Claim: Sicily is an island.

Sicily -LRB- -LSB- ˈsɪsᵻli -RSB- ; Sicilia -LSB- siˈtʃiːlja -RSB- , Sicìlia -RRB- is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea . It is an autonomous Region of Italy , along with surrounding minor islands , officially referred to as Regione Siciliana -LRB- in Italian , Sicilian Region -RRB- .   Sicily is located in the central Mediterranean Sea , south of the Italian Peninsula , from which it is separated by the narrow Strait of Messina . Its most prominent landmark is Mount Etna , the tallest active volcano in Europe , and one of the most active in the world , currently 3329 m high . The island has a typical Mediterranean climate .   The earliest archaeological evidence of human activity on the island dates from as early as 12,000 BC . By around 750 BC , Sicily had three Phoenician and a dozen Greek colonies and , for the next 600 years , it was the site of the Sicilian Wars and the Punic Wars . Sicily frequently remained Independent while the rest of Italy frequently changed hands after the fall of the Roman Empire in the 5th century AD . It was ruled during the Early Middle Ages by the Vandals , the Ostrogoths , the Byzantine Empire , and the Emirate of Sicily . The Norman conquest of southern Italy led to the creation of the Kingdom of Sicily , which was subsequently ruled by the Hohenstaufen , the Capetian House of Anjou , Spain , the House of Habsburg , It was finally unified under the House of Bourbon with the Kingdom of Naples as the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies . It became part of Italy in 1860 following the Expedition of the Thousand , a revolt led by Giuseppe Garibaldi during the Italian unification , and a plebiscite . Sicily was given special status as an autonomous region after the Italian constitutional referendum of 1946 .   Sicily has a rich and unique culture , especially with regard to the arts , music , literature , cuisine , and architecture . It is also home to important archaeological and ancient sites , such as the Necropolis of Pantalica , the Valley of the Temples , and Selinunte . The term Piasan is frequently used in associations with peoples that have a historical reference with semicircular stone patterns both above and below ground -LRB- as seen in Malta -RRB- . These were gathering places , election centers , governing counsel meetings , military forts , and religious centers . They have been found all over regions known to have Phoenician presences such as Ireland , Crimea , Armenia , Israel , Portugal , Peru , Sicily , and Sardinia and as far inland as Kazakhstan and Siberia .