coastline - Beautiful Nation Photos - Beautiful Nation Project ☸2024-03-29T12:25:01Zhttp://www.beautifulnationproject.org/photos/feed/tag/coastlineOff the coast of Sicilyhttp://www.beautifulnationproject.org/photos/140-offthecoastofsicily2013-11-18T21:36:00.000Z2013-11-18T21:36:00.000ZTonia Lovejoyhttp://www.beautifulnationproject.org/members/1t0iivl53551v<div><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/7252564?profile=RESIZE_400x&width=400"></div><div><p><b>Sicily</b> (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italian_language" title="Italian language">Italian</a>: <span lang="it" xml:lang="it"><i>Sicilia</i></span> <span title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)" class="IPA"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_Italian" title="Help:IPA for Italian">[siˈtʃiːlja]</a></span>) is the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_islands_in_the_Mediterranean" title="List of islands in the Mediterranean">largest island</a> in the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mediterranean_Sea" title="Mediterranean Sea">Mediterranean Sea</a>; along with surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Region_of_Italy" title="Region of Italy" class="mw-redirect">autonomous region</a> of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italy" title="Italy">Italy</a>, the <b>Regione Siciliana</b>(Sicilian Region).</p>
<p>Sicily is located in the central Mediterranean. It extends from the tip of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apennine_peninsula" title="Apennine peninsula" class="mw-redirect">Apennine peninsula</a>, from which it is separated only by the narrow <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strait_of_Messina" title="Strait of Messina">Strait of Messina</a>, towards the North African coast. Its most prominent landmark is <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Etna" title="Mount Etna">Mount Etna</a>, which is at 3,320 m (10,890 ft) the tallest active <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volcano" title="Volcano">volcano</a> in Europe and one of the most active in the world. The island has a typical<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mediterranean_climate" title="Mediterranean climate">Mediterranean climate</a>.</p>
<p>The earliest archeological evidence of human dwelling on the island dates from as early as 8000 BC. At around 750 BC, Sicily was host to a number of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phoenicia" title="Phoenicia">Phoenician</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greeks_in_Italy" title="Greeks in Italy">Greek colonies</a> and for the next 600 years it was the site of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek-Punic_wars" title="Greek-Punic wars" class="mw-redirect">Greek–Punic</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Punic_Wars" title="Punic Wars">Roman–Punic wars</a>, which ended with the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Republic" title="Roman Republic">Roman</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Destruction_of_Carthage" title="Destruction of Carthage" class="mw-redirect">destruction</a> of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Carthage" title="History of Carthage">Carthage</a>. After the fall of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Empire" title="Roman Empire">Roman Empire</a> in the 5th century AD, Sicily often changed hands, and during the early Middle Ages it was ruled in turn by the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vandals" title="Vandals">Vandals</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ostrogoths" title="Ostrogoths">Ostrogoths</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Byzantine_Empire" title="Byzantine Empire">Byzantines</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emirate_of_Sicily" title="Emirate of Sicily">Arabs</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norman_conquest_of_southern_Italy" title="Norman conquest of southern Italy">Normans</a>. Later on, the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_of_Sicily" title="Kingdom of Sicily">Kingdom of Sicily</a> lasted between 1130 and 1816, first subordinated to the crowns of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crown_of_Aragon" title="Crown of Aragon">Aragon</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crown_of_Spain" title="Crown of Spain" class="mw-redirect">Spain</a>, the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holy_Roman_Empire" title="Holy Roman Empire">Holy Roman Empire</a>, and finally unified under the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bourbons" title="Bourbons" class="mw-redirect">Bourbons</a> with <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_of_Naples" title="Kingdom of Naples">Naples</a>, as the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_of_the_Two_Sicilies" title="Kingdom of the Two Sicilies">Kingdom of the Two Sicilies</a>. Following the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Expedition_of_the_Thousand" title="Expedition of the Thousand">Expedition of the Thousand</a>, a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giuseppe_Garibaldi" title="Giuseppe Garibaldi">Giuseppe Garibaldi</a>-led revolt during the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italian_Unification" title="Italian Unification" class="mw-redirect">Italian Unification</a> process and a plebiscite, it became part of Italy in 1860. After the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birth_of_the_Italian_Republic" title="Birth of the Italian Republic" class="mw-redirect">birth of the Italian Republic</a> in 1946, Sicily was given special status as an autonomous region.</p>
<p>Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_of_Sicily" title="Music of Sicily">music</a>, literature, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sicilian_cuisine" title="Sicilian cuisine">cuisine</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sicilian_Baroque" title="Sicilian Baroque">architecture</a>. Sicily also holds importance for <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archeological" title="Archeological" class="mw-redirect">archeological</a> and ancient sites such as the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Necropolis_of_Pantalica" title="Necropolis of Pantalica">Necropolis of Pantalica</a>, the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valle_dei_Templi" title="Valle dei Templi">Valley of the Temples</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selinunte" title="Selinunte">Selinunte</a>.</p>
<p>[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sicily" target="_blank">Source</a>]</p>
<p><a href="http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&q=Sicily&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Sicily&t=m&z=8&source=embed" id="my_href" name="my_href"><img src="http://maps.google.com/maps/api/staticmap?language=en&center=Sicily&zoom=8&size=560x365&format=png32&maptype=roadmap&markers=Sicily&sensor=false" id="my_src" height="365" width="560" name="my_src" /></a></p>
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