Sicily is the largest, and arguably the most picturesque, island in the Mediterranean. It is located just off the coast of Italy and is home to over five million people. Sicily is divided into nine provinces with Palermo being the capital city.
The official language of Sicily is Italian, however many residents speak Sicilian in informal situations. The Romans brought the Sicilian language to Sicily around 260 BC. It is a descendant of Latin, but over the years the language has absorbed vocabulary from numerous different languages including Arabic, Greek, French, and of course, Italian.
If you choose to study abroad in Sicily, be sure to pack your sunglasses – Sicily gets over 2,500 hours of sunshine annually! This ample amount of sunshine allows for agriculture to be one of the leading economic activities of Sicily. Sicily is known for many of their agricultural products such as olives, citrus fruit and wine grapes. Be sure to have a glass of their famous Marsala wine while you’re there!
Study abroad in Sicily and you will soon discover it is the hub of the Mediterranean. On this lush and once prosperous island, you can discover the finest surviving Doric temples and the most beautiful Greek Theatres looking into the Mediterranean Sea in Agrigento, Selinunte, Syracuse and Taormina. You can admire Villas and theatres of the Roman Age in Piazza Armerina and Catania, dive into the Arab atmospheres of Mosques and castles in Palermo and Taormina, or have a taste of the magnificent Norman culture in Cefalù and Monreale. There are thousands of years of history for you to explore while you study abroad in Sicily.
Life in Sicily
It is said that the people of Sicily always want to put forward the ‘bella figura’, a good impression. The idea that Sicily is full of Mafia men wearing coppola caps, smoking cigars and dripping with gold jewelry is long outdated. The Sicilian people are truly a melting pot. Sicily is full of unique, eclectic people with a modern way of life yet strong appreciation for their history. One minute you can be in your bikini on the Mondello Lido beach, and the next taking a passeggiata through the old city in the country.
Sicily is the perfect place to combine an intensive study abroad program in art, history, literature, cinema or language with an unforgettable human and cultural experience.
History and Culture in Sicily
There must be a reason why the famous German poet Wolfgang Goethe wrote that “To have seen Italy without having seen Sicily is to not have seen Italy at all, for Sicily is the clue to everything”. Many people know that Sicily is a beautiful island at the center of the Mediterranean Sea, but being in the center of the Mediterranean Sea meant that Sicily fell prey to the major civilizations that attempted to rule it. Those civilizations gave Sicily the diverse and beautiful culture that is celebrated today.
But to be “the clue to Italy” is something else…
Long before Rome even existed, the Greeks of Sicily were ruling all over Italy, spreading their culture in Tuscany to the Etruscans and up to Veneto with the colony of Adria. Their wealth and power was so extraordinary that even Athens was obliged to declare war against Syracuse three times in order to retain its prestige and influence. At that time, Sicily was home to thinkers and philosophers such as Gorgia da Lentini; theatre writers such as Aeschylus; the inventor of comedy, Epicharmus; great mathematicians such as Archimedes and Empedocle di Agrigento; and legendary culinary artists such as Archestratus of Gela.
Today, Rome is considered to be the origin of the Italian culture. But at that time, Rome had not yet been founded. There is no doubt that in time Rome absorbed its culture from the Greeks. And where else if not in the Magna Greece in Sicily? This is why Goethe declared Sicily as the clue to everything!
A study abroad program in Sicily will allow you the opportunity to learn a wealth of knowledge about numerous cultures. Sicily has been ruled by several civilizations such as the Greeks, Romans, Arabs and Normams; so if history holds your interest, Sicily could be a great choice for your study abroad destination!