Modern Sicily: The History and Legacy of the Mediterranean Island Since the Middle Ages

It is hard to find an island on the map more central than Sicily. Located at the crossroads between Europe and Africa, and between the Eastern and Western Mediterranean, Sicily has rarely been governed as an independent, unified state. Nonetheless, the island has always occupied a front-row seat to some of the most important events in history, and nowhere is this more obvious than during antiquity.

Very fertile in ancient times, Sicily was especially prized for its grain production. The i...