Sicily: An Island at the Crossroads of History

Critically acclaimed author John Julius Norwich weaves the turbulent  story of Sicily into a spellbinding narrative that places the island at  the crossroads of world history.

“Sicily,” said Goethe, “is  the key to everything.” It is the largest island in the Mediterranean,  the stepping-stone between Europe and Africa, the link between the Latin  West and the Greek East. Sicily’s strategic location has tempted Roman  emperors, French princes, and Spanish kings. The subsequent struggles to  conquer and keep it have played crucial roles in the rise and fall of  the world’s most powerful dynasties.