History of Sicily Course

Sicily, the largest island in the Mediterranean, has always been a frontier land — situated at the crossroads between Europe and Africa, and a space of exchange between Eastern and Western cultures.

Over the centuries, many peoples and civilizations have left their mark on the island, shaping a unique heritage of customs, art, literature, monuments, knowledge, and more.

The course “History of Sicily”, curated by Stefano Sciotto for Babilonia, explores the island’s fascinating past over ten two-hour sessions. From the rich prehistoric cultures to the arrival of the Greeks and Phoenicians, and through the successive dominations of the Romans, Byzantines, Arabs, Normans, Swabians, Angevins, and Aragonese — the course follows Sicily’s journey through time.

It continues with the island as a Spanish viceroyalty, its Bourbon period, the rise of the Mafia, unification with the Kingdom of Italy, and finally, Sicily as an autonomous region within the modern Italian Republic.

Each lesson is enriched with references to Sicily’s monuments, art, and literature, providing a comprehensive cultural context.

Course Modules

1. Sicily Before the Greeks: from Prehistory to the Iron Age
2. Greeks and Phoenicians in Sicily: from the Mycenaeans to Timoleon
3. Hellenistic and Roman Sicily: from Agathocles to the Rise of Christianity
4. Barbarians, Byzantines, and Arabs: from Diocletian to Ibn al-Thumna
5. Normans and Swabians: from Count Roger to Frederick II
6. Angevins and Aragonese: from Manfred to Ferdinand the Catholic
7. Sicily as a Spanish Viceroyalty: from the Aragonese Viceroys to Charles III
8. Bourbon Sicily: from Ferdinand I to Ferdinand II
9. Sicily in the Kingdom of Italy: from the Wars of Independence to Operation Husky
10. The Sicilian Region and the Republic: from Portella della Ginestra to the MafiaWars