Sicily

Sicily (Sicilia in Italian) is an autonomous region of Italy and the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, with an area of 25,700 sq. km and 5 million inhabitants.

Sicilian people

In the broadest sense of the term, Sicilians are those people who live in or whose ancestors lived in Sicily.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Sicily has been long known as a "melting pot" of ancient cultures and peoples, and highly valued for its location. The inhabitants of this region are therefore descended from numerous peoples, mainly Greeks, peninsular Italians, Phoenicians, Saracen Arabs and the pre-colonial indigenous peoples known as Sicans/Sicani (generally residing in the west of Sicily and possibly an Iberian tribe), the Elymi, and the Sicels/Siculi (residing mostly in the eastern portion of the Sicilian territory and probably an Italic tribe).

Related Topics:
Melting pot - Greeks - Italians - Phoenicians - Saracen Arabs - Sicani - Iberian - Elymi - Siculi

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

There is also the presence of Norman, Lombard, Provençal, Aragonese and Castilian blood in some Sicilians, due to either conquest of, or migration here.

Related Topics:
Norman - Lombard - Provençal - Aragonese - Castilian

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

A common presumption about the peopling of Sicily has been as follows:

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

::Sicilians residing in the east, southeast, and northeast portions of the region are primarily of Greek (and probably Sicel) descent. Cities such as Syracuse (Sirakousa), Messina (Zankle), Agrigento (Akragas), and Taormina/Giardini-Naxos, were originally Greek settlements. In the southwest, west, and northwest of the region, the inhabitants are primarily of Phoenician/Arab and Sican descent. Cities such as Trapani and Palermo were Phoenician settlements.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

However, a recent genetic study (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=9686481&itool=iconabstr, Department of Biology, University of Rome, Tor Vergata, Italy) rejects the above assertions:

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

::The genetic distance matrix used for identifying the main genetic barriers revealed no east-west differences within the region's population, at least at the provincial level. FST estimates proved that the population subdivision did not affect the pattern of gene frequency variation; this implies that Sicily is effectively one panmictic unit. The bulk of our results confirm the absence of genetic differentiation between eastern and western Sicilians, and thus we reject the hypothesis of the subdivision of an ancient population in two areas.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The few Sicilians with Norman or Spanish blood are found mostly in the large northern cities such as Palermo and Cefalu. Sicilians of Lombard descent are to be found primarily in the centre and central-east of Sicily, in towns such as Piazza Amerina, Nicosia and Aidone, where a Gallic-Italic dialect is spoken to this day. There were also significant Lombard settlements in Randazzo and Paternó in the middle ages. San Fratello, in the Province of Messina, was the destination of a large contingent of mercenaries from Provence in the middle ages, and to this day, the San Fratellans speak a unique Provençal-Sicilian dialect.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Sicilians are noted for having very dark and expressive eyes; "the eyes of Sicily".

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~