Page 22 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Sicily

20  INTRODUCING SICIL Y

The picturesque hilltop town of Taormina, with Mount Etna in the background

Mount Etna) and, just a few miles away, unique nature a point of honour (in a
the paradise of Taormina. Then there are spirit of independence they used to call
the splendid verdant coasts, with the arid the rest of Italy “the continent”). Today
interior a stone’s throw away, marvellous this society is at a crossroads
towns overlooking the sea, and villages between tradition and
perched on hilltops surrounded by modernity, much more so than
inhospitable, barren uplands. An other Mediterranean regions.
aerial view of this unique island Sicilian society is attempting
offers a spectacle that is at to reconcile newer lifestyles
once both magnificent and and outlooks with deeply
awe-inspiring. rooted age-old customs.
One of the poorest regions
Economy and Society in Italy, Sicily has had to strive
The historic, geographic for a more streamlined and
and climatic differences in profitable economy against
Sicily have produced a A watermelon seller in Palermo the resistance of the ancient
complex and varied society. latifundia (feudal estate)
Yet Sicilians have a strong sense of system, just as the fervent civic and
identity and for centuries made their democratic spirit of the Sicilian people
clashes with what remains of
Mafia mentality and practice.
The criminal organization known
to all as the Mafia is one of Sicily’s
most notorious creations.
Sociologists and criminologists
both in Italy and abroad have
tried to define the phenomenon
without success. Is it a criminal
structure that is simply stronger
and more efficiently organized
than others, partly because of
the massive emigration in the
early 20th century, which took
many Sicilians to the other
Villagers observing passers-by side of the Atlantic? Or is it

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