On a crossroads in the Mediterranean, part of Europe and Africa, yet belonging to neither, Sicily was tramped across by half the ancient civilized world.
As conquerors came and went, they left behind a rich and varied cultural deposit.
This has resulted in a quirky mixture in almost every aspect of the local vernacular from language, customs and cooking to art and, most notably, the diverse architecture of the island.
During the 6th and the 5 th centuries BC, there cannot have been much difference between Athens and the Greek cities of Sicily.
Their ruins are among the most spectacular of the ancient Greek world.
The Sicilian Baroque of the 17th and 18th centuries is just as individual.
The palaces and churches of Palermo, reflecting the elaborate ritual of the Spanish Viceregal court, tend towards extravagant display.
At Noto, Ragusa, Modica, Siracusa and Catania the buildings are a useful vehicle for the Sicilians' love of ornamentation, itself a remnant from the island's early fling with the Arab world.
The style is an expression of the nature of Sicilians, whose sense of pomp and pageantry is both magnificent and extreme.