Writing with his customary deftness and humor, Norwich outlines the surprising influence Sicily has had on world history-the Romans’ fascination with Greek civilization dates back to their sack of Sicily-and tells the story of one of the world’s most kaleidoscopic cultures in a galvanizing, contemporary way. From its beginnings as a Greek city-state to its emergence as a multicultural trading hub during the Crusades, from the rebellion against Italian unification to the rise of the Mafia, the story of Sicily is rich with extraordinary moments and dramatic characters. Here is a vivid, erudite, page-turning chronicle of an island and the remarkable kings, queens, and tyrants who fought to rule it. John Julius Norwich’s engrossing narrative is the first to knit together all of the colorful strands of Sicilian history into a single comprehensive study. Yet Sicily has often been little more than a footnote in books about other empires.
The subsequent struggles to conquer and keep it have played crucial roles in the rise and fall of the world’s most powerful dynasties. Sicily’s strategic location has tempted Roman emperors, French princes, and Spanish kings. “Sicily,” said Goethe, “is the key to everything.” It is the largest island in the Mediterranean, the stepping-stone between Europe and Africa, the link between the Latin West and the Greek East. Critically acclaimed author John Julius Norwich weaves the turbulent story of Sicily into a spellbinding narrative that places the island at the crossroads of world history.
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