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Sicily (formerly Sicania and Tricania) is the largest (25,460 sq km) and most important island in the Mediterranean, where it occupies a central position. Around it are a number of archipelagos which administratively belong to the island: the Lipari or Aeolian islands, Ustica, the Egadi and Pantelleria, and the Pelagie. Sicily is a region of volcanoes. The highest is Etna (3,370m), a solitary relief near Catania. Other volcanoes have formed some of the minor islands: all the Lipari islands, Ustica, Pantelleria. Some of these are still active (Stromboli and Vulcano) or dormant, while others have been extinct since time immemorial.
Sicily still retains some of its age-old traditions both in the working and social fields. Tuna fishing, for example, still uses the traditional techniques of mattanza, as does tuna fishing in the Favignana Island. The production of ceramic articles is still considerable. Excellent Sicilians wines are still appreciated worldwide.
Among local religious celebrations, those to honour a town's patron saint are most important. The most famous of these is in Palermo in mid-July, when the Processions of the Triumphal Chariot and of the silver urn of the Santuzza (as Palermitans call their patron saint) take place. Messina celebrates the procession of the vara (processional bier) of Our Lady of the Assumption and of the two giants on horseback, the mythical forefathers of the people of Messina, on the 15th of August. Catania celebrates St. Agatha, the patron saint, by carrying her reliquary laden with precious objects through the city streets, pulled by dozens of believers wearing the traditional white sackcloth (in February). Besides local saints’ festivals, the religious celebrations of Holy Week are also of deep significance for Sicilian people. Particularly suggestive are those held in Enna, Caltanissetta and Trapani. Sicily is deserving of a visit by anybody who wants to really experience a distinct culture, to understand life in the heart of the Mediterranean, and to experience a traditional people indelibly marked by life by
the sea.
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