The name of Sicily: the origin

A fantastic legend tells us

about the origin of the name given to our isle, "Sicilia".

Once upon a time there was a beautiful princess, whose name was Sicilia, who had a terrible destiny. She was ordered to leave her homeland when she was just a young girl, otherwise she would have been caught and eaten by a terrible monster represented by a huge cat.

To avoid that, as soon as she was fifteen, her mother and her father put her in a little boat and left her among the waves of the sea.

After three months, when she thought she was going to die, the sea led her to a marvellous beach, full of flowers and fruits but completely desert.

After having cried for a long time , a handsome man suddenly appeared to her and offered his love and comfort. He told her that all the inhabitants of the isle had died because of a terrible pestilence and now their destiny was to repopulate the isle with a new race stronger than the old one. So, the isle was called Sicilia like the young girl and the new people spread all over the isle.