Geography & Climate
Sicily is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. It is an autonomous region of Italy. Several much smaller islands surrounding it are considered to be part of Sicily.

Throughout much of its history, Sicily has been considered a crucial strategic location due in large part to its importance for Mediterranean trade routes. The area was highly regarded as part of Magna Graecia, with Cicero describing Siracusa as the greatest and most beautiful city of all

Ancient Greece.

The island was once a city-state in its own right, and as the Kingdom of Sicily ruled from Palermo over southern Italy, Sicily, and Malta. It later became a part of the Two Sicilies under the Bourbons, a kingdom governed from Naples that comprised both the island itself and most of

Southern Italy. The Italian unification of 1860 led to the dissolution of this kingdom, and Sicily became an autonomous part of the Kingdom of Italy. Sicily is today an autonomous region of Italy. Of all the regions of Italy, Sicily is the one that covers the largest land area at 25,708 square

kilometres (9,926 sq mi) and currently has just over five million inhabitants.

Sicily has its own unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, cuisine, architecture and language. The Sicilian economy is largely based on agriculture (mainly orange and lemon orchards); this same rural countryside has attracted significant tourism in the modern age as its natural beauty is highly regarded. Sicily also holds importance for archeological and ancient sites such as the Necropolis of Pantalica and the Valley of the Temples.

Sicily is well known as a center of organized crime. The major Italian mafia centers of Naples and Palermo (of Sicily) have given rise to mob families far beyond the shores - in the United States and other parts of Europe. The reputed income of Italian mobs, of which Sicilian families

Cosa Nostra are preeminent, was estimated to be 63 billion Euros annually, or 7 percent of the Italian economy, according to estimates by the Confesercenti, Italy's leading retail association.

Sicily is directly adjacent to the Italian region of Calabria, via the Strait of Messina to the east. The early Roman name for Sicily was Trinacria, alluding to its triangular shape. Sicily has been noted for two millennia as a grain-producing territory. Citrons, oranges, lemons, olives, olive oil,

almonds, and wine are among its other agricultural products. The mines of the Enna and Caltanissetta district became a leading sulfur-producing area in the 19th century but have declined since the 1950s.

Sicily and its small surrounding islands are highly significant in the area of volcanology. Mount Etna, located in the east, is the only volcano on mainland Sicily; with a height of 3,320 m (10,900 ft) it is the tallest active volcano in Europe and one of the most active in the world. As well as Etna, there are several non-volcanic mountain ranges in Sicily: Sicani to the west, Eeri in the central area and Hyblaean in the south-east.

Across the north of Sicily there are three others: Madonie, Nebrodi and Peloritani.

The Aeolian Islands to the north-east are volcanically significant with Stromboli currently active, also in the Tyrrhenian Sea are the three dormant volcanos of Vulcano, Vulcanello and Lipari. Off the Southern coast of Sicily, the underwater volcano of Ferdinandea, which is part of the larger

Empedocles last erupted in 1831. It is located between the coast of Agrigento and the island of Pantelleria (which itself is a dormant volcano), on the Phlegraean Fields of the Strait of Sicily.

The island of Sicily is drained by several rivers, most of which flow through the central area and enter the sea at the south of the island. The Salso River flows through parts of Enna and Caltanissetta before entering the Mediterranean Sea at the port of Licata. To the east the Alcantara in the

province of Messina, it exits at Giardini Naxos and the Simeto. Other important rivers on the island are to the south-west with Belice and Platani.

Sicily's position means that it has a Mediterranean climate with mild to warm, wet winters and warm to hot, dry summers [source: Wikipedia].

Wines
Sicily has more vineyards than any of the other Italian regions competing with Apulia for first place as the largest wine producer.

Yet, Sicilians consume less wine per capita than any other Italian.

Many grapes are made into raisins, used in local cooking, and Sicilian grapes also play a large role in creating dessert wines, which require a higher concentration of grapes and are consumed in smaller quantities. In fact, in the world of international wine, Sicily is renowned for the many outstanding dessert wines, such as the world-famous Marsala.

Though dessert wines account for about 90% of the total DOC production, we shouldn't disregard the several good reds and whites that are produced all over the island by both large producers such as the Conte di Salaparuta, which makes the well-known Corvo, Regaleali and Rapitalà

and the smaller estates such as Donnafugata, Consorzio Agrario Provinciale di Trapani, and Fontanarossa among others.

If you happen to travel to the island around November 11, the day dedicated by the Roman Catholic Church to Saint Martin, look for signs announcing the local Festa del Vino or "Festival of the Wine". It is believed that on this date the new wine is ready for consumption, hence the saying: Il giorno di San Martino il mosto diventa vino or "On Saint Martin's Day the grape juice becomes wine" [source: Wine Country].

"Sicily." Wikipedia (accessed 10/18/2009)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sicily,_Italy

Wine Country. "Sicily: The Ancient Volcanic Island." (accessed 10/18/2009)
http://winecountry.it/regions/sicily