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Article: Embracing Sicily's past; Varied rulers leave remarkable sites to explore.(TRAVEL)
- Article from:
- The Washington Times (Washington, DC)
- Article date:
- August 24, 2002
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2002 News World Communications, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Byline: Phyllis Meras, SPECIAL TO THE WASHINGTON TIMES
Sicily, at 9,826 square miles, is the Mediterranean's largest island, and its Mount Etna, 10,900 feet high, is Europe's largest active volcano. The island also has some of the best-preserved Greek and Roman remnants in Europe.
Before I visited Sicily in spring, I knew relatively little about the island - surely nothing of its history under its many conquerors. Not only were Greeks and Romans its rulers, but Arabs, Normans, German Swabians and Spanish Bourbons. I did not know that once there had been a kingdom of Palermo and a kingdom of Naples and that they had united to form the Kingdom of the Two ...