Sicily & Malta Spring 2018 — Carol & Scott On The Road

Apr 2

Apr 2 Sicily & Malta Spring 2018

This past Spring (2018) we explored the Mediterranean islands of Sicily and Malta.

Sicily

Sicily is the largest geographical region of Italy and the fourth most populous of the country with 5 million people. It has an amazing history traced back to the stone and bronze ages periods of 7000 BC. Since this time the island has been dominated by many different civilizations, including the Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, Arabs, Normans, Spanish and the British. The location of Sicily was strategic to each of the civilizations located in the middle of the Mediterranean, helping control both commerce and the military. Each succeeding culture has left its mark on the island and helps explain the varied architecture, foods, language/dialect and politics. Finally, by 1860 Sicily was unified with The Kingdom of Italy.

Sicily is one of the poorer regions within Italy. However, the countryside and the people were full of life, beautiful and diverse. As we traveled around the “3 corners” of the country we found mostly farm lands and natural terrain. The countryside was de-forested of Oak trees by the Romans, who used the wood to build their naval fleet and homes.

Sicily still struggles economically due in part to an underlying cultural practice of the “latifundia” or feudal estate, which they are holding on to in a rapidly modernizing world and has roots to the Mafia mentality and practice.

Malta

Malta is officially known as the Republic of Malta consisting of three islands directly south of Sicily. Much of the history of civilizations controlling Malta are the same as Sicily, with the exception when the Knights of St. John (1500’s) were based there while they prepared their operations to retake Rome from the Ottoman Empire. Malta was under the British Empire from 1800, and, ultimately, became independent in 1964. It has a total population of 445,000 but approximately 3 million tourists visit per year!

There is a significant contrast between Sicily and Malta. Right away the level of economic activity, tourists, and wealth (per capita GDP $45,000/year) is evident. There must have been 100+ cranes visible in the Valletta and neighboring areas building new high-rise condos and hotels. In addition to the warm climate and beaches, Malta has several UNESCO World Heritage Sites with impressive architectural and historical monuments displaying some of the oldest free-standing stone and bronze age structures in the world.

During our trip we visited:

Sicily: Syracuse, Ortigia, Taormina, Mount Etna, Catania, Palermo, Agrigento (Valley of the Temples), Ragusa, Cefalu, Villa del Casale

Malta: Valletta, Mdina, Rabat, Gozo, Comino, Blue Lagoon