Fully updated new edition of a key Blue Guide, the guide of choice for experts and independent travelers. Revised and extensively updated, Blue Guide Sicily offers an in-depth history of this historically rich destination. Ellen Grady gives a comprehensive overview of the island—from detailed analyses of cities, sights and works of art to carefully chosen suggestions of where and what to eat and where to stay. The guide is strong on history, art, archaeology, architecture, landscape, conservation and wildlife. Full-color maps, two-tone plans and black-and-white photographs.
Swim in the sparkling Mediterranean, marvel at the peak of Mount Etna, and get to know this region's timeless charm: with Rick Steves on your side, Sicily can be yours! Inside Rick Steves Sicily you'll find: Comprehensive coverage for spending a week or more exploring Sicily Rick's strategic advice on how to get the most out of your time and money, with rankings of his must-see favorites Top sights and hidden gems, from Mount Etna and the Byzantine mosaics of Monreale to the Ballarò street market and Siracusa's puppet museum How to connect with culture: Savor seafood-centric cuisine made from ancient recipes, catch an opera performance at the Teatro Massimo, or sample authentic Marsala wine Beat the crowds, skip the lines, and avoid tourist traps with Rick's candid, humorous insight The best places to eat, sleep, and relax with a glass of local Nero d'Avola Self-guided walking tours of lively neighborhoods and incredible museums Detailed maps for exploring on the go Useful resources including a packing list, a historical overview, and useful Italian phrases Over 350 bible-thin pages include everything worth seeing without weighing you down Complete, up-to-date information on Palermo, Cefalù, Trapani and the West Coast, Agrigento and the Valley of the Temples, Ragusa and the Southeast, Catania, Taormina, and more Make the most of every day and every dollar with Rick Steves Sicily.
A New York Times Book Review Notable Book of the Year A New York Public Library Best Book of the Year From the author of M and A Death in Brazil comes Midnight in Sicily. South of mainland Italy lies the island of Sicily, home to an ancient culture that--with its stark landscapes, glorious coastlines, and extraordinary treasure troves of art and archeology--has seduced travelers for centuries. But at the heart of the island's rare beauty is a network of violence and corruption that reaches into every corner of Sicilian life: Cosa Nostra, the Mafia. Peter Robb lived in southern Italy for over fourteen years and recounts its sensuous pleasures, its literature, politics, art, and crimes.
Take a tour through the Mediterranean’s largest island in this fascinating history of Sicily for armchair travelers, history buffs, and anyone planning their next trip to Italy. PLUS: Includes Sicily travel guide resources like maps, pronunciation keys, and suggestions for further reading! The emigration of people from Sicily often overshadows the importance of the people who immigrated to its shores throughout the centuries. Greeks, Romans, Vandals, Goths, Byzantines, Muslims, Normans, Hohenstaufens, Spaniards, Bourbons, the Savoy Kingdom of Italy—and countless others—have all held sway and left lasting influences on the island’s culture and architecture. Moreover, Sicily’s character has been shaped by what has passed it by. Events that affected Europe, namely the Crusades and Columbus’ discovery of the Americas, had little influence on Italy’s most famous island. A fascinating history of Sicily for the general reader, this book examines how location turned this charming Mediterranean island into the epicenter of major historical conquests, cultures, and more. Complete with maps, biographical notes, suggestions for further reading, a glossary, and pronunciation keys, this is at once a useful travel guide and an informative, entertaining exploration of the island’s remarkable history.
Palermo – the capital of Sicily – is a destination with a difference. The city is a treasure trove of original monuments and works of art, combined with architecture of grand proportions. Yet it also has a grittier side, shown by the continuing influence of the mafia. Jeremy Dummett here provides a concise overview of Palermo's long history, together with a survey of its most important monuments and sites. He looks at the influences of the city's various ancient rulers – the Phoenicians, Romans, Arabs and Normans – as well as its more recent incarnation as part of the Italian state. In addition to being an essential companion for visitors to Palermo, this book can be equally enjoyed as a standalone history of the city and its place at the heart of Sicily
Rising out of shimmering cyan seas, sun-kissed Sicily and its satellite islands are some of the most beautiful in the Mediterranean. An endless coastline of rugged cliffs and sandy beaches encircles a landscape of rolling farmland, dramatic salt pans and windswept mountains. Whether you want to visit Palermo's cutting-edge galleries, explore mysterious ancient ruins in Segesta or hike the craterous trails around majestic Mount Etna, your DK Eyewitness travel guide makes sure you experience all that Sicily has to offer. Our newly updated guide brings Sicily to life, transporting you there like no other travel guide does with expert-led insights, trusted travel advice, detailed breakdowns of all the must-see sights, photographs on practically every page, and our hand-drawn illustrations which place you inside the island's iconic buildings and neighbourhoods.DK Eyewitness Sicily is your ticket to the trip of a lifetime. Inside DK Eyewitness Sicily you will find: - A fully-illustrated top experiences guide: our expert pick of Sicily's must-sees and hidden gems - Accessible itineraries to make the most out of each and every day - Expert advice: honest recommendations for getting around safely, when to visit each sight, what to do before you visit, and how to save time and money - Colour-coded chapters to every part of Sicily, from Palermo to Catania, Taormina to Syracuse - Practical tips: the best places to eat, drink, shop and stay in Sicily - Detailed maps and walks to help you navigate the island easily and confidently - Covers: East Palermo, West Palermo, Beyond the Centre, Northwestern Sicily, and Southwestern Sicily. Touring the country? Try our DK Eyewitness Italy, or if you want the very best of Sicily in your pocket - try our DK Eyewitness Top 10 Sicily. About DK Eyewitness: At DK Eyewitness, we believe in the power of discovery. We make it easy for you to explore your dream destinations.. DK Eyewitness travel guides have been helping travellers to make the most of their breaks since 1993. Filled with expert advice, striking photography and detailed illustrations, our highly visual DK Eyewitness guides will get you closer to your next adventure. We publish guides to more than 200 destinations, from pocket-sized city guides to comprehensive country guides. Named Top Guidebook Series at the 2020 Wanderlust Reader Travel Awards, we know that wherever you go next, your DK Eyewitness travel guides are the perfect companion.
Fully updated new edition of this essential Blue Guide to the city of the Renaissance. Completely updated, this edition contains superb coverage of painting, architecture and sculpture as well as updates on museums including the reorganized Uffizi. Detailed coverage of where to stay and eat. The depth of information and quality of research make this book the best guide for the independent cultural traveller as well as for all students of art history, architecture and Italian culture. Ideal as an on-site guide as well as a desk resource. With maps, plans and photographs.
A blending of art and cultural criticism, travel writing, and personal narrative, Sicilian Odyssey is Francine Prose's imaginative consideration of the diverse cultural legacies found juxtaposed and entangled on the Mediterranean island of Sicily. She writes of the intensity of Sicily, the "commitment to the extreme," where the history is more colorful, the sun hotter, the cooking earthier, the violence more horrific, the carnival more raucous, the politics more Byzantine than other places on Earth, and how much the island can teach us about the triumph of beauty over violence and life over death. Prose examines architectural sites and objects and looks at the ways in which myth and actuality converge. Exploring the intact and beautiful Greek amphitheaters at Siracusa and Taormina, the cathedral at Monreale, the Roman mosaics at Piazza Armerina, and some of the masterpieces of the Baroque scattered throughout the island, Prose focuses her keen insight to imagine them in their own time, to examine the evolution and decline of the cultures that produced them, and to deconstruct powerful responses each evokes in her.
A fully updated guide to the City of Light, with not-to-be-missed information and guidance on Paris's incredible variety of art and architecture, history and culture, all of which are brilliantly described in this fully updated edition. Color photographs, floor plans, maps, diagrams.
