Sicily: Island of Beauty and Conflict
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Overview
A guide to the fascinating and diverse history and culture of Sicily.
The book includes key events, places and artists highlighted in wide-ranging articles presented in four parts: History, Cities, Ancient Sites and Artists. A rich tapestry emerges of an island that has experienced dramatic changes of fortune while becoming a melting-pot of cultural influences from the eastern Mediterranean, North Africa and mainland Italy. It also includes commentary on the monuments and works of art to be seen today, linking Sicily past and present.
Follow the stories of Dionysius’ castle, the foundation of the cathedral at Monreale, the Sicilian poets who invented the sonnet and the British merchants who made Marsala wine an international brand.
Tour the big cities of Catania and Messina, the resorts of Taormina and Cefalù, and the baroque hilltowns of south-eastern Sicily. Explore the ancient sites, among them Segesta, Selinunte and Agrigento.
Witness the originality of the island’s culture through the profiles of eight artists, sculptors and architects from the Renaissance to the twentieth century including Antonello da Messina, Giacomo Serpotta and Renato Guttuso, as well as Caravaggio, who left some of his last masterpieces on the island.
This book complements the author’s previous work on Syracuse and Palermo, filling in gaps in the island’s story, to form a comprehensive trilogy on Sicily.
A guide to the fascinating and diverse history and culture of Sicily.
Author with track-record
Sicily a strong seller and tourist destination
For armchair travellers and visitors
Foreword
PART I: History
1. Introduction
2. The Castle of Dionysius
3. Sicily under the Roman Republic
4. The Arabs in Sicily
5. The Cathedral at Monreale
6. Frederick II and the Sicilian Poets
7. Domenico Caracciolo, the Reforming Viceroy
8. The British Wine Merchants
9. The Revolution of 1848
PART II: Cities
10. Introduction
11. Catania, Sicily’s commercial capital, and Mount Etna
12. Taormina, Sicily’s top international resort
13. Messina, port with connections to mainland Italy
14. Cefalù, seaside town with a Norman cathedral
15. Noto, baroque hill town
16. Ragusa and Modica, baroque hill towns
17. Palazzolo Acreide, baroque hill town
18. Marsala, ancient Lilybaeum, port city famous for its wine
PART III: Ancient Sites
19. Introduction
20. Pantàlica, a pre-historic site
21. Segesta, an Elymian city, with a Greek temple
22. Selinunte, ancient Selinus, a Greek city
23. Agrigento, ancient Akragas, a Greek city
24. Mozia, ancient Motya, a Punic city
25. Villa Casale at Piazza Armerina, a Roman villa
PART IV: Artists
26. Introduction
27. Antonello da Messina, Renaissance painter
28. Antonello Gagini, Renaissance sculptor
29. Caravaggio, baroque painter
30. Pietro Novelli, baroque painter
31. Giacomo Serpotta, baroque sculptor
32. Rosario Gagliardi, baroque architect
33. Ernesto Basile, architect of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries
34. Renato Guttuso, twentieth century painter
Notes
Bibliography
Acknowledgements
Maps
Index
Jeremy Dummett is an expert in the history of Italy, with a deep understanding of Sicilian culture in particular, and this latest release completes his trilogy of books about the island... The author deftly pulls the diverse strands together by delving into the history and personalities that make up the fabric of this extraordinary island.
Dummett is a historian and this is his third book about the island off Italy’s toe; he evidently loves the place and has
researched it in detail.
- Title: Sicily: Island of Beauty and Conflict
- Author: Jeremy Dummett
- Publisher: Tauris Parke
- Print Publication Date: 2020
- Logos Release Date: 2024
- Pages: 320
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Ebook
- ISBNs: 9780755601905, 9781838602161, 183860216X, 0755601904
- Resource ID: LLS:9780755601905
- Resource Type: Monograph
- Metadata Last Updated: 2025-04-22T14:37:40Z
Jeremy Dummett is an expert on the history and culture of Sicily and the author of Syracuse, City of Legends: A Glory of Sicily and Palermo, City of Kings: The Heart of Sicily. He read history at Trinity College, Cambridge, and during his professional career lived for many years in Italy. Since retiring, he has been a regular visitor to Sicily. His website is www.jeremydummett.com