DK Travel : Sicily

The island of Sicily is Italy’s largest region and is also its most varied. In terms of geography, there are offshore islands, endless coastline, rugged mountains, rolling wheatfields and volcanos, but its history and architecture are also of note. Sicily formed a significant portion of the Greek empire, was strategically vital to Rome, and was invaded in succession by the Byzantines, Arabs, Normans, French, Spanish and Bourbons, before unifying with Italy. Each conquest left its mark, to create a palimpsest of cultures on the island.

Museo del Macino del Grano, Palazzolo Acreide

An antique water-powered grain mill has been restored and put back into action, complete with the mill stones that grind wheat into flour for bread and pasta.
Museo del Sale

Just south of Trapani, the small museum of salt is located inside a restored windmill. Its fascinating exhibits show how the windmill transfers water from pool to pool and grinds the harvested salt. Work in the salt pans themselves is on-going and you can see each stage that goes into transforming sea water to table salt (see Saline, Salt Pans).
Museo delle Saline, Trapani

Housed in a restored windmill, exhibits here trace each fascinating stage of traditional salt-making, from filling the salt pans with sea water, to evaporation, recovering, storing, cleaning and grinding the salt (see Saline, Salt Pans).
Museo Iblea delle Arti e Tradizioni Popolari SA Guastella, Modica

Here, rooms from a peasant’s home, artisans’ workshops and laboratories are faithfully recreated. See typical workshops of the blacksmith, basketmaker, shoemaker, cartmaker, and a complete pastry workshop with original utensils.
Museo Internazionale delle Marionette Antonio Pasqualino, Palermo

The extensive collection includes examples of puppet traditions from all over the world. Among the puppets and scenery are examples of famous Sicilian pupari (puppeteers) representing the Palermo and Catania schools, complete with puppets, stages and sets. There is a theatre with performances staged by the Cuticchio family (see Teatro Luigi Pirandello, Agrigento).
Museo Marionette

An extensive collection of worldwide puppet traditions (see Puppet Traditions and Museums).
Museo Pitrè

Founded in 1909 by Giuseppe Pitrè, chronicler of Sicilian customs, the museum preserves objects such as folk art and furniture.
Museo Regionale Agostino Pepoli, Trapani

The museum, housed in a 17th-century former monastery, is known for its extensive collection of decorative arts spanning from the 1600s to the 1800s, and includes coral pieces, jewellery and Nativity scene figurines.
Museo Regionale Archeologico, Agrigento

Extensive collections of archaeo-logical finds from Agrigento and related cities reveal the Bronze Age through to Hellenization and the Roman age (see Archaeological Museum Exhibits).
Museo Regionale di Messina

This museum is home to architectural, sculptural and decorative fragments recovered from Messina’s churches after the 1908 earthquake, as well as paintings and sculpture. Highlights include two works painted by Caravaggio during his stay in Messina in 1608–09: The Raising of Lazarus and The Adoration of the Shepherds with dramatically lit, monumental figures.