The largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, politically part of Italy and thus of Southern Europe, but geographically also close to Africa, and separated from Tunisia and Libya by the Strait of Sicily.

plural of Sicily

A strait between Sicily and Tunisia, part of the Mediterranean Sea.

(historical) A mediaeval Islamic state that ruled Sicily from 831 until falling to the Normans in 1091; specifically, the state ruled by the Kalbids, from 948 to 1091.

(historical) A Norman state, comprising Sicily, Malta and part of Calabria, founded in 1071 and succeeded in 1130 by the Kingdom of Sicily.

(historical) A kingdom located in southern Italy from 1816 to 1860, comprising Sicily and all of peninsular Italy south of the Papal States, thus covering most of the area of today's Mezzogiorno.