Sicily seaside holiday villas to rent

Through the centuries, Sicily has been rules by the Greeks, Byzantines, Arabs, Normans, Swabians and Spanish, who all built cities and changes the people’s habits and traditions each time they were conquered and taken over. Visitors to Sicily’s cities today can still see the ancient Greek-Roman buildings, the easily recognizable Arabic-Norman fortresses, the imposing Baroque style buildings, and the churches with their amazing interiors covered in Byzantine mosaics such as the famous Palatine Chapel in Palermo, and many others too. The Greek-origin cities are mostly on the west side of the island, where we can find Selinunte, Segesta, Siracusa and Agrigento, with its fantastic Valley of Temples. Architecturally speaking, Eastern Sicily is much more influenced by the Sicilian Baroque style, used to build monuments and buildings after the terrible earthquake of 1693. The worst hit area was Val di Noto, which was completely rebuilt at the end of the 17th century. The area includes the cities of Ragusa, Modica, Scicli, Ispica and Noto, wonderful “stone gardens” that are remains of the Sicilian Baroque ear and which are included in UNESCO’S prestigious World Heritage List.

Information on the Sicily region