Sicily

Vulcano is one of the Aeolian islands located across the North of Sicily. This place has a growing appeal among the travelers owing to the presence of hot springs and its lovely black sand beach. Besides, this island offers lot of good opportunities for visitors to take baths in the natural mud baths and also experience the journey of climbing to reach the summit of the volcano. As you land in this place through a ferry, you will be able to experience the breathtaking beauty of this island. This island mainly comprises of sulphurous gases coming out from the volcano and you can watch the bubbles coming out from the sea.

Among the Aeolian Islands, Stromboli is the smallest of islands located across the Tyrrhenian Sea, just to the north of Sicily. In fact, Stromboli is an active volcano in a continuous state of activity known for its violent eruptions. The volcanic island is about 900 metres in height, but reaches down to 2000 metres below sea level. It is regarded as one of the biggest active volcanos, after Etna, in Europe. Visitors can enjoy the breathtaking view of the volcanic crater and enjoy the experience of watching the rugged coastline along with wonderful scenic beauty with trekking activities.

Frederick of Hohenstaufen (known in Italian as: Federico VII Hohenstaufen di Svevia, Federico I di Sicilia, and Federico II del Sacro Romano Impero), was the larger than life King of Sicily, Holy Roman Emperor and (briefly) King of Jerusalem - a legend in his own time. Better known as Frederick II (Federico II) , He was unlike any other ruler during the Middle Ages, possessing the mind of a scientist, the soul of a poet and the iron will of an autocrat. Much of Frederick’s fame in his own time stemmed from his brilliant mind, as his appearance was less than awe-inspiring.

For many third-generation Sicilian Americans, concepts of the "old country" are vague and it is often hard to get any real information about your ancestry. My family was no different, as none of my blood relatives have been to Sicily, let alone our hometown of Terrasini. In fact most of my community can trace at least one ancestor to this small village west of Palermo and those lucky enough to go has said wonderful things about the place. Therefore during my backpacking trip through Europe in 2001 my girlfriend (whose family also hails from this town) and myself vowed to visit. And while we only visited for a day, it was an experience of a lifetime.

It has been said that Sicilians have an obsession with death. It is still very common to see elderly Sicilian widows wearing black for the remainder of their lives and a tradition of professional mourners once existed for centuries. It is hard to say where this cult of the dead comes from, either from the deep rooted Catholic faith or perhaps a holdover from ancient Greek and Roman times. Regardless of the origins, notions about death are still alive in Sicily, and no place better exemplifies this than Palermo's Capuchin Crypt. This macabre display is one of a

Any visitor to Palermo has seen them: Shops selling wooden marionettes, bedecked in bronze armor with historic names like Orlando and Rinaldo. They may look like tacky souvenirs made for the tourist market but these marionettes are a core symbol of Sicilian folk-art and as integral to the Island's cultural identity as painted horse carts and cannoli. The marionettes are the major props in the Opera dei Pupi, a traditional form of Sicilian entertainment that is trying to survive in the age of mass media and television. Today the shops selling replica marionettes outnumber the actual theatres but there are still several family-run