Editing Sicily (section)

== History ==

Before Greek settlement, the Sicels occupied much of eastern Sicily and the Sicani lived mainly in the interior. Elymian communities controlled parts of the west. Phoenician traders established settlements along the western coast.

Greek colonists began founding settlements during the eighth century BC. Their cities developed mainly along the eastern and southern coasts, with Syracuse becoming the strongest Greek power on the island. Western Sicily remained contested between the Greek cities and Carthage.<ref name="ionian-history"/>

Rome conquered Sicily during the First Punic War and organized it as its first province outside the Italian Peninsula. The island became an important source of grain for the Roman state. Its ports also connected Italy with North Africa and the eastern Mediterranean.

After western Roman control ended, the island passed through short periods of Vandal and Ostrogothic rule. The Byzantine Empire recovered Sicily during the sixth century. Muslim forces began their conquest in 827 and controlled most of the island by the early tenth century. Palermo became the capital of the Emirate of Sicily and expanded as a commercial centre.<ref name="palermo-history"/>

Norman forces began the conquest of Sicily in 1061 and completed it in 1091. Roger II established the [[Kingdom of Sicily]] in 1130 and governed from Palermo. Norman rulers retained parts of the existing Greek and Arabic administration while expanding Latin Christian institutions.<ref name="palermo-history"/>

The island later came under the Hohenstaufen dynasty. Angevin rule was overthrown during the Sicilian Vespers of 1282, after which Sicily came under the Crown of Aragon. The island and the mainland kingdom centred on [[Naples]] thereafter developed as separate states.

Sicily later formed part of the Spanish monarchy. After brief periods under Savoyard and Austrian rule, the Bourbon dynasty took control in 1735. The Kingdom of Sicily was united with the [[Kingdom of Naples]] in 1816 to form the [[Kingdom of the Two Sicilies]].<ref name="two-sicilies-history"/>

A Sicilian revolutionary government declared independence during the revolutions of 1848, although Bourbon forces restored control the following year. [[Giuseppe Garibaldi]] landed at Marsala in May 1860 and defeated Bourbon forces during his campaign across the island. Sicily became part of the [[Kingdom of Italy]] in 1861.<ref name="two-sicilies-history"/><ref name="kingdom-italy-history"/>

Allied forces invaded Sicily on 10 July 1943 during the [[Second World War]]. The campaign ended Axis control of the island and contributed to the removal of Benito Mussolini later that month.<ref name="second-world-war-mediterranean"/> Sicily received a special autonomous statute in 1946. The statute created the modern regional government and granted it broader powers than those held by ordinary Italian regions.

Post-war land reform altered the system of large rural estates. Coastal cities expanded, while many Sicilians migrated to northern Italy and other countries. Industrial development concentrated around several ports, although unemployment and uneven regional development remained persistent problems.