Sicily
西西里岛
“如果不去西西里，就像没有到过意大利：因为在西西里你才能找到意大利的美丽之源”
这是格斯在1787年4月13日到达巴勒莫时写下的句子，这是他为寻找西方文化的根源第一次来到意大利。的确如此，这个地中海上最大的岛屿，也是意大利面积最大的省份，的确是一块巧妙的土地，这里迷人的自然风景与人文风景非常和谐地融合为一体，自然有从古至今曾经居住在这里的人们为证：这里曾经居住过希腊人、古罗马人、拜占庭人、阿拉伯人、诺曼人、施瓦本人、西班牙人等，他们的文化已然印证在这里了。
从地图上看，西西里岛(Sicily)是意大利那只伸向地中海的皮靴上的足球。它位于地中海的中心，辽阔而富饶，气候温暖风景秀丽，盛产柑橘、柠檬和油橄榄。无论是东海岸，还是西海岸，到处是果实累累的橘林、柠檬园和大片大片的橄榄树林。由于其发展农林业的良好自然环境，历史上被称为“金盆地”。
富饶的土地历来都免不了遭受列强的践踏。西西里岛最初的统治者是西西里人和色堪人。公元前8世纪，希腊人建立了重要的殖民地，保存至今的庙宇和剧场遗址成为岛上最着名的景点。罗马把这里当作帝国的第一个省份。阿拉伯人带来丰富物产：柑橘、柠檬、甜瓜。开心果，以及新型麦种。诺尔曼人的影响可以从城堡、大教堂和蓝眼睛后代身上体现出来。而长达数世纪的时间里，西班牙和奥地利贵族正是从建在巴勒莫的宫殿出发开始岛上探险的。20世纪初，黑手党成为这一系列征服者、统治者名单上的最后一个。
西西里岛范围广大，但有三处是最好的移动据点，一是首府帕勒摩，往近郊的Monreale或Segesto遗迹都很方便；二是卡塔尼亚(Catania)，有“南意米兰”之称，意大利作曲家贝里尼出身此地，且北有陶尔迷(Taormina)小山城，南有萨拉库撒(Siracusa)；三是阿格利真托(Agrigento)，神殿之谷绝对值得一访，有诸神的居所的美称。
与中国人相同，西西里人十分重视“根”的概念。他们的根深植于对家乡满怀的激情与热爱中：阴郁的暴雨云里时隐时现着易变的群山；盛开的柠檬和橘树林香气袭人；如茵草坡上，撒满片片雪绒般细小的野花。人们顽强地保持着历经变革沿袭下来的宗教传统，而一切西西里人传统的核心便是家庭观念。年轻人远走他乡，并不疏离家庭。他们认为，家庭成员应该亲密无间，哪怕不住在一起。单枪匹马行事的风格在西西里人看来是奇怪而不可思议的。
复活节前的“圣周”仪式是西西里岛隆重的节日。老老少少全加入到游行集会和戏剧演出的热潮中，纪念耶稣的死亡和复活。仪式从圣星期五下午5点开始，空气凉爽，树影婆娑。扛着棺木的男子沿那条窄窄的石径缓缓走近，葬礼的哀歌从随行乐中沉沉升起。抬棺者们眼中满含泪水。“耶稣的死对我们来说是重大的时刻，抬起棺木，我们就找到了表达痛苦的方式”。夜色渐重，气温也有些寒冷。戴着帽子的男人们点燃火炬——五颜六色的用电池充电的灯笼。游行队伍上山后返回城里，一声鼓响，仪式结束。瞬时间，高悬在阳台四周的霓虹灯串瞬间将广场照得通明。
It is the largest and most important island in the MediterraneanMediterranean n.地中海（=Mediterranean sea， 位于欧， 亚， 非三大洲之间）， 地中海沿岸的居民 adj.地中海的， 地中海民族的， and until the fourteenth century Sicily was the most important island in Europe. Though the Mediterranean is usually considered a single body of water， Sicily，s shores are washed by two of its smaller seas： the Ionian and the Tyrrhenian. Most of the island，s surface， covering more than 25，000 square kilometers， is mountainousmountainous adj.多山的， 山一般的， 巨大的 and hilly， with some level coastal areas and a large plain near Catania. At 3342 meters， Mount Etna is the highest peak， and Europe，s largest active volcano. A number of small islands located around Sicily are popular tourist resorts， the volcanic Aeolian (or Lipari) archipelago being the largest group. The extensive coastlinecoastline n.海岸线 ranges from rocky cliffs to sandy beaches， but Sicily also offers other fascinating natural sights such as Alcantara Gorge (near Taormina)， various caverns (Carburangeli near Carini and others around Sicily and on the surrounding islands)， and the grey mud flows formed by sporadicsporadic adj.零星的 geysersgeyser n.间歇泉， 烧水锅炉 that give Maccalube， near Aragona， its moonlike appearance.
Was Sicily ever attached to Africa or to mainland Italy？ It almost certainly was， but even today Sicily is only 3 kilometers from Calabria at the narrows of the Strait of Messina， and just 160 kilometers from the African coast. Prehistoric fossils of large mammals discovered in caverns and during excavationsexcavation n.挖掘， 发掘， 挖掘成的洞， 出土文物 around the island suggest that a land bridge existed in the remotest times. Sicily，s most southern point， near Ispica， is farther south than parts of the Tunisian coast. From Palermo， Catania or Messina， Tunis is closer than Rome， and even today Sicily is important strategically； several NATO and US military bases on the island are ready to respond to any emergency in Northern Africa， the Balkans or the Middle East.
In considering the size of the Mediterranean， and the distances traversed by the Sicilians， predecessors (among them the Romans and Normans)， it is worth bearing in mind that Jerusalem is farther away than London. All these facts help to explain how and why Sicily came to be a point of convergenceconvergence n.集中， 收敛 between North and South， East and West， between Europe and Africa， but also between the Latin West and the Byzantine East. (However， many of our favorite Sicilians， shown on this page， are descended from forebears who have been here since time immemorial.)
There were once extensive forests in the interior， and vestiges of these remain in the Nebrodi mountains near Messina and the Madonie Mountains closer to Palermo， and also in isolated areas such as the Woods of Ficuzza near Corleone. While its mountains and coastline are Sicily，s best known natural features， its low hills and flat valleys are quite scenic， too， though the rivers and streams that flow through them are usually dry by July. The Plain of Catania is exceptionalexception n.除外， 例外， 反对， 异议； it is a vast alluvial plain with small rivers fed by streams that flow from the slopes of Mount Etna. The area around Marsala and Trapani is also flat， and so is some of the country around Vittoria， in the southeast of the island.
Even today， there are essentially two kinds of communities among the numerous towns and cities of Sicily. Inland towns， usually found in the mountains， comprise the vast majority， and in the past their economies were usually based on livestock and agriculture. The economies of coastalcoastal adj.海岸的， 沿海的 towns were based more on fishing and maritimemaritime adj.海上的， 海事的， 海运的， 海员的 trade， though agriculture constituted at least a portion of their wealth. These factors obviously influenced the cuisine， customs and， to some extent， mentalities of the inhabitants of these places. Until the twentieth century， somebody who lived in Enna might rarely see the sea or taste its fruits. The country and its lifestyle are still important parts of Sicily，s history and culture.
The vegetation of Sicily is remarkably diverse. Apart from the great variety of agricultural produce (ranging from citrus fruits to grapes， olives to artichokes， pistachios to mulberriesmulberry n.桑树， 桑葚， 深紫红色 and， in the past， even sugar cane and cotton)， numerous trees， flowering shrubs and grasses are native to Sicily， though the cactus (an American import) is not one of these. Much of the wild vegetation， like the palm trees and stone pines， is typically Mediterranean， but certain fir trees are the same species found in much colder climates.