Italian Island Cooking

Italy's major islands, Sardinia and Sicily, have had very different histories; indeed, the only thing they share is their being distinct from the continent. Sicily's position in the center of the Mediterranean has made it a stopping place for every people that sailed the Sea, beginning with the Greeks and Carthaginians, and continuing on through Romans, Byzantines, Arabs, Normans, and Spanish, all of whom left their mark one way or another.

Sardinia followed a similar initial path, being settled by the Phoenicians, followed by Carthaginians, Romans, and Byzantines, but was never under the Arabs, rather spending a time under Pisa and Genova, two of the great Maritime Republics, before falling under the sway of the Spaniards, who ruled the island for close to 500 years before loosing it to the Austrians in 1714; they in turn gave it to Duke Amadeo di Savoia, who took power and declared himself King, thus becoming Royalty (his descendents became the Kings of Italy).