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Background: Italy became a nation-state in 1861 when the city-states of the peninsula, along with Sardinia and Sicily, were united under King Victor EMMANUEL II. An era of parliamentary government came to a close in the early 1920s when Benito MUSSOLINI established a Fascist dictatorship. His disastrous alliance with Nazi Germany led to Italy's defeat in World War II. A democratic republic replaced the monarchy in 1946 and economic revival followed. Italy was a charter member of NATO and the European Economic Community (EEC). It has been at the forefront of European economic and political unification, joining the Economic and Monetary Union in 1999. Persistent problems include illegal immigration, organized crime, corruption, high unemployment, sluggish economic growth, and the low incomes and technical standards of southern Italy compared with the prosperous north.

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By Beebe
November 18th 2009

Leaving Beautiful Sicily....We Will Return! Europe » Italy » Sicily » Taormina

Boats in Siracusa

Day 28 Siracusa We headed out to Archeological Museum in the late morning, walking there from the hostel. The museum is outstanding: it covers prehistory to Roman times and has artifacts from many sites in Sicily. We took more than 2 hours to go through, even with some hurrying at the end, since we wanted some time outside in the beautiful sunshine. We walked past the remains of one of Siracusa’a archeological digs, heading back to old part of town. We first stopped at the ruins of the Temple of Apollo, wanting to look at it again with all of the [View Full Entry]

By Beebe
November 16th 2009

Feels like Spring.... Europe » Italy » Sicily » Siracusa

Pillbox, left from WWII

Day 26 Modica Yesterday we took the bus into Noto, about and hour from here, and walked around the baroque city for a few hours...everything here closes down from 1:00 pm to 3:00pm...so it's hard to plan a trip of any distance, since we end up arriving just before closing time at 1:00! We managed to see the cathedrals and the Theater after they reopened, and before our bus (the last of the day...since it was Sunday) left at 3:55.... Today we took the train past Noto to another baroque town: Modica. This city is located in a gorge carved by [View Full Entry]

By diegocastro
November 12th 2009

Sicília, parte 2 Europe » Italy » Sicily » Palermo

Agrigento

Dias 78 a 81 - Pela manhã, todos ainda estavam em Catania. Fomos os quatro juntos à feira da cidade, a maior da Itália. Os preços eram ridiculamente baratos, mesmo convertendo-os para o Real. Segundo Golpal, o indiano, os preços eram baratos até para a Índia. Aproveitando-se disso, ele comprou uma ridícula blusa de cinco euros para sua namorada. Perguntou se eu queria ver sua foto. Esperava ver uma velha gorda indiana, pois Golpal já não era nenhum garoto. Em vez disso, uma belíssima jovem de vinte e poucos anos. Mesmo assim, seu presente seria uma blusa comprada em um camelô. [View Full Entry]

By diegocastro
November 11th 2009

O Extremo Norte da África Europe » Italy » Sicily » Catania

Catania

Dias 73 a 77 - Os italianos me avisaram: “você estará saindo da Itália quando for a Sicília”. Alguns diziam ser o pior lugar da Europa, outros retratavam a ilha como um paraíso. Jamais havia pensado em chegar tão longe na Itália, mas, depois de tudo que ouvi, não poderia deixar na ilha que já foi grega, romana, árabe, normanda, e, agora, pertence à Máfia. Falassem mal ou bem, todos diziam o mesmo: “vá e veja”. Giovanni cutucou meu ombro às dez da manhã dizendo ser a hora do check-out. Nada me irrita mais do que albergues que se importam com [View Full Entry]

By Mandaz
October 17th 2009

Sicily part #1 Europe » Italy » Sicily

TUESDAY 13 OCTOBER - PALERMO, SICILY Having checked into a hostel a 10 minute walk from Victoria Station yesterday, my alarm was still set at the ridiculously early time of 3:15am. It was amusing waking most of my room when I got out of bed to shower and pack. About three or four of them had gotten in (quite drunk and therefore noisily) at about 2:30am!! I did feel sorry though for the girl with the bunk above mine - she had been crying earlier having just been fired from her au pair job (she was more upset as she [View Full Entry]

By Randa
September 30th 2009

Sicilian Sun Europe » Italy » Sicily » Siracusa

Sicilian love

Sicily was never a place high on my to do list but when the opportunity arose for Adam to present at a conference in Catania, it seemed the perfect excuse to book a car, hit the road and see what adventures there were to be had. Before visiting, I knew very little about this Italian province. I had some vague awareness of Palermo being the capital (alla Marco Breciano, Socceroo star and midfielder for Palermo). Beyond that, the only other thing that came to mind when I thought of Sicily were imaginings of the Italian mafia, conceptualised almost entirely through scenes [View Full Entry]

By Nathan1986
September 16th 2009

Catania Europe » Italy » Sicily » Catania

Baroque Architecture of Catania
Taken from the hotel Balcony

We left Lipari, caught the Ali scarf to Milazo port, which was a much nicer boat trip! Then we got a cab transfer from Milazo to Catania! (Thanks to our family connections in Lipari! Otherwise the leg from Milazo to Catania would have been slightly uncomfortable for the ladies!) We stayed four nights in Catania. Probably could have done with three. It was a beautiful city, with some great places to eat, and once again a shit load of Patacerias. Sicilians LOVE their sweets, and boy can you tell! Their slightly larger people on this ball of Italy compared to the [View Full Entry]

By Carly and Jez
September 15th 2009

Sicily; filthy city's, phenominal icecream,spectaular eruptions! Europe » Italy » Sicily » Stromboli

Stromboli erupts

Day 500 !!!!(24/8/09) After a hearty Italian breaky (concious of the potential for addiction to Italian coffee) we set off on foot to the Caputchin Catacombs. Home to 8000 Palmerians bodies. The catacomb was initially filled with Caputchin Monks in 1599 and soon became burial choice for professionals, priests, men, woman and children. The body's were preserved by one of three methods, 1) Injection (which is believed to be the technique used for the best preserved and most famous 'Sofia" little girl), 2) Dipping in Arsnic or Lime or 3) most commonly straining for eight months in a cell and th [View Full Entry]

By maytorenajr
September 12th 2009

Not easy to get off this freaking island Europe » Italy » Sicily » Taormina

Alright today was a bit of a pain in the ass. I spent most of the day figuring out where to go and how the hell to get back to main land Italy. I was trying to go to a formula 1 race in Milano but I could not get a good flight or train ride up there in order to make the race. Then I had to go to train station in order to reserve a seat on the train to rome and I ended up not getting off at the right stop, I then told the bus driver I [View Full Entry]

By Nathan1986
September 10th 2009

Isole Eolie O Lipari ! Europe » Italy » Sicily » Lipari

Lipari

We've arrived on Aeolian Island of Lipari! Getting here was slightly easier then last year, yet still awkward. We said goodbye to my Aunty Lidia in Reggio Calabria, and left my car behind at the airport. I still haven't payed the 38 Euro fine from Napoli as the post office cant process the payment as i dont have a residential address here in Italy! We then caught a Hydro foil from Reggio to Lipari. The boat trip was only ment to take an hour and a half, italian time, which turned into a stomach turning 2 and a half hour [View Full Entry]

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