In 1130 in the Kingdom of Sicily the first Parliament in the world was established and divided into three branches: aristocratic, ecclesiastical, state-owned. Sicily was an independent state for 686 years.
2. SURGERY WAS BORN
In the early 1400s, at the hands of two Catania doctors, Gustavo and Antonio Branca, plastic surgery was born in Sicily: the two managed to mend, with remarkable skill, noses, lips and mutilated ears.
3. ITALY’S LARGEST REGION
With its 25,832.39 square km it is the largest region in Italy, the most populous island in the entire Mediterranean area and has the highest provincial capital, Enna, 931 meters above sea level.
4. EUROPE'S LARGEST MARINE PROTECTED AREA
The Archipelago of the Aegadian Islands, in the province of Trapani, holds the primacy as the largest marine protected area in Europe.
5. THE UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE SITES
Italy is the nation with the highest number of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in the world, 53. Sicily, with 7 sites, is the region with the highest concentration of UNESCO sites of the Italian territory on a par with Tuscany.
6. THE LARGEST ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE IN THE WORLD
The archaeological and landscape park of the Valley of the Temples, with its 1300 hectares, is the largest archaeological site in the world.
7. THE FIRST ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION ACT
Prior to the establishment of any national park or nature reserve in 1745, the Hundred Horse Chestnut (one of the oldest trees in Europe) was institutionally protected by an act. This is the world's first documented attempt of environmental protection.
8. THE ORIGINS OF JAZZ
Sicilian blood flows in the origins of Jazz. On February 26, 1917, Nick la Rocca, son of Sicilian emigrants, recorded the first jazz record in history in New York City.
9. THE OLDEST WOODEN CROSS
The oldest wooden cross in the world, with its 2000 years, can be found in Casteltermini in the province of Agrigento.
10. CLIMATIC VARIABILITY
Sicily is home to (almost) all the climates among Europe and North Africa. From the alpine climate, with real persistent glaciers on Etna, to sunny plains covered with dunes, as those in the Sahara. A wealth of landscapes which translates into a wealth of treasures to discover.
11. THE ORIGIN OF SPAGHETTI
In 1154, Al-Idrisi the geographer of Roger II of Sicily, described Trabia, a village 30 km far from Palermo, an area with many mills, where a dough in the shape of slightly rounded wires was made, called 'itrya' which was then shipped in plentiful quantities throughout the Mediterranean area.
12. THE VOLCANOES
Two of Italy's three active volcanoes can be found in Sicily: Stromboli and Etna. Etna is the highest active volcano in Europe and about 25% of the Sicilian population lives on its slopes.
13. THE FIRST SONNET
A popular form of poetry has Sicilian origins. Invented by Jacopo Da Lentini, founder of the "Sicilian School".
15. THE OLDEST FLAG IN THE WORLD
It is the oldest in Italy and the fourth in the world, dating back to 1282. A nice primacy that only a few people are aware of.
