Art and History of Sicily [antikvár]

INTRODUCTIONHISTORYA ncient rock engravings have been found which /m seem to support the theory that the island of Si-/ 1 ciiy wűi joined, in the remote past, to the Euro-y I pean continent. There are traces of Neolithic settlements, villages built of stone or on pala-fittes. The early inhabitants of the island included the Sicani-ans, who were of Iberian origin: they were followed by the Sicels, who came from various regions in southern Italy. When the first Phoenician colony was founded, there were already permanently settled areas on the island; new centres were created at Motye, Trapani, Mazara, Lilybaeum, Palermo and Solunto, and a fertile cultural and commercial interchange started up. We have information on Greek colonies founded in Sicily as early as the eighth century B.C. This region was the most prolific in settlements in the whole territory of Magna Grecia. Greek colonies rose in rapid succession at Naxos, Catania, Leontini, Himera, Messina, Mylae, Syracuse, Megara, Gela and Agrigentum, to mention the largest and most important. In the first half of the fifth century B.C. the first large-scale war in the Mediterranean basin pitted the Syracusans against the Carthaginians, whom they defeated at Himera. The Carthaginians won back and subjected targe portions of the island at the end of that century and the beginning of the next. Sicily was finally colonized by the Romans at the end of their recurring wars with Carthage, after a long and tiring campaign. Not until the time of Augustus was the city granted the status of civitas romana, too late to remedy the depredations of his predecessors.The fali of the Roman Empire was followed by a rapidly changing succession of barbarian peoples (Vandals, Heruli, Goths), until the coming of the Byzantines ted by Belisarius. From the ninth to the eleventh century, under the Arabs, Sicily became a Muslim territory; the Arabs left their mark on the way of life, dialectal expressions, placenames and agriculture of the island, turning it into a rich and flourishing land and making Palermo one of the most important cities in Europe.In the second half of the eleventh century the Arabs were replaced by the Normans, who brought brilliance and luxury to the court of Palermo, promoting the artistic, economic and social development of the city. This period of prosperity continued into the reign of Frederick II of Swabia (first half of the thirteenth century), but came to an end under his successors (his son Manfred was defeated by the Angevins at Benevento in 1266). This was the starting point for the events leading up to the Sicilian Vespers, which chased the French out of the island in 1282. The Aragonese came next, as a prelude to Sicily becoming a Spanish satellite; it became a colony of the Spanish crown until the first half of the eighteenth century.After that time, as a pawn in the tense game being played out on the chessboard of Europe, Sicily belonged first to the house of Savoy, then to the Austrians and finally (I8I5)fell into the hands of the Bourbons. Repeated attempts at rebellion culminated in Garibaldi's campaign of I860 and led to the annexation of Sicily to the new Kingdom of Italy (1861). Problems with their roots far back in the past, backwardness and centuries-old obsessions motivated recurrent insurrections against the great estates and the exploitation of the people by the barons, while lack of confidence in the state, alienation, unemployment and emigration increased. The Fascist government was unable to satisfy the just aspirations of the Sicilians, and after suffering devastation during thewar, they felt betrayed and began to threaten partition; their protests were backed by increasing bandit activity (the name of Salvatore Giuliano is known to all). The central government responded by granting Sicily a special 'Statute', which today is still far from having solved the problems of Sicilian society, racked by the recurring spectre of Mafia terrorism and by unassuaged hopes for independence.ART HISTORY