Greek temples and cyclops skeletons made Sicily an early tourist destination, but few people know about its glory days under Norman occupation. As its treasures go on display at the British Museum, Nicholas Wroe travels to the Mediterranean and back in time It was around 1500BC that sea-faring Greek traders first made landfall on a highly fertile island lying conveniently at the heart of the Mediterranean. In the 3,500 years since, up to and including the recent arrival of up to 400,000 refugees journeying to Europe from north Africa, Sicily’s status as the primary crossroads for both people and ideas in the region has remained intact. Over the centuries its uniquely advantageous geographical position and abundant natural resources have prompted dozens of attempted invasions and seizures of power. Many have been successful, with the upshot often a catalogue of exploitation and neglect as powers great and small took what they could. However, there have been times of more productive engagement between the island and its changing cast of rulers. A new British Museum show, _Sicily: Culture and Conquest_, focuses on two remarkable periods: 200 years of Greek civilisation from the 6th century BC and 100 years of Norman rule in the 12th century AD. For these comparatively brief moments in the island’s long history not only did the world go to Sicily, but a flourishing economic, artistic and political culture extended its influence out into the world. Continue reading...
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