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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, size and key facts

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 southeast. 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

Sicily in numbers: size, population, cities and seas

The questions visitors ask most, answered with figures. Where a figure covers the main island only and where it covers the whole region is stated each time.

How big is Sicily?

The main island covers 25,426 km² (about 9,800 square miles); with its offshore islands the region reaches roughly 25,800 km². That makes Sicily the largest region in Italy. From Trapani in the west to Messina in the east it is a little over 160 miles as the crow flies, and the drive from Palermo to Syracuse takes about three hours.

How many people live in Sicily?

About 4.78 million at the start of 2025, roughly 185 people per square kilometer (480 per square mile). Palermo is the largest city with about 630,000 residents, followed by Catania with about 300,000 and Messina with about 215,000. The population has been shrinking slightly for years.

How is Sicily divided?

Into 391 municipalities and nine areas that most maps still label as provinces. Since 2015 three of them are metropolitan cities (Palermo, Catania and Messina), and the other six (Agrigento, Caltanissetta, Enna, Ragusa, Syracuse and Trapani) are free municipal consortia. The license plates and most travel guides still use the old province names.

Which cities and ports does Sicily have?

Palermo, Catania and Messina are the three big cities, all on the coast and all with a port. Ferries run from Palermo to the mainland, the ferry from Messina crosses to Villa San Giovanni, and Catania has the busiest airport on the island. Smaller ports are the gateways to the offshore islands: Trapani for the Aegadian Islands and Pantelleria, Milazzo for the Aeolian Islands, Porto Empedocle for Lampedusa and Pozzallo for Malta.

Which seas surround Sicily?

The Tyrrhenian Sea lies to the north and the Ionian Sea to the east; to the south and west the open Mediterranean, here called the Strait of Sicily, separates the island from Tunisia. The Strait of Messina in the northeast joins the Tyrrhenian and the Ionian Sea. Malta is about 55 miles from the south coast, Tunisia about 90 miles.

Is Sicily the largest island in the Mediterranean?

Yes, and the largest island of Italy as well. Sardinia comes second with roughly 24,000 km², followed by Cyprus (about 9,250), Corsica (about 8,700) and Crete (about 8,300). Sicily is more than two and a half times the size of Cyprus.

Where the main cities are

Sicily is a triangle off the toe of Italy’s boot. Palermo sits on the northwest coast, Catania and Mount Etna in the east, Syracuse in the southeast, Trapani and Marsala in the west and Agrigento on the south coast. The A18, A19, A20 and A29 highways link Palermo, Catania, Messina and Trapani.

The seven airports for a holiday in Sicily, with motorways and provinces. Reggio Calabria lies on the mainland, across the strait from Messina.
Map of Sicily showing the airports of Palermo (PMO), Trapani (TPS), Catania (CTA), Comiso (CIY), Pantelleria (PNL), Lampedusa (LMP) and Reggio Calabria (REG), the A18, A19, A20 and A29 motorways and the nine provinces
Airports, ferries and highways in detail

Sicily in six places

Six 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.

Things to see in Sicily All destinations
  • Volcano Etna

    Volcano Etna

    More than 3,300 m high and almost constantly active; from the south, a cable car and 4x4 buses climb to about 2,900 m.

  • Taormina

    Taormina

    The Greek-Roman theater above the bay of Naxos, with Etna in the background.

  • Cefalù

    Cefalù

    A Norman cathedral from 1131 below the La Rocca headland, part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

  • San Vito lo Capo

    San Vito lo Capo

    A pale sandy beach in the northwest, host of the Cous Cous Fest every September.

  • Zingaro

    Zingaro

    Sicily’s first nature reserve (1981): about 7 km of coast with no road along it.

  • Scala dei Turchi

    Scala dei Turchi

    A white marl cliff near Realmonte that drops to the sea in steps.

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 fall: April to June and September to October, with daytime temperatures mostly between 20 and 27 °C (68 to 81 °F). The sea is warm enough to swim from June to October. The travel planner shows the weather month by month.

Sicily month by month

Arrival

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

Climate, volcanoes and nature

Sun, volcanoes and mountains decide how Sicily feels. Four key facts.

Climate

Mediterranean, with hot, dry summers and mild, rainy winters. In Palermo daytime highs reach about 88 °F in July and August and about 59 °F in January. Most rain falls between October and March. The scirocco wind can push summer temperatures past 104 °F; on August 11, 2021, 48.8 °C (119.8 °F) was measured near Syracuse, a European record.

Mount Etna

Europe’s highest active volcano rises above Catania at more than 10,800 feet and has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2013. Its height changes with its eruptions. The summit area is snowy in winter; in summer the slopes are hiking country.

Volcanic islands

Stromboli erupts almost continuously, and Vulcano steams from its crater. The seven inhabited Aeolian Islands have been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2000.

Nature reserves

Three regional parks cover the mountains: Madonie, Nebrodi and Etna. On the coast are reserves such as Zingaro, Sicily’s first nature reserve (1981), and Vendicari near Noto, plus the salt pans between Trapani and Marsala.

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

Festivals through the year

Plan a trip around a festival and the island shows its liveliest side. Five recurring events.

  • February

    The Carnival of Acireale, at the foot of Etna, is among the best known in Italy, with floats of papier-mâché and flowers.

  • Holy Week

    Processions pass through almost every town. The best known is the Misteri of Trapani, which begins on Good Friday and lasts about 24 hours.

  • May

    In Noto the Infiorata covers the streets with carpets of flowers.

  • Mid-July

    The Festino di Santa Rosalia in Palermo honors the city’s patron saint with a procession and fireworks.

  • September

    At the Cous Cous Fest in San Vito lo Capo, couscous takes over the town for several days, with chefs from many countries.

Sicily month by month

A short history of Sicily

Temples, Arab domes and Norman cathedrals on one island: five chapters explain why.

  1. From the 8th century BC

    Phoenicians and Greeks found cities. Syracuse, Naxos and Agrigento become Greek, and the temples of Agrigento, Selinunte and Segesta still stand.

  2. 241 BC

    After the First Punic War, Sicily becomes Rome’s first province outside the Italian mainland.

  3. 827 to 1091

    Arabs conquer the island and make Palermo its capital. They bring citrus fruit, sugarcane and irrigation. In 1091 Noto, the last Arab stronghold, falls to the Normans.

  4. 1130

    Roger II is crowned King of Sicily in Palermo. The cathedrals of Cefalù and Monreale date from the Norman period; both belong to the UNESCO World Heritage Site Arab-Norman Palermo.

  5. 1860 to 1946

    Garibaldi lands at Marsala in 1860, and in 1861 Sicily joins the Kingdom of Italy. In 1946 the island receives its statute of autonomy.

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, Europe’s highest active volcano at more than 3,300 meters; 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 get around. 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 kilometers, 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.

What currency is used in Sicily, and what do travelers need to enter?

Sicily uses the euro, runs on Central European Time (usually six hours ahead of New York) and has 230-volt outlets, so US devices often need an adapter and sometimes a converter. Italy is in the EU and the Schengen Area. US citizens need a valid passport; entry rules change, so it is worth checking the current requirements before departure.

What do Sicilians eat for breakfast?

Granita with a brioche is a classic Sicilian breakfast, especially in summer. Granita is a semi-frozen ice, classically almond, coffee, lemon or mulberry. The brioche is a soft bun topped with a small knob of dough, the tuppo, and many people dip it into the granita.

What fruit is Sicily known for?

For blood oranges, lemons and prickly pears. The Tarocco, Moro and Sanguinello blood oranges grow in eastern Sicily, in the provinces of Catania, Enna and Syracuse and around Mount Etna, and are protected as Arancia Rossa di Sicilia (PGI). Limone di Siracusa and Limone dell’Etna lemons both hold PGI status, and the prickly pears from the slopes of Etna are protected as Ficodindia dell’Etna (PDO).

How do you say “hi” in Sicilian?

Among friends, Sicilians say ciao, as in the rest of Italy. The traditional Sicilian greeting is sabbinirica, also spelled sabbenedica: a form of blessing for elders and for anyone owed respect, used both on arrival and when leaving. The usual reply is “sabbinirica a Vossia.”