Castle|Castello di Schisò]]
|[[Giardini Naxos]]
|-
|rowspan="4"|[[Province of Palermo|Palermo]]
|[[Zisa, Palermo]]
|[[Palermo]]
|-
|[[Castello di Caccamo]]
|[[Caccamo]]
|-
|Castello di Carini
|[[Carini]]
|-
|Castello dei Ventimiglia
|[[Castelbuono]]
|-
|rowspan="3"|[[Province of Ragusa|Ragusa]]
|Castello di Donnafugata
|[[Ragusa, Italy|Ragusa]]
|-
|Torre Cabrera
|[[Pozzallo]]
|-
|Castello Dei Conti
|[[Modica]]
|-
|rowspan="2"|[[Province of Syracuse|Syracuse]]
|[[Castello Maniace]]
|[[Syracuse, Sicily|Syracuse]]
|-
|Castello Svevo
|[[Augusta, Sicily|Augusta]]
|-
|rowspan="3"|[[Province of Trapani|Trapani]]
|Castello di Venere
|[[Erice]]
|-
|[[Castle of the Counts of Modica (Alcamo)|Castle of the Counts of Modica]]
|[[Alcamo]]
|-
|[[Castle of Calatubo]]
||[[Alcamo]]
|-
|}

===Coastal towers===
The Coastal towers in Sicily (''Torri costiere della Sicilia'') are 218 old [[watchtowers]] along the coast. In Sicily, the first coastal towers date back to the late Norman period. From 1360 the threat came from the south, from [[North Africa]] to [[Maghreb]], mainly to [[Barbary pirates]] and corsairs of [[Barbary Coast]]. In 1516, the Turks settled in [[Algiers]], and from 1520, the corsair [[Hayreddin Barbarossa]] under the command of [[Ottoman Empire]], operated from that harbour.

Most existing towers were built on architectural designs of the Florentine architect [[Camillo Camilliani]] from [1583] to 1584 and involved the coastal periple of Sicily. The typology changed completely in '800, because of the new higher fire volumes of cannon vessels, the towers were built on the type of [[Martello towers]] that the British built in the UK and elsewhere in the British Empire. The decline of Mediterranean piracy caused by the [[Second Barbary War]] led to a smaller number of coastal towers built during the 19th century.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Kirk |first1=Scott |title=Sicilian Castles and Coastal Towers |journal=Open Archaeology |date=2017 |volume=3 |issue=1 |publisher=De Gruyter |location=Albuquerque |pages=318, 319–329 |doi=10.1515/opar-2017-0021 |s2cid=67397794 |url=https://www.academia.edu/35190827 |access-date=7 October 2019|doi-access=free}}</ref>

<gallery widths="200" heights="200">
File:Torre-Capo-Rama-bjs.jpg|Torre-Capo-Rama ([[Terrasini]])
File:Altavilla Milicia BW 2012-10-08 18-04-22 b.JPG|Torre Normanna ([[Altavilla Milicia]])
File:Torre dello Spalmatore - Ustica.jpg|Torre Spalmatore ([[Ustica]])
File:D7A 1568 bis Torre Pozzillo.jpg|Torre Pozzillo ([[Cinisi]])
File:Ligny Tower - Trapani.jpg|[[Ligny Tower]] ([[Trapani]])
File:Trapani.jpg|Torre Nubia ([[Paceco]])
File:Torre di Manfria (Gela).jpg|Torre [[Manfria]] ([[Gela]])
File:Torre Cabrera, Marina di Ragusa.jpg|[[Torre Cabrera (Marina di Ragusa)]]
File:Pozzallo-TorreCabrera.JPG|[[Torre Cabrera (Pozzallo)]] ([[Pozzallo]])
File:Vignazzi Tower.JPG|[[Vignazza Tower]] ([[Giardini Naxos]])
</gallery>

===Historical and artistical villages===
Sicily has many small and picturesque villages, 24 of them have been selected by {{lang|it|[[I Borghi più belli d'Italia]]}} ({{langx|en|The most beautiful Villages of Italy}}),<ref>{{cite web|url=https://borghipiubelliditalia.it/sicilia/|title=Sicilia|date=24 January 2017 |access-date=1 August 2023|language=it}}</ref> a non-profit private association of small Italian towns of strong historical and artistic interest,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.repubblica.it/viaggi/2023/01/16/news/borghi_piu_belli_italia_14_nuovi_2023-383794441/|title=Borghi più belli d'Italia. Le 14 novità 2023, dal Trentino alla Calabria|date=16 January 2023 |access-date=28 July 2023|language=it}}</ref> that was founded on the initiative of the Tourism Council of the National Association of Italian Municipalities.<ref>{{Cite web |url = http://borghipiubelliditalia.it/ |title = I Borghi più belli d'Italia, la guida online ai piccoli centri dell'Italia nascosta|access-date=3 May 2018|language=it}}</ref> These villages are:<ref>{{cite web|url=https://borghipiubelliditalia.it/sicilia/|title=Sicilia|date=24 January 2017 |access-date=1 August 2023|language=it}}</ref>
[[File:Cefalu View 0832.jpg|thumb|[[Cefalù]]]]
[[File:Chiesa madre Erice 08 10 2017 05.jpg|thumb|[[Erice]]]]
[[File:Novara di Sicilia - Comune di Novara di Sicilia - 2023-09-25 18-06-12 013.JPG|thumb|[[Novara di Sicilia]]]]
*[[Agira]]
*[[Buccheri]]
*[[Calascibetta]]
*[[Castelmola]]
*[[Castiglione di Sicilia]]
*[[Castroreale]]
*[[Cefalù]]
*[[Erice]]
*[[Ferla]]
*[[Gangi, Sicily|Gangi]]
*[[Geraci Siculo]]
*[[Militello in Val di Catania]]
*[[Montalbano Elicona]]
*[[Monterosso Almo]]
*[[Novara di Sicilia]]
*[[Palazzolo Acreide]]
*[[Petralia Soprana]]
*[[Salemi]]
*[[Sambuca di Sicilia]]
*[[San Marco d'Alunzio]]
*[[Savoca]]
*[[Sperlinga]]
*[[Sutera]]
*[[Troina]]