Brief History of Sicily
Sicilian Cooking Plus is a collection of recipes for lovers of Sicilian cooking, traditions and history.
In this limited selection of classic and popular recipes, we will try to pass on the flavor of Sicily and its people as well as stories and myths linked to Sicilian cooking. We will outline a brief history of Sicily and illuminate aspects of this island unknown to some.
Trinacria, that beautiful triangle-shaped island now called Sicily, lies in the center of the Mediterranean Sea.
Because of its strategic position, the climate, the richness of the land and the beauty of its landscape, this island was disputed and occupied by many conquerors.
THE FIRST POPULATIONS
(4,000 B.C. – 1,100 B.C.)
In the Paleolithic era, western Sicily became home to the Sicani (1,400 B.C.), a people coming from the Iberian Peninsula and eastern Sicily to the Siculi (1,100 B.C.), a population coming from the Italian peninsula.
The myths tell stories of gods and goddesses inhabiting the island and of the Elymians (1,300 B.C.) a people coming from what is today Turkey, who in the Bronze Age occupied western Sicily, chased the Sicani into the mountains, founded Segesta and instituted the cult of Venus, the goddess of love. The Elymians introduced to Sicily new edible plants, among them the chick-pea.
THE PHOENICIANS
(1,100 B.C. – 800 B.C.)
The Phoenicians occupied the western coastal area of Sicily, and founded Palermo, Solunto and Mozia.
They established textile manufactures, increased ceramic production to high levels of quality and quantity and grew and exported wheat, using the island as a center for the expansion of their trade. They developed the alphabet, which was adopted by the Greeks, modified by the Romans and used today in all western languages.