Sicily is made up of the capital Palermo and the provinces of Catania, Messina, Trapani, Siracusa, Caltanissetta, Enna, Ragusa and Agrigento. In the Palaeolithic age the region was inhabited by the Elimi, Sicani and Siculi. The region was heavily influenced by the Phoenician and Greeck populations who improved economic and political structures, but at the same time brought social and political contrast.

The so called “tyrant” period lasted longer in Siciliy than it did in Greece. It was the tyrant Gelone who brilliantly defeated the Carthagineans during the battle of Imera (480 a.C.). This helped the growth of the city of Siracusa. The African power lasted a long time, until the intervention of the Romans with the first Punic war (264 a.C.) that put an end to African domination.. From this point on Sicily became part of the Roman empire and in 241 B.C. it became the 1st Roman colony.

After the fall of the Western Roman Empire (5th century A.D.), Sicily was occupied by the Vandals then by the Visigoths, before being annexed to the Byzantine empire with Belisario in 535.

Because of the particular geographical position of Sicily, it was frequently invaded, especially by the Saracens and was, in fact, conquered by the Arabs in 827, whose presence is characterized by great splendour (especially under the Kalbiti).
In the second half of the 11th century, the Normans dominated the region, with their great king Federic the II of Sweden. It was his will in the 13th century to create a unitary reign of Italy, making Palermo the capital and promoted cultural development such as education (the the Sicilian poetic school) and economic and political development on the island. He also established the Constitution of Melfi in 1231.
The inheritance of the reign went to Carlo I of Angiò. This event, in 1282, caused the insurrectional movements called Sicilian Vespers whose consequences brought to power the Aragonesi family.
From 1458 the Reign of Sicily was separated from the reign of Naples. After that, Sicily was annexed to the Spanish kingdom for more than two centuries.

In the 18th century the island was governed first by the Savoia family, then by Austria and finally by the Bourbons. After the Congress of Vienna in 1815, the Reign of the two Sicilies was born, formed by the Reign of Naples together with Sicily. The island was overcome by many insurrections, especially during the 1820-21 and 1848 movements, and was the first southern region to see the arrival of Garibaldi’s troops, who in 1860 , came ashore at Marsala and guided the revolt against Bourbon domination. Sicily then was annexed to the new born Reign of Italy. In July 1943, Sicily became the first Italian region to “live” the arrival of the Anglo-American troops and the beginning of their liberation from the Fascist regime on the peninsula.
After the second World War, in 1946 , Sicily became a region with its own civil code.