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Sicily is the largest and most southerly of the twenty Italian regions and is also the biggest and most heavily populated island in the Mediterranean. You will be aware of this fact from the moment you attempt to drive on any road - forget any stories you may have heard about mad foreign drivers. Fact: Sicily has the worst. Only 40km from the African coast, it lies in a central and strategically important position halfway between the Strait of Gibraltar and the Suez Canal, bridging East and West; Europe and Africa. It's name comes from the Greek name 'Syke' (which means figs) and 'Elaia' (olive trees) as the island's fertile shores are rich in both.
One of the most important geographical features on the island is of course Mount Etna. 3263 metres high, she is Europe's greatest active volcano and one of the biggest in the world.
One of our first stops was at the Villa Romana Del Casale in Piazza Armerina, the single most impressive Roman site I have ever had the pleasure of seeing. Lying west of Catania and south of Enna, this Roman mansion probably belonged to Maximus Hercules, the co-Emperor, and one of the richest Romans ever. It had 50 rooms and every single one of them is covered in Roman-African mosaics which date from 40AD. Each one of these beautiful works of art gives a glimpse of Sicily as the playground of the rich Romans. They show bathing, dancing, fishing, hunting, wine pressing, music, drama, and girls in bikinis. (So Coco Chanel didn't invent them after all!). The house was swallowed in a mud slide 900 years ago, which is why it's so well preserved today.
We then travelled up the east coast from the airport in Catania towards the closest tip of the island towards Italy; Messina. Do not be fooled by what looks like a short journey. The roads are packed and the island is much bigger than you ever imagined.
Taormina, high on Monte Tauro, dominates two sweeping bays and is Sicily's most famous and expensive resort. D.H Lawrence liked it so much that he lived there for three years and there is a road named after him to be found there. The town is stunning and although it's very busy, it's full of people and not cars, which makes a refreshing change for Sicily. The star attraction has to be the Teatro Greco (Greek Theatre) yet despite its name, the existing remains are almost entirely Roman. Founded by the Greeks during the Hellenistic period, it uses the nearby mountain top of Cavea as a natural backdrop.
On to Messina, but only briefly. This incredibly busy town will test the patience of a saint. The reason we didn't stick around wasn't because of the traffic, but due to a past that has had less luck than me on the lottery. For hundreds of years Messina has suffered from a number of plagues, even more earthquakes, including one in 1908 that killed 84,000 people in 30 seconds and sent a tidal wave 60m high which hit Malta 24 hours later. Add to that the fact that the Nazi's made this their last strong hold and 5000 died in the constant bombing that blew them out. Shakespeare set 'Much Ado' here, but perhaps it should have been called 'Nothing About Much Ado'!
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