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Visconti’s 1948 adaptation of Verga’s I Malavoglia , the story of a fisherman’s failed dream of independence.

A deep natural lake south of Enna is the supposed site of the passage from Earth to the Underworld.

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.

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.

Born at Caos near Agrigento, Pirandello (1867–1936) is known as the founder of 20th-century drama. His best-known work is the play Six Characters in Search of an Author (1921).

More than 350 mafiosi were convicted during the late 1980s, as a result of which the judges Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino were murdered in 1992. “Boss of Bosses” Salvatore “Totò” Riina was finally convicted of arranging the murders.

The market typically bustles with local housewives and vendors yelling out the merits of their wares. Farmers and fishermen heap mussels, tomatoes, cherries or whatever is plentiful into colourful mounds to entice customers.

The monastery and Church of the Assumption were founded by William II in 1174. His tomb, along with the tombs of his family members including his father and mother, King William I and Queen Margaret, are located in the transept (see Monreale).

Morgantina was an important commercial centre along the trade route from the north coast of Sicily and the Aeolian Islands to the south, and extensive ancient remains have recently been excavated here. Deep in Sicani and Sicel territory, the city flourished during the Hellenistic and Roman periods, and most of the ruins date from that time (see Morgantina).