Editing Sicily (section)

== <span class="anchor" id="Name"></span> History ==
{{Main|History of Sicily}}

The name ''[[Sicilia (Roman province)|Sicilia]]'' was given to the [[Roman province]] in 241 BC. It is named after the [[Sicels]], who inhabited the eastern part of the island during the [[Iron Age]]. The ancient name of the island is ''Trinacria'' (Greek [[:wikt:Τρινακρία|Τρινακρία]] "having three headlands") for its triangular shape, likely a re-interpretation of earlier ([[Homeric Greek|Homeric]]) ''[[Thrinacia]]''. The Greek name was rendered as ''Trīnācrĭa'' in [[classical Latin]] ([[Virgil]], [[Ovid]]).<ref>Cassell's Latin Dictionary, Marchant, J.R.V, & Charles, Joseph F., (Eds.), Revised Edition, 1928</ref><ref>"Sicilian Culture: The Folklore, Legends & Traditions: Trinacria." Sicilian Culture: The Folklore, Legends & Traditions: Trinacria. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 November 2014. "Sicily." Sicily. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 November 2014.</ref>

===Prehistory===
[[File:Orante 1.jpg|thumb|Megaliths of [[Argimusco]], [[Montalbano Elicona]]]]

Humans first colonized Sicily towards the end of the [[Late Pleistocene]], around 16,000 years ago, by people associated with the [[Epigravettian]] culture.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Di Maida |first=Gianpiero |date=2022-07-03 |title=The earliest human occupation of Sicily: A review |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/15564894.2020.1803460 |journal=The Journal of Island and Coastal Archaeology |language=en |volume=17 |issue=3 |pages=402–419 |doi=10.1080/15564894.2020.1803460 |s2cid=250926924 |issn=1556-4894}}</ref>

Discoveries of [[dolmen]]s on the island (dating to the second half of the third millennium BC) seem to offer new insights into the culture of primitive Sicily.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Piccolo |first1=Salvatore |url=https://www.worldcat.org/search?qt=wikipedia&q=isbn%3A9780956510624 |title=Ancient Stones, The Prehistoric Dolmens of Sicily |last2=Darvill |first2=Timothy |publisher=Brazen Head Publishing |year=2013 |isbn=9780956510624 |location=Thornham/Norfolk |access-date=17 October 2013}}</ref> The impact of at least two influences is clear: the European one coming from the Northwest, and the Mediterranean influence of an eastern heritage.<ref>''Ibidem'', p. 31.</ref>

===Antiquity===
{{Main|Magna Graecia|Ancient Rome|Sicilia (Roman province)}}
[[File:Murs Mozia.jpg|thumb|Ruins of the ancient Phoenician city of [[Motya]]]]
[[File:Ginnasium Solunto.jpg|thumb|Ruins of the ancient Carthaginian city of [[Soluntum]]]]
[[File:Agrigent BW 2012-10-07 13-10-58.jpg|thumb|[[Temple of Concordia, Agrigento|Temple of Concordia]], [[Valle dei Templi]], an [[archaeological site]] in [[Agrigento]]. It is one of the most outstanding examples of ancient Greek art and architecture of [[Magna Graecia]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.visititaly.it/info/992543-valle-dei-templi-agrigento.aspx|title=Valle dei Templi|access-date=14 July 2023|language=it}}</ref>]]
[[File:Owner (Maximian) - Big Game Hunt mosaic - Villa Romana del Casale - Italy 2015.JPG|thumb|Mosaic of the [[Villa Romana del Casale]], Sicily in [[Late antiquity]]]]

The original classical-era inhabitants of Sicily comprised three defined groups of the [[List of ancient peoples of Italy|ancient peoples of Italy]]: the [[Sicani]], the [[Elymians]] and the [[Sicels]]. The most prominent and by far the earliest of these were the [[Sicani]], who ([[Thucydides]] writes) arrived from the [[Iberian Peninsula]] (perhaps [[Catalonia]]).<ref>{{cite news | url=https://antropocene.it/en/2023/06/05/the-sicani-and-agriculture/ | title=The Sicani and agriculture | work=Antropocene | date=5 June 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=7 October 2007 |title=Aapologetico de la literatura española contra los opiniones |publisher=Ensayo historico |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=A7kGAAAAQAAJ&q=segre+sicano&pg=PA11}}</ref> Some modern scholars, however, suggest classifying the Sicani as possibly an [[Illyrians|Illyrian]] tribe.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Fine |first=John Van Antwerp |url=https://archive.org/details/ancientgreeks00john |title=The Ancient Greeks: A Critical History |date=1983 |publisher=Harvard University Press |isbn=9780674033146 |page=[https://archive.org/details/ancientgreeks00john/page/72 72] |language=en |quote=most scholars now believe that the sicans and Sicels, as well as the. |url-access=registration}}</ref> Important historical evidence has been discovered in the form of cave drawings by the Sicani, dated from the end of the [[Pleistocene]] epoch around 8000 BC.<ref name="sicanian">{{cite news |date=7 October 2007 |title=Sicilian Peoples: The Sicanians |publisher=Best of Sicily |url=http://www.bestofsicily.com/mag/art141.htm}}</ref> The [[Elymians]], thought to have come from the area of the [[Aegean Sea]], became the next tribe to join the Sicanians on Sicily.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |title=Sicani |encyclopedia=Britannica.com |url=http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9067615/Sicani |date=7 October 2007}}</ref>

No evidence survives of warring between tribes, but the Sicanians moved eastwards when the Elymians settled in the northwest corner of the island. The [[Sicels]] are thought<ref name="sicanian" /> to have originated in [[Liguria]]; they arrived from mainland Italy in 1200 BC and forced the Sicanians to move back across Sicily and to settle in the middle of the island.<ref name="sicanian" /> Other minor [[Ancient peoples of Italy|Italic groups]] who settled in Sicily included the [[Ausones]] ([[Aeolian Islands]], [[Milazzo]]) and the [[Morgetes]] of [[Morgantina]].

The [[Phoenicia]]n settlements in the western part of the island predate the arrival of [[Greek people|Greek]] colonists.<ref name="catholi" /> From about 750 BC, the Greeks began to live in Sicily ({{langx |grc| Σικελία}} – ''Sikelia''), establishing many significant settlements. The most important colony was in [[Syracuse, Sicily|Syracuse]]; others grew up at [[Agrigentum|Akragas]], [[Selinunte]], [[Gela]], [[Himera]] and [[Messina|Zancle]].<ref>E. Zuppardo-S.Piccolo, ''Terra Mater: sulle sponde del Gela greco'', Betania Ed., Caltanissetta 2005</ref> The native Sicani and Sicel peoples became [[Cultural assimilation|absorbed]] into the [[Ancient Greece|Hellenic culture]] with relative ease, and the area became part of [[Magna Graecia]] along with the coasts of the [[southern Italy|south of the Italian peninsula]], which the Greeks had also colonised. Sicily had fertile soils, and the successful introduction of [[olive]]s and [[grape vine]]s fostered profitable trading.<ref name="knowital" /> [[Culture of Greece|Greek culture]] significantly centered around [[Religion in ancient Greece|Greek religion]], and the settlers built many [[Ancient Greek temple|temple]]s throughout Sicily, including several in the ''Valley of the Temples'' at [[Agrigento]].<ref>{{cite news|url= http://italiansrus.com/articles/temples.htm|publisher= Italiansrus.com|title= Valley of the Temples|date= 7 October 2007}}</ref>

Politics on the island became intertwined with those of Greece; [[Syracuse, Sicily|Syracuse]] became desired by the [[Athenian]]s who set out on the [[Sicilian Expedition]] (415–413 BC) during the [[Peloponnesian War]]. Syracuse gained [[Sparta]] and [[Ancient Corinth|Corinth]] as allies and, as a result, defeated the Athenian expedition. The victors destroyed the Athenian army and their ships, selling most of the survivors into [[Slavery in ancient Greece|slavery]].<ref>{{cite news|url= https://www.livius.org/su-sz/syracuse/siege.html|publisher= Livius.org|title= Siege of Syracuse|date= 7 October 2007|access-date= 26 March 2020|archive-date= 7 November 2016|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20161107071518/http://www.livius.org/su-sz/syracuse/siege.html|url-status= dead}}</ref>

The Greek kingdom of Syracuse controlled most of eastern Sicily while [[Carthage]] controlled the western side.<ref>{{cite book|last1= Miles|first1= Richard|title= Carthage Must Be Destroyed: The Rise and Fall of an Ancient Civilization|date= 2010|publisher= Viking|location= New York|isbn= 978-0-143-12129-9}}</ref> The two cultures began to clash, leading to the [[Greek-Punic wars]] (between 580 and 265 BC). The Greek states had begun to make peace with the [[Roman Republic]] in 205 BC,<ref name="archeologiaviva">{{cite web |title=Le arti di Efesto. Capolavori in metallo |url=https://www.archeologiaviva.it/4139/le-arti-di-efesto-capolavori-in-metallo/ |access-date=12 July 2023 |page=11 |language=it}}</ref> before the Romans sought to [[Annexation|annex]] Sicily as their republic's first [[Roman province|province]]. Rome attacked Carthage's holdings in Sicily in the [[First Punic War]] (264 to 241 BC) and won, making Sicily–with the exception of Syracuse–the first Roman province outside of the [[Italian Peninsula]] by 242 BC.<ref>{{cite news|url= http://encyclopedia.farlex.com/Sicily| publisher= [[Hutchinson Encyclopedia]]|title= Sicily|date= 7 October 2007|url-status= dead|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20081202051716/http://encyclopedia.farlex.com/Sicily|archive-date= 2 December 2008}}</ref>

In the [[Second Punic War]] (218 to 201 BC), the Carthaginians attempted to recapture Sicily. Some of the Greek cities on the island who were loyal to Rome switched sides to help the Carthaginians, prompting a Roman military response. [[Archimedes]], who lived in Syracuse, helped defend his city from Roman invasion; Roman troops killed him after they captured Syracuse in 212 BC.<ref>{{cite book|last1= Miles| first1= Richard|title= Carthage Must Be Destroyed|date= 2010|publisher= Viking|location= New York}}</ref> The Carthaginian attempt failed, and Rome became more unrelenting in its annihilation of the invaders; [[Roman consul]] [[Marcus Valerius Laevinus|M. Valerian]] told the [[Roman Senate]] in 210 BC that "no Carthaginian remains in Sicily".<ref>{{cite book|last=Norwich |first=John Julius|author-link=John Julius Norwich|date=21 July 2015|title=Sicily: An Island at the Crossroads of History|publisher=[[Random House]]|isbn=978-0812995190|oclc=904715530|via=[[Google Books]]|access-date=1 July 2023|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-THqBQAAQBAJ&dq=210+BC+Roman+consul+Valerian+Roman+Senate+%22no+Carthaginian+remains+in+Sicily%22man%20Senate%20%22no%20Carthaginian%20remains%20in%20Sicily%22&pg=PT56}}</ref>

As the Roman Republic's [[granary]], Sicily ranked as an important province, divided into two [[quaestor]]ships: Syracuse to the east and [[Lilybaeum]] to the west.<ref name="catholi" /> Roman rule introduced the [[Latin language]] to the island, which underwent a slow process of [[Latinisation of Greek|latinisation]] but Sicilian culture remained largely Greek and the Greek language did not become extinct on the island, facilitating its [[Hellenization|re-hellenisation]] much later under the Byzantines.<ref name="catholi">{{Cite CE1913|wstitle= Sicily}}</ref> The prosperity of the island went into sharp decline during the governorship of [[Verres]] (73 to 71 BC). In 70 BC, the noted statesman [[Cicero]] condemned the misgovernment of Verres in his oration ''[[In Verrem]]''.<ref>{{cite book|last= Stockton|first= David L.|title= Cicero: A Political Biography|publisher= Oxford University Press|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=JqsqlajAPCoC&q=in+verrem+cicero+verres&pg=PA43|isbn= 978-0-19-872033-1|year= 1971 |oclc= 1301799183 |via=[[Google Books]]}}</ref>

Various groups used the island as a power base at different times: slave insurgents occupied it during the [[first Servile War|First]] (135−132 BC) and [[Second Servile War|Second]] (104−100 BC) [[Servile Wars]]. [[Sextus Pompey]] had his headquarters there during the [[War between Sextus Pompey and the Second Triumvirate|Sicilian revolt]] of 44 to 36 BC. Christianity first appeared in Sicily during the years following AD 200; between this time and AD 313, when Emperor [[Constantine I|Constantine the Great]] lifted the prohibition on Christianity, a significant number of [[Sicilians]] had become [[martyr]]s, including [[Agatha of Sicily|Agatha]], [[Saint Christina of Bolsena|Christina]], [[Saint Lucy|Lucy]], and [[Euplius]].<ref name="earlymediev" /> Sicily remained a Roman province for around 700 years.<ref name="earlymediev">{{cite news|url= http://www.bestofsicily.com/history2.htm|publisher= BestofSicily.com|title= Early & Medieval History|date= 7 October 2007}}</ref>

=== Germanic rule (469–535) ===
The [[Western Roman Empire]] began falling apart after the invasion of [[Vandals]], Alans, and Sueves [[Crossing of the Rhine|across the Rhine]] on the last day of 406. Eventually the Vandals, after roaming about western and southern [[Hispania]] (present-day [[Iberia]]) for 20 years, moved to North Africa in 429 and occupied Carthage in 439. The Franks moved south from present-day Belgium. The Visigoths moved west and eventually settled in Aquitaine in 418; the Burgundians settled in present-day Savoy in 443.

The Vandals found themselves in a position to threaten Sicily – only 100 miles away from their North African bases.<ref name="jpriv">{{cite book|last=Privitera|first=John|title=Sicily: An Illustrated History|publisher=Hippocrene Books|url=https://archive.org/details/sicilyillustrate00priv|isbn=978-0-7818-0909-2|year=2002}}</ref> After taking Carthage, the Vandals, personally led by King [[Gaiseric]], laid siege to Palermo in 440 as the opening act in an attempt to wrest the island from Roman rule.<ref>J.B. Bury, History of the Later Roman Empire, 1958 edition, p. 254</ref> The Vandals made another attempt to take the island one year after the 455 sack of Rome, at Agrigento, but were defeated decisively by [[Ricimer|Ricimir]] in a [[Battle of Corsica|naval victory off Corsica]] in 456.<ref>Bury, p. 327.</ref> The island remained under Roman rule until 469. The Vandals lost possession of the island 8 years later in 477 to the [[Germanic peoples|East Germanic tribe]] of the [[Ostrogoths]], who then controlled Italy and Dalmatia.<ref name="jpriv" /> The island was returned to the Ostrogoths by payment of tribute to their king [[Odoacer]]. He ruled Italy from 476 to 488 in the name of the [[Byzantine (Eastern Roman) Empire|Byzantine (Eastern Roman)]] Emperor. The Vandals kept a toehold in [[Lilybaeum]], a port on the west coast. They lost this in 491 after making one last attempt to conquer the island from this port.<ref>Bury, pp. 410, 425.</ref> The Ostrogothic conquest of Sicily (and of Italy as a whole) under [[Theodoric the Great]] began in 488. The Byzantine Emperor [[Zeno (emperor)|Zeno]] had appointed Theodoric as a military commander in Italy. The Goths were Germanic, but Theodoric fostered Roman culture and government and allowed freedom of religion.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|url= http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9026834/Theodoric#949802.hook|encyclopedia= [[Encyclopædia Britannica]]|title= Theodoric|date= 7 October 2007}}</ref> In 461 from the age of seven or eight until 17 or 18 Theodoric had become a Byzantine hostage; he resided in the great palace of Constantinople, was favored by Emperor [[Leo I (emperor)|Leo I]] ({{reign | 457 | 474}}) and learned to read, write and do arithmetic.<ref>Frassetto, Michael (2003), ''Encyclopedia of Barbarian Europe: Society in Transformation''. Santa Barbara, CA, p. 335: ABC-CLIO. {{ISBN|978-1-57607-263-9}}.</ref>

===Byzantine period (535–827)===
{{further|Byzantine Empire}}
[[File:Seal of Elpidios, patrikios of Sicily (Schlumberger, 1900).png|thumb|right|Seal of Elpidius as {{Transliteration|grc|patrikios}} and {{Transliteration|grc|strategos}} of Sicily]]
[[File:MadridSkylitzesFol100vDetail.jpg|thumb|right|The Saracen conquest of the Byzantine stronghold Syracuse, [[Siege of Syracuse (877–878)]]]]

After taking areas occupied by the Vandals in North Africa, [[Justinian I]] retook Italy as an ambitious attempt to recover the lost provinces in the West. The re-conquests marked an end to over 150 years of accommodating policies with tribal invaders. His first target was Sicily, leading to the [[Gothic War (535–554)]] between the Ostrogoths and the Eastern Roman Empire, also known as the [[Byzantine Empire]]. Justinian's general [[Belisarius]] was assigned to the military task.<ref>{{cite book|last=Hearder|first=Harry|title=Italy: A Short History|date=25 January 1991|publisher=Cambridge University Press|url=https://archive.org/details/italyshorthistor00hear|isbn=978-0-521-33719-9}}</ref> Sicily was used as a base for the Byzantines to conquer the rest of Italy, including [[Naples]], Rome, and [[Milan]]. It took five years before the Ostrogoth capital [[Ravenna]] fell in 540.<ref name="hisnet" /> However, the new Ostrogoth king [[Totila]] counterattacked, moving down the Italian peninsula, plundering and conquering Sicily in 550. Totila was defeated and killed in the [[Battle of Taginae]] by Byzantine general [[Narses]] in 552 but Italy was in ruins.<ref name="hisnet">{{cite news|url=http://www.historynet.com/magazines/military_history/3025271.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071102223028/http://www.historynet.com/magazines/military_history/3025271.html|archive-date=2 November 2007|publisher=Historynet.com|title=Gothic War: Byzantine Count Belisarius Retakes Rome|date=7 October 2007}}</ref>

At the time of the reconquest Greek was still the predominant language spoken on the island. Sicily was invaded by the [[Rashidun army|Arab forces]] of [[Uthman Ibn Affan|Caliph Uthman]] in 652, but the Arabs failed to make permanent gains. They returned to Syria with their booty.<ref>{{cite book|editor-first=Alexander|editor-last=Kazhdan|editor-link=Alexander Kazhdan|title=Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=1991|isbn=978-0-19-504652-6|page=1892|title-link=Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium}}</ref> Raids seeking loot continued until the mid-8th century.<ref>{{Cite book|jstor=10.7591/j.ctt1qv5qfp|title=Where Three Worlds Met: Sicily in the Early Medieval Mediterranean|last=Davis-Secord|first=Sarah|publisher=Cornell University Press|year=2017|isbn=9781501704642|location=Ithaca|pages=79|chapter=Sicily in the Early Medieval Mediterranean}}</ref>

The Eastern Roman Emperor [[Constans II (Byzantine Empire)|Constans II]] moved from [[Constantinople]] to [[Syracuse, Sicily|Syracuse]] in 660. The following year he launched an assault from Sicily against the [[Lombardy|Lombard]] [[Duchy of Benevento]], which occupied most of southern Italy.<ref name="travsyrac" /> Rumors that the capital of the empire was to be moved to Syracuse probably cost Constans his life, as he was assassinated in 668.<ref name="travsyrac">{{cite news|url=http://www.travelmapofsicily.com/syracuse.html|publisher=TravelMapofSicily.com|title=Syracuse, Sicily|date=7 October 2007|access-date=4 December 2007|archive-date=6 June 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080606195458/http://www.travelmapofsicily.com/syracuse.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> His son [[Constantine IV]] succeeded him. A brief usurpation in Sicily by [[Mezezius]] was quickly suppressed by this emperor. Contemporary accounts report that the Greek language was widely spoken on the island during this period.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.bestofsicily.com/mag/art165.htm|publisher=BestofSicily.com|title=Sicilian Peoples: The Byzantines|date=7 October 2007}}</ref> In 740 Emperor [[Leo III the Isaurian]] transferred Sicily from the jurisdiction of the church of Rome to that of Constantinople, placing the island within the eastern branch of the Church.<ref>Treadgold. History of the Byzantine State, pp. 354–355.</ref>

In 826 [[Euphemius (Sicily)|Euphemius]], the Byzantine commander in Sicily, having apparently killed his wife, forced a nun to marry him. Emperor [[Michael II]] caught wind of the matter and ordered general Constantine to end the marriage and cut off Euphemius' head. Euphemius rose up, killed Constantine, and then occupied Syracuse; he, in turn, was defeated and driven out to North Africa.<ref name="stan">{{cite news|url=http://archaeology.stanford.edu/MountPolizzo/handbookPDF/MPHandbook5.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070609094555/http://archaeology.stanford.edu/MountPolizzo/handbookPDF/MPHandbook5.pdf|archive-date=9 June 2007|publisher=Archaeology.Stanford.edu|title=Brief history of Sicily|date=7 October 2007}}</ref> He offered the rule of Sicily to [[Ziyadat Allah I of Aghlabids|Ziyadat Allah]], the [[Aghlabid]] Emir of [[Tunisia]], in return for a position as a general and a place of safety. A [[Early Muslim conquests|Muslim army]] was then sent to the island consisting of [[Arab]]s, [[Berber people|Berbers]], [[Cretans]], and [[Persian people|Persians]].<ref name="stan" />

The [[Muslim conquest of Sicily]] was a see-saw affair and met with fierce resistance. It took over a century for Byzantine Sicily to be conquered; the largest city, Syracuse, held out until 878 and the Greek city of [[Taormina]] fell in 962. It was not until 965 that all of Sicily was conquered by the [[Arabs]].<ref name="stan" /> In the 11th-century Byzantine armies carried out a partial reconquest of the island under [[George Maniakes]], but it was their [[italo-Norman|Norman]] mercenaries who would eventually complete the island's reconquest at the end of the century.

===Arab period (827–1091)===
{{Main|Emirate of Sicily}}

[[File:Cuba muqarna.jpeg|thumb|[[Arabesque]] on a wall in the [[Cuba, Palermo|Cuba Palace]] in Palermo]]
[[File:HorologiumPanormi.jpg|thumb|Trilingual sign from the [[Palazzo dei Normanni]] in [[Palermo]], written in [[Latin]], [[Medieval Greek|Byzantine Greek]] and [[Arabic]]]]

The language spoken in Sicily under Arab rule was [[Siculo-Arabic]] and [[Influence of Arabic on other languages|Arabic influence]] is present in some Sicilian words today. Although long extinct in Sicily, the language has developed into what is now the [[Maltese language]] on the islands of [[Malta]] today.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Where the Maltese language comes from |newspaper=The Economist |url=https://www.economist.com/the-economist-explains/2015/11/23/where-the-maltese-language-comes-from |access-date=2022-10-26 |issn=0013-0613}}</ref>

A description of [[Palermo]] was given by [[Ibn Hawqal]], an [[History of Islamic economics|Arab merchant]] who visited Sicily in 950. A walled suburb, called the Al-Kasr (the palace), is the centre of Palermo to this day, with the great Friday mosque on the site of the later Roman cathedral. The suburb of al-Khalisa (modern [[Kalsa]]) contained the [[Sultan]]'s palace, baths, a mosque, government offices, and a private prison. [[Ibn Hawqal]] estimated there were 7,000 butchers trading in 150 shops. The Muslim rule introduced lemons, oranges and sugar cane, as well as cotton and mulberries for sericulture, and introduced the [[:it:Qanat di Palermo|Qanat]] to improve irrigation systems for agriculture.<ref name="Metcalfe2014">{{cite book|author=Alex Metcalfe|title=Muslims of Medieval Italy|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xQbdCQAAQBAJ&pg=PA66|date=11 March 2014|publisher=Edinburgh University Press|isbn=978-0-7486-8843-2|pages=66–}}</ref> Around 1050, the western half of Sicily was ethnically and culturally distinct from central and eastern Sicily. During this time, there was also a small Jewish presence in Sicily, evidence seen in the catacombs discovered on the island.<ref>Raphael Patai, ''[[The Jewish Mind]]'', Scribners, 1977, p.&nbsp;155–6</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Jewish Catacombs of Venosa |url=https://www.visitjewishitaly.it/en/listing/catacombe-ebraiche-di-venosa/ |access-date=2024-04-25 |website=Visit Jewish Italy |language=en-US}}</ref>

Palermo was initially ruled by the [[Aghlabids]]; later it was the centre of the Emirate of Sicily, which was under the nominal suzerainty of the [[Fatimid Caliphate]]. Muslim sovereignty was never absolute across the island, and the creation of three subdivisions served to distinguish different approaches to government. Under the Arab rule the island was divided in [[three valli of Sicily|three administrative regions]], or "vals", roughly corresponding to the three "points" of Sicily: [[Val di Mazara]] in the west; [[Val Demone]] in the northeast; and [[Val di Noto]] in the southeast. As [[dhimmi]]s, that is as members of a protected class of approved monotheists, the [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Eastern Orthodox Christians]] were allowed [[freedom of religion]], but had to pay a tax, the [[jizya]] (in lieu of the obligatory alms tax, the [[zakat]], paid by Muslims), and were restricted from active participation in public affairs. Western Sicily was more [[Islamization|Islamized]] and heavily populated by Arabs, allowing for full and direct administration; by contrast, the northeast region of [[Val Demone]] remained majority Christian and often resistant to Muslim rule, prompting a focus on tax collection and maintaining public order, as a result, revolts by Byzantine Sicilians continuously occurred in the east where Greek-speaking Christians predominated. Parts of the island were re-occupied before revolts were quashed. By the 11th century, the [[Emirate of Sicily]] began to fragment as intra-dynastic quarreling fractured the Muslim government.<ref name="stan" />

===Norman Sicily (1038–1198)===
{{See also|Norman conquest of southern Italy}}
[[File:Calabria, trifollaro di ruggieri I d'altavilla, 1072-1101.JPG|thumb|[[Roger I of Sicily|Roger I]], conqueror and first count of Sicily, depicted on a [[Trifollaris]]]]

In 1038, seventy years after losing their last cities in Sicily, the Byzantines under the Greek general [[George Maniakes]] invaded the island together with their [[Varangian guard|Varangian]] and [[Normans|Norman]] mercenaries. Maniakes was killed in a Byzantine civil war in 1043 before completing a reconquest and the Byzantines withdrew. Later the Normans invaded in 1061 and after taking [[Apulia]] and [[Calabria]], [[Roger I of Sicily|Roger I]] occupied [[Messina]] with an army of 700 knights.<ref name="stan" /><ref name="Boise State University Sicily under the ormans">[https://web.archive.org/web/20091001173814/http://www.boisestate.edu/courses/crusades/Europe/italy/02.shtml "Italy during the Crusades – Sicily under the Normans"] – History of the Crusades – Boise State University – Retrieved 15 July 2011.</ref> In 1068, Roger I was victorious at [[Battle of Misilmeri|Misilmeri]]. Most crucial was the siege of Palermo, whose fall in 1071 eventually resulted in all Sicily coming under Norman control.<ref name="initalymag" /> The conquest was completed in 1091 when they captured [[Noto]] the last Arab stronghold. Palermo continued to be the capital under the [[Normans]]. The Normans formed a small but violent ruling class. They destroyed many of the Arab towns in Sicily, and very few physical remains survive from the Arab era.<ref name="stan" />

The Norman [[Hauteville family]] appreciated and admired the rich and layered culture in which they now found themselves. They also introduced into Sicily their own culture, customs, and politics from [[Normandy]]. Many Normans in Sicily adopted the habits and comportment of Muslim rulers and their Byzantine subjects in dress, language, literature, even to the extent of having palace [[eunuch]]s and, according to some accounts, a harem.<ref>{{cite book|last=Johns|first=Jeremy|year=2002|title=Arabic Administration in Norman Sicily: The Royal Diwan|series=Cambridge studies in Islamic civilization|location=Cambridge, England|publisher=Cambridge University Press|pages=[https://books.google.com/books?id=pXXYfJ9woRwC&pg=PA249 249–250]|isbn=978-0-521-81692-2}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Takayama|first=Hiroshi|year=1993|title=The Administration of the Norman Kingdom of Sicily|location=Leiden, the Netherlands|publisher=E.J. Brill|page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=aXZe71Z4nEkC&pg=PA123 123]|isbn=978-90-04-09920-3}}</ref>

While Roger I died in 1101, his wife [[Adelaide del Vasto|Adelaide]] ruled until 1112 when their son [[Roger II of Sicily]] came of age.<ref name="Boise State University Sicily under the ormans" /> Having succeeded his brother [[Simon of Sicily|Simon]] as Count of Sicily, Roger II was ultimately able to raise the status of the island to a kingdom in 1130, along with his other holdings, which included the [[Maltese Islands]] and the Duchies of [[Duchy of Apulia|Apulia]] and [[Duchy of Calabria|Calabria]].<ref name="initalymag">{{cite news|url=http://www.initaly.com/regions/sicily/chronol.htm|publisher=In Italy Magazine|title=Chronological – Historical Table of Sicily|date=7 October 2007|access-date=12 December 2007|archive-date=27 July 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160727225426/http://www.initaly.com/regions/sicily/chronol.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.aboutmalta.com/history/time-Line.htm|publisher=AboutMalta.com|title=Classical and Medieval Malta (60–1530)|date=7 October 2007}}</ref>

Roger II appointed the powerful Greek [[George of Antioch]] to be his "emir of emirs" and continued the syncretism of his father. During this period, the Kingdom of Sicily was prosperous and politically powerful, becoming one of the wealthiest states in all of Europe—even wealthier than the [[Kingdom of England]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Norwich|first=John Julius|author-link=John Julius Norwich|title=The Normans in Sicily: The Normans in the South 1016–1130 and the Kingdom in the Sun 1130–1194|publisher=Penguin Global|isbn=978-0-14-015212-8|year=1992}}</ref>

The court of Roger II became the most luminous centre of culture in the Mediterranean, both from Europe and the Middle East, like the multi-ethnic [[Caliphate of Córdoba]], then only just eclipsed. This attracted scholars, scientists, poets, artists, and artisans of all kinds. Laws were issued in the language of the community to whom they were addressed in Norman Sicily, at the time when the culture was still heavily Arab and Greek.<ref name="Advanced Studies in Cultural History" /><ref name="Loud, G. A. 2007 494">{{cite book|author=Loud, G. A.|title=The Latin Church in Norman Italy|url=https://archive.org/details/latinchurchnorma00loud|url-access=limited|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=2007|page=[https://archive.org/details/latinchurchnorma00loud/page/n512 494]|isbn=978-0-521-25551-6|quote={{ISBN|0-521-25551-1}}" "At the end of the twelfth-century &nbsp;... While in Apulia Greeks were in a majority – and indeed present in any numbers at all – only in the Salento peninsula in the extreme south, at the time of the conquest they had an overwhelming preponderance in Lucaina and central and southern Calabria, as well as comprising anything up to a third of the population of Sicily, concentrated especially in the north-east of the island, the Val Demone.}}</ref> Governance was by rule of law which promoted justice. Muslims, Jews, [[Byzantine Greeks]], Lombards, and Normans worked together fairly amicably. During this time many extraordinary buildings were constructed.<ref name="Advanced Studies in Cultural History">[http://www.interamericaninstitute.org/norman_sicily.htm "Norman Sicily of the 12th Century"] – Inter-American Institute for Advanced Studies in Cultural History – Retrieved 15 July 2011.</ref>

However this situation changed as the Normans imported immigrants from [[Normandy]], [[England]], Lombardy, Piedmont, Provence and [[Campania]] to secure the island. Linguistically, the island shifted from being one-third Greek- and two-thirds Arabic-speaking at the time of the Norman conquest to becoming fully [[Linguistic Latinisation|Latinised]].<ref name="Loud, G. A. 2007 494" /> In terms of religion the island became completely Roman Catholic (bearing in mind that until 1054 the Churches owing allegiance to the Pope and the Patriarch of Constantinople belonged to one Church); Sicily before the Norman conquest was under the Eastern Orthodox Patriarch.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.bestofsicily.com/mag/art171.htm |publisher=BestofSicily.com |title=Sicilian Peoples: The Normans|date=7 October 2007}}</ref> After Pope Innocent III made him Papal Legate in 1098, Roger I created several Catholic bishoprics while still allowing the construction of 12 Greek-speaking monasteries (the Greek language, monasteries, and 1500 parishes continued to exist until the adherents of the Greek Rite were forced in 1585 to convert to Catholicism or leave; a small pocket of Greek-speakers still live in Messina).

<gallery class="center" heights=200px widths=200px>
File:Cefalucathedralnight.jpg|The cathedral of [[Cefalù]] at night
File:Monreale Cathedral exterior BW 2012-10-09 10-23-10.jpg|The [[Cathedral of Monreale]]
File:Aci Castello Sicily Italy - Creative Commons by gnuckx (5085398127).jpg|Norman castle at [[Aci Castello]]
</gallery>

===Kingdom of Sicily (1198–1860)===
{{Main|Kingdom of Sicily|List of monarchs of Sicily}}
[[File:Sicilian Vespers by Francesco Hayez, 1846 - Galleria nazionale d'arte moderna - Rome, Italy - DSC05404.jpg|thumb|''The [[Sicilian Vespers]]'', [[Francesco Hayez]], oil on canvas, 1846]]
[[File:Inizio rivolta siciliana.jpg|thumb|Satiric allegoric print showing Sicily rejecting Neapolitan government at begin of the [[Sicilian revolution of 1848|1848 revolution]]]]

After a century, the Norman [[Hauteville family|Hauteville]] dynasty died out; the last direct descendant and heir of Roger II, [[Constance I of Sicily|Constance]], married [[Henry VI, Holy Roman Emperor|Emperor Henry VI]].<ref name="dieli" /> This eventually led to the crown of Sicily being passed to the [[Hohenstaufen]] dynasty, who were Germans from [[Swabia]]. The last of the Hohenstaufens, [[Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor|Frederick II]], the only son of [[Constance I of Sicily|Constance]], was one of the greatest and most cultured men of the Middle Ages. His mother's will had asked [[Pope Innocent III]] to undertake the guardianship of her son.  Frederick was four when at [[Palermo]], he was crowned [[King of Sicily]] in 1198. Frederick received no systematic education and was allowed to run free in the streets of [[Palermo]]. There he picked up the many languages he heard spoken, such as Arabic and Greek, and learned some of the lore of the Jewish community. At age twelve, he dismissed Innocent's deputy regent and took over the government; at fifteen he married [[Constance of Aragon, Holy Roman Empress|Constance of Aragon]], and began his reclamation of the imperial crown. Subsequently, due to Muslim rebellions, Frederick II destroyed the remaining Muslim presence in Sicily, estimated at 60,000 people, moving all to the city of Lucera in Apulia between 1221 and 1226.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=weluAAAAQBAJ|title=Muslims in Medieval Italy: The Colony at Lucera|first=Julie|last=Taylor|date=19 August 2003|publisher=Lexington Books|via=Google Books|isbn=9780739157978}}</ref>

Conflict between the Hohenstaufen house and the [[Papacy]] led, in 1266, to [[Pope Innocent IV]] crowning the [[Capetian House of Anjou|French prince]] [[Charles I of Naples|Charles]], [[count of Anjou]] and [[County of Provence|Provence]], as the king of both Sicily and Naples.<ref name="dieli" />

Strong opposition to French officialdom due to mistreatment and taxation saw the local peoples of Sicily rise up, leading in 1282 to an [[insurrection]] known as the [[War of the Sicilian Vespers]], which eventually saw almost the entire French population on the island killed.<ref name="dieli" /> During the war, the Sicilians turned to [[Peter III of Aragon]], son-in-law of the last Hohenstaufen king, for support after being rejected by the Pope. Peter gained control of Sicily from the French, who, however, retained control of the [[Kingdom of Naples]]. A crusade was launched in August 1283 against Peter III and the Crown of Aragon by [[Pope Martin IV]] (a pope from [[Île-de-France]]), but it failed. The wars continued until the [[peace of Caltabellotta]] in 1302, which saw Peter's son [[Frederick III of Sicily|Frederick III]] recognized as the king of the Isle of Sicily, while [[Charles II of Naples|Charles II]] was recognized as the king of Naples by [[Pope Boniface VIII]].<ref name="dieli" /> Sicily was ruled as an independent kingdom by relatives of the kings of Aragon until 1409 and then as part of the [[Crown of Aragon]].<ref name="knowital" />

In October 1347, in Messina, Sicily, the [[Black Death]] first arrived in Europe.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.thoughtco.com/spread-of-the-black-death-through-europe-4123214 |first=Melissa |last=Snell |date=July 30, 2019 |title=The Arrival and Spread of the Black Plague in Europe |website=ThoughtCo |access-date=24 January 2024}}</ref>

Between the 15th and 18th centuries, waves of [[Greeks]] from the [[Peloponnese]] (such as the [[Maniots]]) and [[Arvanites]] migrated to Sicily in large numbers to escape persecution after the [[Ottoman conquest of the Balkans|Ottoman conquest of the Peloponnese]]. They brought with them [[Eastern Orthodoxy]] as well as the [[Greek language|Greek]] and [[Arvanitika]] languages, once again adding onto the extensive [[Byzantine]]/[[Greek Culture|Greek]] influence.

The onset of the [[Spanish Inquisition]] in 1492 led to [[Ferdinand II of Aragon|Ferdinand II]] decreeing the expulsion of all Jews from Sicily.<ref name="dieli" /> The eastern part of the island was hit by destructive earthquakes in 1542 and 1693. Just a few years before the latter earthquake, the island was struck by a [[plague (disease)|plague]].<ref name="dieli">{{cite web|url=http://www.dieli.net/SicilyPage/History/SicilianHist.html |publisher=Dieli.net|title=Sicilian History: An Abbreviated Chronology |date=8 July 2015|first = Art|last = Dieli}}</ref> The [[1693 Sicily earthquake|earthquake in 1693]] took an estimated 60,000 lives.<ref>"[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/low/europe/2381585.stm Italy's earthquake history]". BBC News. 31 October 2002.</ref> There were revolts during the 17th century, but these were quelled with force, especially the revolts of Palermo and Messina.<ref name="knowital">{{cite news|url=http://knowital.com/history/sicily/sicily-history.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030801195242/http://knowital.com/history/sicily/sicily-history.html|archive-date=1 August 2003|publisher=knowital.com|title=History of Sicily|url-status=usurped|date=7 October 2007}}</ref> [[Barbary pirates|North African]] [[Barbary slave trade|slave raids]] discouraged settlement along the coast until the 19th century.<ref>Rees Davies, [https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/empire_seapower/white_slaves_02.shtml British Slaves on the Barbary Coast], [[BBC]], 1 July 2003</ref><ref>"''[https://books.google.com/books?id=5q9zcB3JS40C&pg=PR14 Christian Slaves, Muslim Masters: White Slavery in the Mediterranean, the Barbary Coast and Italy, 1500–1800]''". Robert Davis (2004) {{ISBN|1-4039-4551-9}}</ref> The [[Treaty of Utrecht]] in 1713 saw Sicily assigned to the [[House of Savoy]]; however, this period of rule lasted only seven years, as it was exchanged for the island of [[Sardinia]] with [[Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor|Emperor Charles VI]] of the Austrian [[House of Habsburg|Habsburg Dynasty]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.heraldica.org/topics/france/utrecht.htm|publisher=Heraldica.org|title=The Treaties of Utrecht (1713)|date=7 October 2007}}</ref>

While the Austrians were concerned with the [[War of the Polish Succession]], a [[House of Bourbon|Bourbon]] prince, [[Charles III of Spain|Charles]] from Spain was able to conquer Sicily and Naples.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.realcasadiborbone.it/uk/archiviostorico/cs_04.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030804170901/http://www.realcasadiborbone.it/uk/archiviostorico/cs_04.htm|archive-date=4 August 2003|publisher=RealCasaDiBorbone.it|title=Charles of Bourbon – the restorer of the Kingdom of Naples|date=7 October 2007}}</ref> At first Sicily was able to remain as an independent kingdom under [[personal union]], while the Bourbons ruled over both from Naples. However, the advent of [[Napoleon I|Napoleon]]'s [[First French Empire]] saw Naples taken at the [[Battle of Campo Tenese]] and Bonapartist [[King of Naples]] was installed. [[Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies|Ferdinand III]], the Bourbon, was forced to retreat to Sicily which he was still in control of with the help of [[Royal Navy|British naval]] protection.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.clash-of-steel.co.uk/pages/battle_details.php?battle=CAMPOTENES01|publisher=Clash-of-Steel.co.uk|title=Campo Tenese|date=7 October 2007}}</ref>

Following this, Sicily joined the [[Napoleonic Wars]], and subsequently the British under [[Lord William Bentinck]] established a military and diplomatic presence on the island to protect against a French invasion. Sicilian volunteers joined the British military to form the [[Royal Sicilian Regiment]], which saw action at the [[Battle of Maida]] and then transferred to [[Peninsular War|Iberia]]. After the wars were won, Sicily and Naples formally merged as the [[Two Sicilies]] under the Bourbons. Major [[revolutionary]] movements occurred in 1820 and 1848 against the Bourbon government with Sicily seeking independence; the second of which, the [[Sicilian revolution of independence of 1848|1848 revolution]] resulted in a short period of independence for Sicily. However, in 1849 the Bourbons retook control of the island and dominated it until 1860.<ref>[http://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/regno-delle-due-sicilie/ Regno Delle Due Sicilie nell'Enciclopedia Treccani]. Treccani.it. Retrieved on 18 December 2012.</ref>

===Italian unification===
{{See also|Risorgimento}}
[[File:Battle of Calatafimi.jpg|thumb|Battle of [[Battle of Calatafimi|Calatafimi]], 1860]]
The [[Expedition of the Thousand]] led by [[Giuseppe Garibaldi]] captured Sicily in 1860, as part of the {{lang|it|[[Italian unification|Risorgimento]]}}.<ref name="modern" /> The conquest started at [[Marsala]], and native Sicilians joined him in the capture of the southern Italian peninsula. Garibaldi's march was completed with the [[Siege of Gaeta (1861)|siege of Gaeta]], where the final [[Bourbons]] were expelled and Garibaldi announced his dictatorship in the name of [[Victor Emanuel II of Italy|Victor Emmanuel II]] of [[Kingdom of Sardinia (1720–1861)|Kingdom of Sardinia]].<ref>[http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/542800/Sicily Sicily (island, Italy) – Britannica Online Encyclopaedia]. Britannica.com. Retrieved on 18 December 2012.</ref> Sicily became part of the Kingdom of Sardinia after a referendum in which more than 75% of Sicily voted in favour of the annexation on 21 October 1860 (although not everyone was allowed to vote). As a result of the [[proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy]], Sicily became part of the kingdom on 17 March 1861.

The Sicilian economy (and the wider ''[[mezzogiorno]]'' economy) remained relatively underdeveloped after the [[Italian unification]], in spite of the strong investments made by the [[Kingdom of Italy]] in terms of modern infrastructure, and this caused an unprecedented [[Italian diaspora|wave of emigration]].<ref name="modern">{{cite news|url=http://www.oah.org/pubs/magazine/migrations/townsend.html|publisher=OAH.org|title=Italians around the World: Teaching Italian Migration from a Transnational Perspective|date=7 October 2007|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101127225428/http://oah.org/pubs/magazine/migrations/townsend.html|archive-date=27 November 2010}}</ref> In 1894, organisations of workers and peasants known as the ''[[Fasci Siciliani]]'' protested against the bad social and economic conditions of the island, but they were suppressed in a few days.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.geocities.com/capitolHill/rotunda/2209/Sicily.html|publisher=Capitol Hill|title=Sicily|date=7 October 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071018230534/http://www.geocities.com/capitolHill/rotunda/2209/Sicily.html|archive-date=18 October 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopedia|url=http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9033791/fascio-siciliano|encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]|title=fascio siciliano|date=7 October 2007}}</ref>

This period was also characterized by the first contact between the [[Sicilian Mafia]] (the crime syndicate also known as Cosa Nostra) and the Italian government. The Mafia's origins are still uncertain, but it is generally accepted that it emerged in the 18th century initially in the role of private enforcers hired to protect the property of landowners and merchants from the groups of [[brigandage|''briganti'']] who frequently pillaged the countryside and towns. The battle against the Mafia made by the Kingdom of Italy was controversial and ambiguous. The [[Carabinieri]] (the military police of Italy) and sometimes the [[Royal Italian Army]] were often involved in fights against the mafia members, but their efforts were frequently useless because of the weakness of the Italian judicial system and cooperation between the mafia and local governments.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20071111034455/http://www.carabinieri.it/Internet/Arma/Ieri/Storia/Vista%2Bda/Fascicolo%2B22/01_Fascicolo%2B22.htm Arma dei Carabinieri – Home – L'Arma – Ieri – Storia – Vista da – Fascicolo 22]. Carabinieri.it. Retrieved on 18 December 2012.</ref>

===20th and 21st centuries===
[[File:Private Roy W. Humphrey of Toledo, Ohio is being given blood plasma after he was wounded by shrapnel in Sicily on 8-9-43 - NARA - 197268.jpg|thumb|Private Roy W. Humphrey of [[Toledo, Ohio]], is given [[blood plasma]] after he was wounded by [[Fragmentation (weaponry)|shrapnel]] in Sicily on 9 August 1943.]]

The [[1908 Messina earthquake|Messina earthquake]] of 28 December 1908 killed more than 80,000 people.<ref>"[http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/1483443/Messina-earthquake-and-tsunami Messina earthquake and tsunami]". Britannica Online Encyclopedia.</ref>

In the 1920s, the [[Italian fascism|Fascist]] regime began taking stronger military action, led by [[Cesare Mori]] (nicknamed the "Iron [[Prefect]]" for his iron-fisted campaigns), against the Sicilian Mafia, the first that ended with considerable success.<ref name="modern" /> There was an [[Allied invasion of Sicily]] during World War II starting on 10 July 1943. In preparation for the invasion, the Allies [[Collaborations between the United States government and Italian Mafia|revitalised]] the Mafia to aid them. The invasion of Sicily contributed to the [[Fall of the Fascist regime in Italy|25 July crisis]]; in general, the Allied victors were warmly embraced by Sicily.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.bestofsicily.com/history3.htm|publisher=BestofSicily.com|title=Modern Sicilian History & Society}}</ref>

In the aftermath of World War II, Italy [[1946 Italian institutional referendum|became a Republic]] in 1946. Under the [[Constitution of Italy]], Sicily is one of five [[Regions of Italy|regions]] with [[Autonomous administrative division|autonomy]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.grifasi-sicilia.com/regione_sicilia_gbr.html|publisher=Grifasi-Sicilia.com|title=Sicily autonomy|date=7 October 2007}}</ref> Both the partial Italian [[land reform]] and special funding from the Italian government's ''[[Cassa per il Mezzogiorno]]'' (Fund for the South) from 1950 to 1984 helped the Sicilian economy. During this period, the economic and social condition of the island was generally improved due to investments in infrastructure (such as [[motorways]] and [[airport]]s) and the creation of industrial and commercial areas.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.storicamente.org/quadstor1/ch09.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130524044958/http://www.storicamente.org/quadstor1/ch09.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=24 May 2013 |title=Le spinte e i ritorni": gli anni delle riforme per lo sviluppo in Sicilia (1947–1967) |language=it |website=Storicamente.org |access-date=18 December 2012}}</ref> In the 1980s, the Mafia was weakened by another campaign led by magistrates [[Giovanni Falcone]] and [[Paolo Borsellino]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.scudit.net/mdfalcone.htm |title=Due eroi italiani – Materiali didattici di Scuola d'Italiano Roma a cura di Roberto Tartaglione |language=it |website=Scudit.net |date=11 April 2004 |access-date=18 December 2012}}</ref> Between 1990 and 2005, the [[unemployment rate]] fell from about 23% to 11%.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|url=http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-27778/Italy#319101.hook|encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]|title=Italy – Land Reforms|date=7 October 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.istat.it/it/sicilia/dati?q=gettable&dataset=DCCV_TAXDISOCCU&dim=120,6,1,0,28,12,3,0,0&lang=2&tr=0&te=1 |title=Sicilia |language=it |website=Istat.it |access-date=18 December 2012 |archive-date=15 November 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121115061849/http://www.istat.it/it/sicilia/dati?q=gettable&dataset=DCCV_TAXDISOCCU&dim=120%2C6%2C1%2C0%2C28%2C12%2C3%2C0%2C0&lang=2&tr=0&te=1 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

The Cosa Nostra has traditionally been the most powerful group in Sicily, especially around Palermo.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://globalnews.ca/news/4727672/italy-police-arrest-alleged-new-mafia-boss-in-sicily/ |title=Italy police arrest alleged new mafia boss in Sicily |work=Global News |last=Pantaleone |first=Wladimir |date=4 December 2018 |access-date=22 June 2021}}</ref> A police investigation in summer 2019 also confirmed strong links between the Palermo area [[Sicilian Mafia]] and American organized crime, particularly the [[Gambino crime family]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cnn.com/2019/07/17/europe/mafia-arrests-fbi-italy-intl/index.html |title=19 mafia suspects arrested in joint transatlantic raids |first1=Hada |last1=Messia |first2=Lauren |last2=Kent |work=[[CNN]] |date=17 July 2019 |access-date=22 June 2021}}</ref> According to ''[[La Repubblica]]'', "Off they go, through the streets of Passo di Rigano, Boccadifalco, Torretta and at the same time, Brooklyn, Staten Island, [and] New Jersey. Because from Sicily to the US, the old mafia has returned."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/jul/17/fbi-mafia-arrests-us-italy-inzerillo-gambino |title=FBI and Italian police arrest 19 people in Sicily and US in mafia investigation |last=Giuffrida |first=Angela |work=The Guardian |date=17 July 2019 |access-date=22 June 2021}}</ref>