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Cefalù on Sicily’s north coast: the old town and Norman cathedral below the La Rocca headland

Sicily at a glance: location, sights and regions

Sicily is the largest island in the Mediterranean and an autonomous region of Italy: 25,426 km², around 4.8 million inhabitants, capital Palermo, separated from the mainland only by the Strait of Messina.

Sicily in brief

Is Sicily an island?

Yes. At 25,426 km², Sicily is the largest island in the Mediterranean. The region also includes smaller islands and archipelagos: the Aeolian and Aegadian Islands, Ustica, Pantelleria and the Pelagie Islands with Lampedusa.

Where is Sicily?

In the south of Italy, off the toe of the Italian boot. The Strait of Messina separates it from the mainland and is about 3 km wide at its narrowest. Tunisia lies roughly 145 km away across the Strait of Sicily. The Tyrrhenian Sea borders the north coast, the Ionian Sea the east.

Is Sicily a country?

No. Sicily is one of Italy’s 20 regions and one of the five with a special statute of autonomy. It has its own regional parliament in Palermo, the Assemblea Regionale Siciliana, but it is part of Italy and uses the euro.

Location and landscape

Sicily is a triangle – the Greeks called it Trinacria. Mountains run behind the north coast: the Peloritani, Nebrodi and Madonie. Mount Etna rises in the east, the limestone plateau of the Monti Iblei in the south-east. The interior around Enna and Caltanissetta is rolling wheat country. The coastline measures 1,152 km, rocky in the north, with long sandy beaches in the south.

The regions at a glance

The most important sights in Sicily

Fifteen places selected by Terra Mia Immobiliare, from Mount Etna in the east to the Zingaro nature reserve in the west. Each one has a page of its own.

All places and sights

The regions of Sicily

Sicily is divided into nine provinces: Agrigento, Caltanissetta, Catania, Enna, Messina, Palermo, Ragusa, Syracuse and Trapani. Below are the provinces and island groups with a page of their own.

All regions

Experience Sicily

Beaches, nature reserves, museums, UNESCO sites: each theme leads to every place of its kind, from beach bars to viewpoints.

All experiences

Sicilian cuisine

The island’s cooking carries the marks of its rulers. The Arabs brought citrus, almonds, sugar cane and rice – the basis of arancini; in the west around Trapani, couscous is still everyday food. Add fish from three seas, pistachios from Bronte on the slopes of Etna, and ricotta made from sheep’s milk.

Sicilian cuisine

Planning your trip

Best time to travel

Spring and early autumn: April to June and September to October, with daytime temperatures mostly between 20 and 27 °C. The sea is warm enough to swim from June to October. The travel planner shows the weather month by month.

Sicily month by month

Getting there

Most travelers fly into Catania or Palermo; smaller airports serve Trapani and Comiso. By car, the ferry from Villa San Giovanni crosses to Messina in about 20 minutes. Ferries from Genoa, Livorno, Civitavecchia, Salerno and Naples dock in Palermo.

All about getting there

Places to stay in Sicily

Vacation homes, villas and apartments in Sicily. Terra Mia Immobiliare mediates between guest and host; payment goes directly to the host.

Browse by type: Vacation homes in Sicily · Villas in Sicily · Apartments in Sicily

View All Accommodations

Frequently asked questions about Sicily

Is Sicily part of Italy, or its own country?

Sicily is part of Italy. It is one of the country’s five regions with a special autonomy statute, held since 1946, with its own assembly and wide powers over taxation, tourism and regional planning. It became part of the Kingdom of Italy in 1861; before that it was in turn Greek, Roman, Byzantine, Arab, Norman, Swabian, Spanish and Bourbon — which is why it can feel like a country of its own.

What is Sicily best known for?

Mount Etna, at 3,403 metres Europe’s highest active volcano; some of the best-preserved Greek temples anywhere, at Agrigento, Segesta and Selinunte; the Baroque towns rebuilt after the 1693 earthquake; and the food — arancini, pasta alla Norma, cannoli, granita. Seven sites on the island are on the UNESCO World Heritage list.

Why does Sicily feel different from the rest of Italy?

Because almost everyone ruled it. Greeks, Carthaginians, Romans, Byzantines, Arabs, Normans, Swabians, French, Spanish and Bourbons each left something behind — in the architecture, the language and above all the food. Sicilian is a language in its own right rather than a dialect of Italian, and the island has governed much of its own affairs since the autonomy statute of 1946.

Is Sicily expensive?

Less than northern Italy. A simple dish in a trattoria usually costs 10 to 15 euros, an espresso at the bar about 1.50, street food such as arancini 1.50 to 2. The expense is local rather than general: Taormina and Cefalù in high season, and the rental car, without which the island is hard to travel. The interior and the lesser-known stretches of coast are markedly cheaper.

How many days do you need for Sicily?

Ten to fourteen days for the whole island. A week covers one half — either the east with Etna, Taormina, Syracuse and Noto, or the west with Palermo, Segesta, Trapani and Agrigento. The island measures 25,426 square kilometres, and the drive from Palermo to Syracuse takes around three hours.

When is the best time to visit Sicily?

April to June and September to October. Temperatures then sit mostly between 20 and 27 degrees, the sea still holds the summer’s warmth in early autumn, and there is room at the sights. July and August are the hottest and busiest months — fine for a beach holiday, poor for a road trip. Winter stays mild on the coast, but many seaside resorts close.