interventions: Civilized
A condensed history of the various conquerors of Sicily:
900 - 700 BCE: Carthaginians Phoenicians, Mycenaeans and others
750 - 215 BCE: the Greeks begin to arrive to create wealth for “Magna Graecia”
415 - 413 BCE: Athenian invasion fails
211 - 468 BCE: the Romans
211: the Romans defeat the Greeks at Syracuse, thus ending 500 years of Sicily's role at the center of Magna Graecia
468 - 476: Vandals (of Germanic origin) invade from North Africa and oust the Romans
476 - 535: the Ostrogoths
535 - 827: the Byzantines
700 approx: the Moors
827 - 1061: the beginning of Arab invasion with the landing of 10,000 Arabs, Berbers and Spanish Muslims (Saracens)|
1060 - 1194: the Normans
1194 - 1266: the Hohenstaufen (Swabians) with Henry VI crowned as King of Sicily.
1266 - 1282: the Angevin
1282 - 1516: the Aragonese five centuries of Spanish domination isolating Sicily from Italy and Europe
1516 - 1713: the Spanish Habsburgs isolation and misgovernment continue. Sicily is now essentially a source of funds for Spanish expansion. Discontent leads to a rise of brigandry supported by an oppressed population who find defense from prosecution in a code of silence, or “omertà”... the beginnings of the Mafia
1713 - 1720: the House of Savoy
1720 - 1734: the Austrian Habsburgs
1734 - 1806: the Bourbons the continuation of indirect Spanish rule through a pampered, parasitic and corrupt nobility resulted in increased oppression and virtual elimination of wealth production. Sicily is excluded from the revolutionary spirit of the French
1806 - 1815: the British
1815 - 1860: the Bourbons
1815: Next 45 years revolutionary spirit grows as Spanish rule becomes increasingly untenable
1860 - 1946: a united Italy under a monarchy between
1876 and 1915: 1.4 million Sicilians immigrate to the USA, South America, Australia and northern Europe
1922 - 1943: Mussolini becomes prime minister
1930s: Sicily is of essential strategic importance during Mussolini’s colonization attempts in North Africa
1946 - today: the Italian Republic
1951 - 1971: 1.5 million people emigrate to northern Italy, Germany, the USA.
1958: Italy joins the European Union (then the Common Market)
1990s: the mayors of Palermo, Catania and Syracuse start an ongoing process of restoration of old town centers. The opening and maintaining of marine reserves and national parks to protect the rich flora and fauna
2001: Berlusconi returns as Prime Minister of Italy winning 100% of Sicilian vote
unsanctioned intervention: Sicily, Italy, 2023
materials: acrylic paint, archival ink on fabriano paper (18 x 24 inches)
