Sicily [antikvár]

Forward Nietzsche stated that the deepest mystery is always hidden in the midday sun, in things manifest, not in darkness. This is true of Sicily, a giant triangle in the dead centre of the Mediterranean, and visitors or perusers of maps cannot fail to notice it. The Greeks called it Trinakria for its three promontories: Capo Peloro, Capo Lilibeo and Capo delle Correnti, a sight that could hardly be missed. Yet its essence escapes us, just as it escaped man in antiquity who vainly tried to recount it in myth. The island then was known as Sicily, "island of the Sun", and there the god's flocks grazed undisturbed. The story has been handed down that it was the chosen home of the Giants, the Cyclops, the Lotus Eaters and the Laestrygons; it saw Pluto rise from the Underworld, Daedalus drop from the sky and Ulysses step ashore with his companions. Gods and Heroes rarely came face to face: how could this island be the same for them all? Here Greek, Carthaginian and Roman trade routes crossed, Arabs and Normans brushed shoulders, the French and Spanish fought. All left behind remains, images mirrored in the sea: Mozia, Ortigia, Selinunte, Cefalu, and inland or on hilltops Erice, Segesta, Tindari, the Agrigento Valley and Monreale. Sicily, a geometrical figure and a hospitable land; an uninsular island where the passing of philosophers, arguments of Arab mathematicians, Norman romantic verse and Baroque architecture formed a blend. Antonello's "Flemish" Sicily, the scene of Serpotta's follies: where does one start? What should be one's first approach to Sicily? In this book we try to provide and answer these questions, tracing a path through the Region's history and Nature. For this reason motoring, archeological and Nature itineraries have been included, together with a guide to places of interest. However, the author, in suggesting places to visit and describing extraordinary events, is well aware that Sicily's secret has not been unveiled and that this island cannot be contained in a single description. What he does know, however, is that it can be revisited. THE PUBLISHER