Sicily’s position at the center of the Mediterranean has imbued it with a unique fusion of cultures, and it was a visit in 1961 that inspired John Julius Norwich to become a historian. Suffused with love of its landscape and architecture, his account of the island’s tumultuous history encompasses the ancient Greeks, Romans, Arabs and Normans, Napoleon, the Risorgimento, the Second World War and the rise of the Mafia. Buona lettura!