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The archaeological park on the island of Motya starts and ends with a short boat ride across the lagoon (less than 10 minutes each way). The park itself is wide open, and offers excellent examples to inquisitive kids of how the Phoenicians and then the Carthaginians lived and fortified their villages. In addition to Motya, all of Sicily’s archaeological parks offer space to run around and usually ruins to climb about on (see Motya).

The island city in the lagoon between Marsala and Trapani was used from the 8th century BC by the Phoenicians as a base for controlling shipping routes in the eastern Mediterranean. It became a Carthaginian stronghold until its complete destruction by Syracuse in 397 BC. Today, the small island is covered with remains of that great city – walls with fortified gates and towers surround the entire perimeter and there is a man-made harbour within the walls. Ancient paved roads and sacred and residential areas can also be clearly seen (see Marsala).

This, the largest and most active volcano in Europe, has been threatening the island since before records began. Its awesome presence dominates eastern Sicily (see Mount Etna).

Europe’s largest active volcano dominates Sicily – from much of the island it is rarely out of sight and never out of mind (see Mount Etna).

Enjoy amazing sunsets and sunrises from high on the slopes of Mount Etna. The early morning sunrise offers spectacular colours and excellent views as the sky is often clear at this time. Or stay below and take advantage of the sunrise to fully appreciate the magnitude of the volcano whose shadow stretches far to the west.

Palermo’s regional archaeology museum displays finds from archaeological sites all over western Sicily, from the Neolithic age through to the Roman period. Among Punic and Egyptian objects is the Palermo Stone (c.2700 BC) with a hieroglyphic inscription recording a delivery of 40 boat-loads of Sicilian lumber to an Egyptian Pharaoh. There are also numerous Etruscan artifacts, Greek vases and Greek and Roman sculpture, but the highlight of the collection are the Archaic and Classical metopes recovered from Selinunte (see Selinunte).

Objects recovered from sites throughout western Sicily illustrate the development of art and culture from prehistoric eras to the Roman period.

One of the most important archaeological museums in Sicily documents the ancient cultures and civilizations of both the city of Syracuse and eastern Sicily (see Archaeology Museum Highlights).

The collection is the patrimony of the Puglisi family, pupari for five generations. The master was Don Ignazio il Pastaro, who learned the craft from his father and passed it down to his sons and grandsons. He built up the collection of puppets, scenery and manuscripts by purchasing entire workshops of famous pupari from the areas around Catania and Syracuse as they went out of business.