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The islands were declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in recognition of the ongoing evolution of the volcanic forms that creates their spectacular scenery. The islands remain an important study area for vulcanologists (see Aeolian Islands).

The Valley of the Temples was the heart of one of the most important cities in the ancient world and is a prime example of the magnificence of Magna Graecia (see Agrigento and the Valle dei Templi).

Bordered by via Vittorio Emanuele and via Maqueda, this rather poor residential area is a maze of streets spanned with billowing laundry. The heart of the neighbourhood is given over to the Ballarò market (see Ballerò, Palermo). Don’t miss the 17th-century Chiesa del Carmine on via Giovanni Grasso with its stuccoed interior and frilly, polychrome cupola.

The Abbey of the Holy Spirit was founded around 1090 by Count Roger and his wife, Adelasia, and consecrated in 1153. It is one of the few Romanesque Norman buildings to remain intact. The exterior is unadorned except for the portals and the small, triple apse articulated with tall, narrow arcading. The interior contains 14th- and 15th-century frescoes and an dedicatory inscription dating from 1153 in the apse.

This tiny village, 950 m (3,100 ft) above sea level, has a lovely medieval centre. In 1090, the already fortified village was taken from the Arabs by the Norman king Count Roger, who built the Chiesa Madre and fortified the now ruined castle. It was in this castle in 1194 that William III, heir to the Norman throne, and his mother were imprisoned and probably murdered by Emperor Henry VI; it was also the site of the signing of the 1302 peace treaty between Frederick II of Aragón and Charles of Valois, putting an end to the Sicilian Vespers (see The Sicilian Vespers).

Frederick II built this castle around 1239. It takes its name from the Byzantine George Maniakes who “liberated” Syracuse in the 11th century.

All of Sicily’s invaders needed to defend their position, so they built fortified castles along the coastline and on high points inland to guard the roads and towns. Sicily’s countless castles are rich in history and offer plenty of good romping around the ramparts, searching for secret passageways, dungeons, trapdoors, tiny spy windows and hidden places from which the occupants would pour boiling oil down onto the enemy (see Castles).