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This free publication lists complete offerings of music, theatre and art for Palermo and Catania. It’s a good way to find information about summer festivals, and is available at tourist offices, cinemas, bars and cafés (see Lapis).

Check this free publication for listings of all music, theatre and art happenings in Palermo, including summer music festivals organized in the Giardini Inglese and Fiera del Mediterraneo. Available at tourist offices, cinemas, bars and cafés.

The system of single-owner wheat farms (latifondi ) was codified by the Normans, so by the 1880s farmers had to compete for miniscule plots of land, resulting in mass poverty and eventually, mass immigration.

The proprietor of this jewellery store in Taormina creates pieces from old stones, inspired by historical motifs; she also works on commission if you create your own design.

Owner Ignazio Altieri makes his clients feel at home, whether on the terrace with views of the Valle dei Templi or in the cool, wood-panelled and brocade dining room. The cuisine is modern Italian with an international twist although the menu makes the dishes seem more complicated than they are. Try prawn risotto or grilled tuna with cous cous (see Il Déhors de l’Hotel Foresteria Baglio della Luna, Agrigento).

Rosemarie Ferlito and Tomas Schuster work with local organic farmers and oil millers to procure the highest quality Sicilian ingredients for their sott’oli – foods preserved under Nocellara del Belice olive oil. Artichokes and aubergines (eggplants) are cooked in vinegar and packed under a layer of olive oil. Sundried tomatoes are chopped fine and mixed with anchovies and pecorino cheese to make cappuliato . And it takes a total of four days to make Corali di Sicilia – small hot peppers stuffed with capers and anchovies. Their hand-made products are of the maximum quality and flavour.

This popular and friendly trattoria is run by two brothers (not sisters, as the name suggests). The menu changes regularly and there is a good wine list.

King Roger’s 12th-century French court poets told stories of Charlemagne and the paladins and the King Arthur cycle which once included Sicily in its milieu: Morgan Le Fay took wounded King Arthur to recover in a cave on Mount Etna. The paladins survive today as puppet theatre heroes (see Puppet Traditions and Museums) and Morgan Le Fay retained her presence in Sicily as Fata Morgana , who appears as a mirage over the Straits of Messina.

Sciascia (1921–89) was a political essayist and novelist. Works such as The Wine Dark Sea give insight into the complicated world of Sicilian thinking and Mafia culture.