Interesting Facts About Sicily

The island of Sicily is divided from mainland Italy by the Strait of Messina, barely 2 miles (3 km) in width. Most of the island consists of hill country, where the land is planted to wheat or beans or left fallow. Sheep, much the most common species of animal in Mediterranean Italy, fit easily into this economy.
 
The Catania plain in eastern Sicily is overshadowed by the volcanic mass of Mt. Etna, more than 10,000 feet (3,000 meters) high. The plain is the island's largest lowland, but its satisfactory development has been thwarted by the erratic habits of its rivers. A mountainous belt in the north represents a continuation of the Apennines, with their diversity of rock types. Along the northern and eastern coasts there are a number of irrigated zones, particularly around the city of Palermo and around the base of Mt. Etna, where agriculture is highly intensive; tree crops, particularly oranges and lemons, are the specialty of these areas. The zone around Marsala is well known for its fortified wine.
 
With Sicily's population over the 5 million mark despite steady emigration, the pressure on the island's agricultural resources has long been excessive, and industrialization is urgently needed. Unfortunately, with the exception of modest deposits of sulfur and potash in the center of the island and of oil at Ragusa and Gela, Sicily has few raw materials. In other respects it suffers from the same disadvantages as the southern mainland. The most notable industries, aside from food processing, and ship repairing at Palermo, and the manufacture of fertilizers at Porto Empedocle and of petrochemicals at the modern refining complexes of Augusta and Gela (which, incidentally, depend mainly on imported oil).
 
Palermo is the island's capital and the main port; it is surrounded by the small but fertile Conca d'Oro. Catania and Messina are next in size, the former serving the fertile zone around Mt. Etna, the latter maintaining a ferry link with the mainland. The tourist attractions of Sicily, which include Greek ruins at Agrigento and Syracuse (Siracusa), are being vigorously exploited.

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