Gioiosa Marea, Sicily Camera
March 22, 2009
Sicily covers the largest land area at 25,708 km and currently has just over five million inhabitants. It is also the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.
Sicily is directly adjacent to the Italian region of Calabria, via the Strait of Messina to the east. The early Roman name for Sicily was Trinacria, alluding to its triangular shape. Sicily has been noted for two millennia as a grain-producing territory.
The original inhabitants of Sicily were three defined groups, the most prominent and by far the earliest of which was the Sicani. Historical evidence has been discovered in the form of cave drawings by the Sicani, dated from the end of the Pleistocene Epoch, around 8000 BC, and is correlated with extinction of dwarf hippos and dwarf elephants.
Mount Etna, located in the east, is the only volcano on mainland Sicily and is the tallest active volcano in Europe and one of the most active in the world.
Sicily has its own unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, cuisine, architecture and language.
Lampedusa Island Webcam
March 22, 2009
Lampedusa belongs to Italy and is the largest of the Pelagie Islands, situated 205 km from Sicily and 113 km from Tunisia. Lampedusa is also known as being the gateway from Europe to Africa.
The Isola dei Conigli (literally ‘Island of Rabbits’), which is close to the south coast of Lampedusa, is one of the last remaining egg-laying sites in Italy for the Loggerhead Sea Turtle, which is endangered throughout the Mediterranean. Next to Parise Cape is a small beach accessible only by sea, through a low grotto.
Historically, Lampedusa was a landing place and a maritime base for the ancient Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans and Arabs. The Romans established a plant for the production of the prized fish sauce known as garum. As a result of pirate attacks by the Arabs, the island became uninhabited.
The first prince of Lampedusa and Linosa was Giulio Tomasi, ancestor of the famous writer Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa, who received the title from Charles II of Spain in 1630. Giuseppe Tomasi is most famous for his only novel, Il Gattopardo (first published posthumously in 1958, translated as The Leopard) which is set in Sicily during the Risorgimento.
Erice, Trapani Webcam
March 22, 2009
Erice is located on top of Mount Erice, and overlooks the city of Trapani, and the dramatic Punta del Saraceno, providing spectacular views.
The ancient name of Erice was Eryx, and its foundation was associated with the eponymous Greek hero Eryx. It was not a Greek colony, but was largely Hellenized. It was destroyed in the First Punic War by the Carthaginians, and from then on declined in importance.
In the northeastern portion of the city there are the remains of ancient Elymian and Phoenician walls indicating different stages of settlement and occupation in antiquity.
There are two castles, Pepoli Castle, which dates from Saracen times, and the Venus Castle, from the Norman period, built on top of the ancient Temple of Venus, where Venus Ericina was worshipped. According to legend, the temple was founded by Aeneas.
It was well-known, and an ancient cult was celebrated there. In his book On the Nature of Animals, Aelian writes that animals chosen for sacrifice would voluntarily walk up to the altar to be killed.
