What do you think of when you hear the name Sicily?
Perhaps you envision beautiful beaches with pristine white sands and robin’s egg blue waters. The climate is definitely Mediterranean with short, mild winters and dry hot summers. Sicily, a triangular-shaped island, is surrounded by three seas (the Tyrrhenian Sea to the west, the Ionian Sea to the east, and the Mediterranean Sea to the south). Catania, on the east coast, has the most hours of sunshine of any city in Europe
My husband, the geologist, thinks of volcanoes. Sicily is home to Mount Etna, the tallest (and most famous) volcano in Europe, but there are nine other volcanoes on the island as well. Etna is the most active (yes, it still rumbles several times each year), but Stromboli and Vulcano are active too.
Those who appreciate the arts will remember that Teatro Massimo, on the Piazza Verdi in Palermo, is the largest opera house in all of Italy (and it’s featured in The Godfather, Part Three).
Speaking of The Godfather, Sicily is where the Mafia, or Cosa Nostra, began — a group of men offering…
