First rate history of Sicily and all of it's conquerors and occupiers, and summarizing the influence each had in succession. Read as part of my research into my Italian family roots ( )

It goes indeed from the Greeks to the Mafia, and the few big literal earthquakes in between.

In the meantime, it looks like every power had a hold on Sicily for a bit, so it's very easy to lose track. Not that they actually did much for the island though, says Norwich. Most have left the developed port cities on the edges completely isolated from the inner land, being responsible of the huge differences and slow development.

He liked the Normans though, because during their time all the different ethnicities on the island, Greeks, Arabs, Jews, Christians, started to live in peace and prosperity and form a nation. Shortly after the Great schism and during the era of the crusades.

He passes through a lot, including the dealings between Napoleon and Nelson, as well as he dedicates some time to Garibaldi. One of the most wrenching chapters is that on the times of the Inquisition. Horrible, terrible.

So a lot happened and even if maybe not much went to the Sicilians themselves, the trip I'll take, 4 days, seems already too short: the richness of the cultural legacy should be out of this world.

At some point, an Italian statesman, Massimo D'Azeglio, writes in his memoirs with respect to the unification of Italy "L'Italia è fatta. Restano da fare gli italiani", translated colloquially as "We have made Italy. Now we must make Italians." I wonder if that work is done or not ( )

Histoire par un non historien. Plutôt agréable à lire. Comme un roman. ( )

This is a thoroughly readable history of Sicily, putting the island into a European and Mediterranean context. There are lots of asides and anecdotes that, while not strictly necessary for the history, help bring the different people to life across the centuries. Unfortunately for Sicily, her heyday appears to have been in the 12th century, and therefore the bulk of the book has the sense of being a location in decline. The Sicilians are not exactly innocent in this, the nobles act disgracefully, the poor are horribly downtrodden until the rise up and revolt, which they do frequently. unfortunately, little seems to change for the better. This is as much a story of what might have been as what was.
At one point, Norwich is describing the mosaics and interior of the Palatine church and goes in detail for a paragraph, At the end of which he says that this is not a guidebook and he'll get back to the history. However the description was as beguiling as a guidebook and I was googling holidays to Sicily - assuming we're ever allowed to go anywhere ever again. From this is appears to be a fascinating place. ( )

Read 2017. ( )