Sicily: Island of Beauty and Conflict

With settlers from early tribes to the Greeks and Romans, through the Arabs, Normans, French, Spanish and finally Italians, the island’s culture has been changed dramatically by each of the foreign powers. In this book, Jeremy Dummett concludes his trilogy on Sicily with an engrossing history of the entire island, through excess of power, a wealth of cultural prosperity and flourishing art, to extreme poverty and oppression in times of war and invasion.

The geography of this Mediterranean island is full of huge variations, from coastal plains with natural harbors to a volcano and a mountainous interior–a decentralized state for most of the past. Dummett delves into the stories and personalities that make up this extraordinary island, with power struggles developing a great cathedral and temples built to impress but never finished; Sicily uncovers the hidden background behind the island’s rich culture.