Ｍｙｓｔｅｒｉｏｕｓ Ｓｉｃｉｌｙ

I first read of Sicily because of Archimedes， a Greek who discovered quite a few formulas. At that time， what Sicily was all about did not interest me at all. I only knew the great scholar shrieking Eureka once lived there. My ignorance was shattered one day by Malena， an Italian movie set in Sicily. I fell in love with the island whose scenic wonders were marvelously depicted in the movie. The desire to step upon the island became overwhelming.

My dream of visiting Sicily came true when I tripped recently to Italy on a visit for learning about the country’s culture. Sicily is an island off the Apennine peninsular. It looks like a football in front of Italy， which looks like a big boot. It is also said that Sicily looks like a pearl on the boot. But once you are in Sicily， you find the island does not look like a pearl or a football. It looks like three naked thighs with snake-haired Gorgon in the place where the three thighs meet. Examining Sicily on a map on one occasion， I found that the three legs presented quite some enigmatic coincidences: Each of the three represents an angle of the triangular island; and each side faces a continent: Europe， Africa and Asia， The three thighs represent a cultural symbol redolent of Greek. Yet the Sicilians regard it as their symbol. The symbol can be seen on doors and squares on the island.

Sicily came under the rule of Greeks in the eighth century before Christ. A few centuries later， people from Carthage conquered part of the island. While Carthage people ruled Sicily Romans became strong. In 264 B.C.， they crossed the straights and invaded the island. After a war of 20 plus years， Sicily became part of the sprawling Roman Empire. Over centuries after the death of the Roman Empire， the island came under the rules of other invading peoples.

Fortunately， these invaders brought their inspirations and fortunes to Sicily. Greeks built magnificent temples and theaters， Normans erected impressive churches， Romans constructed palaces， Arabians put up churches with domes， Byzantines introduced mosaics， Spaniards donated the luxurious baroque architecture. Sicily， virtually a museum of various civilizations and architectures， now attracts tourists from all over the world.