An island that had ten rulers and kept them all

Sicily has been Greek, Roman, Byzantine, Arab, Norman, Swabian, Angevin, Aragonese, Spanish and Bourbon, and from each of those passages it kept something: a word, a dish, a red dome, a way of doing things. It is not an Italian region with a few outside influences: it is a place where every influence settled on top of the last without erasing it.

How it is laid out

A triangle with three points: Capo Peloro towards Calabria, Capo Passero to the south-east, Capo Lilibeo to the west. Along the northern side run the mountains, which are the continuation of the Apennines: the Peloritani, the Nebrodi and the Madonie, with Pizzo Carbonara at 1,979 metres. The centre is clay hills and wheat, the south-east a limestone plateau, and to the east stands Etna, which resembles nothing else.

Where the campsites are

They are few and scattered: a handful on the Ragusa coast between Marina di Ragusa and Sampieri, some in the Trapani area towards San Vito Lo Capo, others on the Catania riviera and around Palermo. In the provinces of Agrigento and Enna there are none. It is worth booking and checking the opening dates, because many run only for the season.

Sicily is not an island: it is a small continent.

Something you understand after the third day of driving

How to plan it

The island really is large: from Trapani to Syracuse is three hundred and thirty kilometres, and the motorways do not cover everything. It is better to split the trip between two or three bases, or to choose one and accept seeing less. With a motorhome the old town centres are nearly all off limits, but service areas are widespread.

The summer is long and very hot: from June to September the interior regularly passes forty degrees. May, June and October are the best months for touring, and the water is already good from May.