I can't even begin to describe how much Ancient Sicily Content™ I had to cut for time. Fear not, Magna Graecia will get the spotlight it deserves in another video. -B
@@trevorjohnston777 You can talk about respect when you "respect" our "lifestyle". I don't pretend to know a lot about my family's home country's politics, but you stereotyping my culture and looking down your nose at us is supercilious and rude
Only if there are rivers though. It's always funny to see how the Vikings were basically everywhere except for the Alps because those rivers flow to the Black Sea.
Fun fact that is easily overlooked: Naples liberated herself from fascist and nazist government during the Quattro giornate di Napoli. The allies just had to walk in unharmed cause the Germans had already fled from the city
@@jamesharding3459 if the partisans are as Bad as the Italian army (wich got disarmed by the germans in a matter of days) than i think the "jerry“ wouldnt be that scared at all.
The number of times I hear something along the lines of "they decided to join the war in Sicily" in classical documentaries... everyone wants that triangle
"The real trouble with mercenaries isn't so much that you have to pay them to fight...it's that, unless you're VERY lucky, you'll have to pay them again, to stop."
So this is how it feels when Blue talks about where you live. I really wish more people from here had as much interest in our history as you do. God, i never felt so patriotic.
Same but honestly I feel like nowadays there isn't much to be proud of aside from the aesthetic beauty of Sicily and our food. Idk Sicily could do much better if it wasn't so utterly corrupt.
Blue: *Gets excited* Me: Oh he must’ve found another multicultural, multi ethnic, religiously tolerant home for intellectuals and artists somewhere new which promptly fell apart when it was taken over by intolerant people.
It’s an interesting concept. Cultural hegemony has benefit that it’s more orderly and streamlined, cultural diversity has the benefit that it’s more creative and intellectual. While we can bash people for rejecting diversity, it can and often does make sense from the perspective of the rulers. However it similarly makes sense to have the cultures merge into one Voltron culture. However, that takes a lot of time. If you’re going through unsteady times, waiting for cultural osmosis is a nonstarter. While I think most would say that diversity is better, it may not always be practical. Or that’s my interpretation. P.s. When I say cultural osmosis, I mean cultures melting together and rubbing off on one another to the point where they are substantially similar rather than one culture adopting a few aspects of another culture, then demanding that people of the other culture conform.
@@Isometrix116 From the perspective of the rulers, yeah, it's true that it's a more certain path to retaining power. It's not a good thing, but it IS undeniable that it's easier to STAY king when there isn't a lot of diversity in your population, and people can't imagine a better way to live.
Blue: “Nerf the damn Normans” History.exe: “We’ve heard your complaints. In update 11.94 Normans will be nerfed culturally by 50% and militarily by 25%”
I see the Normans took a page from Palpatine's book of technically fighting on both sides of a war to ultimately consolidate power and take over everything. It's a pretty effective book, I don't know why more people haven't read it.
@@jrodriguez1374 carthaginians and Phoenicians are the same, Carthaginians were just the offshoot of Phoenicians who settled in the central Mediterranean (in Tunisia and surrounding areas)
@@erectilereptile7383 idk... I think they were different enough to classify them as their own thing. I mean, using what you said we could classify the Romans as an offshoot of Greeks, or Normans as an offshoot of Gauls. And if that's the case why separate them at all?
How blue interprets Norman rule: "Culture is Harmonic" How Normans ruled: "I swear by Jesus carrying Yggdrasil, if you people dont get along Hrothga- i mean Henry "Slicer" the 3rd here will axe you so hard that the grandchild of your second nephew twice removed will feel it!"
@@lottiesearle3393 No no, that would be neo communists and sockjust parasites. "Henry" and "Ralf" only care that you get along with others, it doesn't matter if youre all as white as the wings of valkyr- i mean angels or as diverse as the 80 heraldries across the "borrowed" shields used by them and their buddies.
“Big mess, lots of stabbing” “Fighting…. Blergegrgedh” “Wild times, way off topic” I love Blue’s way of avoiding the many many wars that happened throughout history
@@MyPisceanNature Case and point: We almost stopped climate change in the 1980s, just like we’ve solved acid rain and the ozone layer hole Back then a mild carbon tax and financial Incentive and some investment would’ve solved it But we didn’t stop climate change We knew everything we know now back then forty years ago, but now it’s been politicized and partisanized and politics has been seriously messed up So now we’ve wasted forty years doing basically nothing as emissions increase with only a 1 in 20 chance of actually limiting the amount of warming to the Paris accord’s goal And it’s all thanks to Oil company lobbyists and Ronald Reagan
As a Sicilian I'm very glad you made this video, a lot of don't know ho much history, culture and art Sicily has. Most people know Sicily only because of Mafia :(
My History teacher last year, I told her at the start of the year, "you should look up Overly Sarcastic Productions!" and she played the video about Rome at the end of the year. Goal: achieved.
I feel like the trifecta of funny RUclips channels your teacher shows you in class is made up of Crash Course, Overly Sarcastic Productions, and CGP Grey.
@@spencersonnefeld Actually the you'd have to bee an absolute buffoon to be surprised by the Spanish inquisition. They literary put a month long notice before they came to you. Even the mongols are no exception to this. Or maybe they are and they aren't surprised by the Normans I don't know enough to give a crap.
I live in Sicily, I was born here in the capital and I grew up here with my father telling me the hidden stories of the city and visiting some of the most beautiful but hidden places. I always thought that this is the city of secrets, where many people who live here don't know this places and don't know their history. And I always wondered why it was like this. But now it's more clear. Thank you, Blue!
My great grandfather dad and mom came from sicily and I have the last name pepitone use to me pipitone and always been fascinated and wish 1 day I can vist I never meet another person than my family with my last name or another Sicilian
Sicilly: a land so far in the background of Europe that even Blue spends a third of this video talking about other countries doing things somewhere else.
I get the impression that's also Scandinavia past maybe the 11th century. Once everyone else got their shit together and raiding became less lucrative, I swear they basically fell off the map, baring Sweden for awhile. To the point that when I heard that Britain bothered to raid Copenhagen... twice, in the Napoleonic wars I was surprised they were that relevant.
@@chrissmith3587 True. At the time I didn't really appreciate how important trade was to countries but yeah, the denmark straight is a choke point of immense proportions if you are on the far side. I just didn't understand that. Though as a side-note I thought I'd just point out that the brits attacked to keep the danish fleet from supporting napoleon (From what I've heard, take it with a side of salt). Which is intriguing, given that a country as small as denmark apparently had a fleet powerful enough to give the british empire pause.
@@andrewhopkins886 if you look at the ships surrendered and then the numbers at battles at Trafalgar, it is not an insignificant amount Additionally it was a very well located fleet as it was able to effectively control any maritime trade
I literally never knew Muslims played such a big part in Southern Italian history. The fact that members of the court knew Arabic absolutely blows my mind it looks like another key location (along with Spain and Turkey/South East Europe) where Muslims played a key role in developing European culture, science, and politics. On a totally unrelated note, it looks like the Mafia helped end World War II and that's pretty awesome!
It's a mostly inflated story that of Mafia role in WW2. I can' provide any source right now, but being an Italian this story came out at school and was swiftly disproven. If it had any role, it was in reducing the amount of control Nazis had when shit already hit the fan. If anything, WW2 was a big source of the power the various italian criminal organizations had in the following decades as the new italian government and even the allies were happy to support Cosca if this meant reducing the mess they left behind while focusing on larger issues. The specific details depend on the area but... well, the Fascist Italy system heavily depended on being fine for the capitalists overlords of some areas, it being in contact with Mafia groups was likely to begin with, and tjey just left when shit hit the fan in 1943.
iirc, the Mafia (Jewish factions as well as Italian-American factions) helped in the US as well with protecting military ships at harbor in NYC, and breaking up fascist/pro-Nazi rallies that the police couldnt legally stop from happening. There is one particularly entertaining story of an influential Jewish mafia boss by the name of Meyer Lansky who talked openly about "roughing up" attendees at a Fascist rally, at the request of NYC police. Fun times.
As a Sicilian American, I thank you for giving my ancestors' history and culture a proper overview. This is what a history is supposed to be. I've heard enough poopooing pity for my island for one lifetime-- it's nice to finally hear what's really going on at the bottom of the boot.
As a fan from Sicily this is really cool! I had the luck of having an art teacher in middle school that loved Palermo architecture and we even did a few tour of the city discussing the mix of norman arab and baroque style. I really wish that they would treat the monuments better but the only thing that i can say it's that they are... trying (still a lot of work to do but in the last few years (pre-covid) they created some events around palermo center)
the state of our monuments is partially attributed to Mafia. They suck large sums of money that should be reserved for the public use, they bribe politicians, they maintain the status quo. They adapt when we try to root them out and find other, scummier ways to maintain their wealth. Like Tomasi di Lampedusa said, adapt to change in order to not change at all.
I was at the art biennale & had a wonderful tour walking around Palermo. Stunning architecture & stories. Our guide ended dropping us at a square drinking with university students.
The most important words... "Built on the quintessentially Normand idea that Culture is Harmonic, it gets exponentially more beautiful when combined and transformed into something that each culture could never have been on it own." Beautifully said❤️
The sheer amount of words in the Sicilian language that are derivative of Spanish, French and Arabic ones is the perfect example of how much influence the land has received from the many cultures that dominated it over the centuries
Cool video but I don't like how you skipped over ancient Sicily; I understand that the videos are oversimplified but the strugle between Greeks and Carthagenians is such an interesting topic!
My family is from Sicily, my great grandfather came over in the early 1900s. My dad says I have like 20 cousins who still live in Sicily. Glad to hear more about where my family comes from thank you blue.
Fun fact: the Sicilian language is sometimes closer to Spanish than to today's Italian. For example, the word "work" (in Italian "lavorare") in Sicilian is pronounced "travagghiare" (in Spanish "trabajar").
This is not necessarily because of the spanish conquest, but more so because they both come from latin. In french the verb for work is very similar to spanish and sicilian
tbh he should make a video on the Italian Risorgimento, or the three wars of unification. It involved a lot of fighting, uniting, conniving and help from foreign countries to be one nation.
well, it did focus heavily on Sicily, but thenagain, the video was titles Sicily. I would like to see one that focuses heavily on Naples (though I am not one bit Neopolitan or even Italian for that matter)
I just realized that I'm learning so much more from 15 minute videos than I possibly could have from a formal history class. I think that is because of the wonderfully inviting blend of humor, earnestness, and snark to be found here.
I’m from Calabria and I greatly appreciate this video. It’s fantastic knowing that someone else out there knows and appreciates our culture . If you take any advice I suggest to make a video about grecanic, (also known as griko or Calabrian Greek), it’s a linguistic minority in Calabria descending directly from Ancient Greek, like some sort of dialect.
Id also appreaciate. Much love to the greeks of Calabria♥ The Griko language is unique! It musy be pereserved I wish UNESKO and the EU to take action .
My favorite island. Every time I have a week or two to explore something, I find a new and unexpected corner. Not mentioned here are the ancient cultures which came before the Greeks. There's Erice, a spectacular fortified town on a steep rock on the West Coast with mysterious Pre-Greek inscriptions which had been a famous tourist destination with a Venus cult during Roman times.
I'm from the Aghlabids and my great great grandfather, who was around 1910 or something, was named "Sicilian" in Arabic. My clan still boasts about ruling Sicily and Tunisia, despite living in nomadic anti-state societies for 900 years after.
A book I would advice you is "The Leopard" of Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa. There is an entire part of the book where one of the protagonists pratically gives an entire discourse on how sicilian history and italian history is pratically is a history of being dominated. And after all it's a very good book.
Fun fact: the original title is "Il Gattopardo" which might be translated as "The Serval" or "The Ocelot" but for some reason they decided to use "The Leopard" instead.
@@FlaviusBelisarius-ck6uv Personally I would not loved that, considering all the invasions and occupations they got subjected to form that genetic pool : P
I love how you used the architecture of different periods as a metaphor for the culture of the time. I definitely want to visit those beautiful buildings
My first step mother was Sicilian from Giardini Naxos. When I went there it felt like home in Greece and the people were so friendly and the food was the best! I looked at Etna in awe , and Taormina up above is a miracle on its own! Unfortunately I only visited the East coast of Sicily from Messina south to Giarre. And we experienced a dancing night up in one of the inland villages on the hills west of Naxos . Remarkable culture ! I love Sicily!
I am a Sicilian and i just found this out, I love hearing some history that doesn't involve the mafia the whole video lol, so much other details, thank you!!! ❤
Sicily is one of the most beautiful places I've ever been. I've been twice and cannot wait to return and explore more of the island. If you like red wine you ought to try Frappato, in general I almost always prefer Italian and Sicilian reds but that particular grape is my absolute favourite
I’m from Sicily and I love my land so much. I’ve always studied it’s history and knowing what my native land has been trough, I never really understood why it’s past was so unknown. So, thank you so much for making this video and spreading the word.
Can you make more Southern Italian videos? I feel like most Italian Americans come from Southern Italy, so it would be cool to hear more of our history! Great videos and thanks!
Living here in northern Italy, I never got the "big picture" of how the south went into decline. This very entertaining video was stunning. Thanks for your work.
Blue, buddy, you can't just drop "So the Allies worked with the Mafia against the Fascists" and then zoom straight to the ending! That sounds cool as hell! And by cool I mean fascinating and also probably super depressing and extremely shady. My apologies everyone, I should have stated that upfront.
They allowed freedom to Lucky Luciano (who was in jail) if his mob managed to avoid any sabotage of US ships in the NY harbor and they also asked him for advice on the landing area and stuff like that.
Yeah it's super cool how post war the CIA combined with the Mafia for illegal drug trades while helping in the years of lead by killing pesky anti-mafia activists and politicians for being communist. Super cool, thanks America. You guys murdered the future of my country for the sake of fascists and drug money and you laugh about it.
@@unlucky46th Yeah, he actually made a really good video, but I deeply distaste the notion for which "(Italian) fascists are bad, so even the actual good stuff they did is to be overlooked". Also, Mussolini was the only European leader who actually liked the Arab world, he proclaimed himself "Sword of Islam" and actively encouraged Muslim culture. It could have been mentioned, given that he covered the prosperity of the Norman kingdom. But Mussolini lost the war, so he's always bad.
It has occurred to me that most times a state chooses to practice tolerance for the differences amount their subjects it usually spars some kind of golden age for that state which usually results in a lot of new ideas. So, in short, if humans had practiced more tolerance throughout history we could likely more advanced than we are now.
More like they always collapse from infighting(roma, byzantines, any islamic empire). Sicily kind of worked because the "arabs" and "greeks" were just orthodox and muslim italians, and that came to an end too.
@@ASWE15 Norman Sicily didn't "fall", it became part of the HRE through a marriage. Point is that people discussing historical Sicily regularly mix up ethnicity and religion.
I visited Palermo pre-COVID, and he really understates how amazing the chapel is! Also as probably the first person in my family to go back in a century, I hate how little of the history and culture my great-grandparents passed down (aside from making cuccudatti). They left, and we literally don't know if they had anyone still there. There's so much just there I had to take a picture and go research later, like the rebellion right before the unification and the Plaza of the Thirteen Victims, which had a monument that's now sitting on the side and the Anti-Mafia monument is in the center now. Someday I'll make it back for a longer trip, and go see more outside the city not as a broke af student anymore, and maybe to my family's hometowns (Vicari and Palazzo Adriano) finally.
"Culture is harmonic" is such a beautiful way of phrasing it, and honestly just makes me all the more sad about the whole Sicily situation. Thank you for the new phrase though!
Coming from Sicilian decent this was incredible helpful. My great grandmother was one of the Sicilian immigrants that settled in Independence Louisiana, where there is an annual Sicilian festival, understanding my heritage in is very important to me and I’m proud of it
Can you talk about Sardinian history in one of your videos in the future? I am a Sardinian guy so I'm very proud of my island, that has also an interesting history, so please do a video about sardinia, if you want to do a video first about Naples or other italian cities/areas ok, I can wait, but pleaaaaase🙏🙏🙏
I love that so much of Southern Italy was multicultural and that the environment of actual religious tolerance and freedom allowed for some great thriving and amazing architecture.
@@daniele7989 nah, in many ways, we are more italians than them. Our languages are more similar to what Dante spoke, and we have to remember that the first Area that was called Italy was alongside the Strait of Messina. But, in the end we are all italians, I think...
@@esti-od1mz You're in denial. There was plenty of intermixing and influence you can still see to this day in most of Southern Europe, including Sicily. Some of them look like actual Arabs even now!
Thanks from Palermo, I really appreciated this video, I'm a proud Albanian/Sicilian (that's another great piece of history right there) and when someone ask me why I love so much a place that everyone try to escape from, well my answer is pretty much the same.
I just learn so much when watching blue and red IN A NOT boring way like thank you so much for allthis really helps me get the "history" yearning i have without actually having to dig thru many books
SUPRISE! I am the funniest YTer evah!!!! Just kidding, it was no surprise. Everybody knew already. HAHAHHAHA!!!! That was an amazing joke (it was real talk though). WAWAWAWAWA!!!! Good afternoon, dear eri
I find it less icky (as in uninteresting) and more that it quickly becomes political so everything after WWII can quickly become an uncomfortable conversation. (Or pointless screaming, arguing is never productive especially on the internet)
@@jasonreed7522 I'd agree with both of these, personally. The politics isn't fun, and more recent events carry... More impact I guess? Since they're less removed from the present.
As a Sicilian thank you very much for this video, I'm tired of seeing my country associated only to a bunch of scumbags while glossing over the thousands years of rich history. The downfall of Sicily though came only after the empire of Frederick II, his reign was still caratterized by the same spirit of mutual respect between different cultures of the Norman period.
Amazing and totally fascinating! You have condensed so much valuable information into this video and the visuals really make it clear what was going on in which period. Gold medal standard! Bravissimo!!
Thx Blue, that's a cool spotlight on the south and as a southerner myself I can say that even here this part of history is severly overshadow, I mean it's not that we are unaware of it, it's just that this feels like the boring unimportant part of local history no one actually cares about outside here, I mean I still find the _rest_ of Italian and european history much more interesting and important, but it's nice not to forget this part P.s As for the Mafia bit which surprised many... weeeell you guys should rethink the unblemished understanding you have of the Americans in war, they debatably aren't the spotless heroes of Europe and definitely not of any other place, just think that the saying in Naples went like "adda venì Baffone": Big Mustache (Stalin) will come and fix the situation
My pediatrician was Sicilian. He had a map on the wall in his exam room focusing on the island. He was the first person to tell me the way the Italy boot looks like it's kicking Sicily is very appropriate. That primed my mental pumps to see how diverse and strange history gets.
This warms my heart because my mom was a missionary in Naples (she calls it Napulia) and Sicily for a year and a half and I grew up on stories of this wild place. Funny he should use the kicking metaphors since Sicily calls themselves the football because of where they are; also my Mom says one of their ancient kings, Fredrick the II got excommunicated 3 times, recommunicated never (pope got huffy that he started his deathbed promise crusade late due to malaria, then went on crusade having been excommunicated, then got Jerusalem through diplomacy not violence), and flowers still appear at Fredrick II's tomb. Also also, my Mom also says there's a bunch of farmers that keep historical artifacts the government doesn't know about on their mantle piece because if they report plowing up relics they loose the farm with no compensation.
Aaaaand my heart breaks for another cultured gemstone in history due to the ignorant monarchy/imperialism after the cool rulers died And South Italy has SUCH a goddamn beautiful history just for its children today to be the beaten horse of the country.
Blame the 800, both after the unification and before, for that. The North had a larger experience with revolts and such, in the South, beyond the big cities, little happened. Hell, there were people not unlike feudal lords in early 1900 in Calabria
@@Hyperversum3 even before that what screwed us for good was the Spanish domination which prevented renaissance from firing and later created the stepping stone for absolute imperialism in the region.
@@Old_Harry7 That's another big point foreigners miss about.Italy indeed. The extreme difference between regions isn't random, it's the result of over 1300 years of Italy being a culturally defined region, but not politically united even in the slightest. It's kinda of annoying to see people speak about Italy like the big imperialisitc nations of Europe when it was first and foremost a country that was AFFECTED by other empires
@@Hyperversum3 To me it looks like hstorical developments gave way to an essentially feudal state being integrated into an already industrializing one without effective land reform on top of having all protectionist tariffs on its primary export broken down just to support the latter's industrialization. The only attempt by any Italian government to rectify this disparity after unification seems to have been the Cassa del Mezzogiorno. Doesn't seem to have helped much either beyond inducing dependency on subsidization for growth. Edit: Okay so I've only read two wikipedia paragraphs and... dang. The post-unification governments really didn't care about the south, did they? Ridiculously unfair tax burden to have the south produce 40% of taxes when the land isn't nearly as profitable elsewhere, region-specific tariffs to shield northern industry from competition while leaving the south out to dry all while forcing it to contribute the most to a public spending effort focused on northern railways.
@@wildfire9280 It has always been an issue that Italian governements, both the Kingdom and the Republic, have been more than happy to allow regional governements to have lots of responsability when It came down to infrastructures and local stuff. Thus, It was hard to crack the shell of corruption that kept the South so limited in its economy. It's not so much about Industrialization and lack of action of the central governement, but rather than there were people that had lots of personal gains and benefits, even outside of criminality, to keep things as they were. As an Italian, I can't blame enough the governements between 1955/6 and 1970. They had all the opportunities to change the situation, coming out from the early mess that the War left behind. But of course... Nope, nothing was done with real effort. After all, what should have expected from the Democrazia Cristiana? It's hard to remain popular when you do big changes and try to force progress even when the people that would benefit from it stand against It. It's even harder when your entire political agenda is mantaining the status quo. And then again, when the DC and similar parties disappeared through the 90s, they simply left the ground to the various Berlusconi governments that... Yep, once again where as much as possible about keeping people Happy with the status quo
I was scrolling through RUclips recommendations, on the day my daughter is to be married. I came across this video, and you made me an offer I couldn’t refuse: an entertaining and educational video about the history of the old country. Mama Mia
I'm pretty sure my grandmother's family came from Sicily, so this was a treat to see! It's really is such a fascinating slice of Mediterranean history, it's nice to see it get some genuine love and attention.
lol, no offence but I find this attitude of you Americans quite "interesting" I mean, you could be as much if not more delighted with idk Cuban history but no, Sicily it's nicer because maybe your grandmother family came frome there, I mean, see what interest you and not what some dead relative of you might have wanted you to be interested in
@@Camaleonte9087 You don't need it, but if you do have a connection with something, I don't see a problem in being interested in it. It's sort of like an ice breaker. You're already somewhat familiar with it even if it's a little bit. In Europe, I'm sure many children or grandchildren of migrants are interested in where their family came from, but I only ever see Americans catch flak for this. I mean it is annoying when some Americans play up the connection to their ancestors too much and have too much pride in it, but just being interested in the history is fine in my opinion. But hey, I'm an American as well so maybe I'm biased.
GRAZIE MILLE for this! Visited Sicily & the Aeolian Islands 3 summers ago & was fascinated by the natural beauty as well as the architectural marvels, & the many layers to their history & culture. Had an amazing guide in Palermo who took us barhopping & explained modern city as well as its ancient roots. When I tried to look into its ancient history, I found that there wasn't much in-depth stuff about ancient Carthaginian, Greek & Norman rule & just got some touristy śhīt (probably a lot more info available in Italian). I haven't even finished watching this video yet but I know you guys can deliver so thank you in advance!!!!! LOL.
Probably the same that everyone does: start a game aiming to a serious play and ending as an incestuous chinese giant ruling in Sri Lanka that has just made a deviant cannibal become the new pope.
Can't believe you skipped over 1190, a.k.a. "Hey Tancred, if you're going to seize your dead cousin William's Sicilian kingdom and imprison his widow, try not to do it the very same year that her brother Richard the Lionheart comes cruising through the Mediterranean on the way to the Holy Land, along with his on-again, off-again boyfriend King Philip of France and two stonking armies". The year 1190 in Sicily was like three seasons of Game of Thrones on fast forward.
lived in sicily for my entire elementary school life. did not know about the muslims or normans. which was surprising since every field trip, vacation, and family outing always sneaked in some history of sicily. also sicilian architecture is a vibe. i can see why people might dismiss a lot of the buildings since they are old, but idk. i really like it. theres something about it that really hits home.
I'm amazed at how much of Southern Italy's and Siciliy's history is about who invaded when. Yes, that's been Italy's fate, even before it was Italy, but I'd like to hear more about the indigenous cultures including the Etruscans.
Some timestamps for places: 6:15 - I cannot confirm if all the pictures from before are from the Chapel in the Palazzo Reale (I didn't see it on my last trip - but next time). I do think one or two ARE of the Duomo di Monreale though. It's a small town above Palermo with an amazing view and a beautiful Church! The picture at 6:16 shows the courtyard of the adjacent monastery. 9:46 - That's Noto, south and inlands of Syracuse. It is, without a doubt, the most beautiful city I've ever seen. No exaggeration. Nothing else can compete with it. 10:00 - That's the Duomo del Catania! It actually also incorporates some Norman architecture in the back, but yeah, it's mostly baroque. For a baroque church, it is very nice and light though. It's quaint. I'd be super stoked to see a longer version of this some day - Maybe actually focusing on the seperate fates of parts of the mezzogiorno? The island, Calabria, Puglia, Campania etc. Sicilians do feel a strong sense of uniqueness still. I'm glad you mentioned the differences between South and North in general - My shirt that makes use of the word "Terroni" (an insult towards South Italians in reference to their agricultural culture) shows that well. And no worries, it's reclaiming the word and from an all-things-Sicily shop in Palermo :P And thanks for the little acknowledgement of Fritz II. of the Staufer Dynasty. I can't help it, I do like the dude a lot when I look at his HRE Career. I definitely plan to look more into him in the future. Grazie per leggere
Ok as an Irishman that suddenly really wants to visit; what cool places would you recommend - obviously include the cool architecture but save some spaces for my boring non nerdy friends
@@ieatbananaskins7926 First of all, I'd say that Sicily is also a great island to visit because I think it and Ireland got a lot in common. (Aside from the weather LOL). Out of the places I know, I'd definitely recc Taormina. You could use Giardini Naxos as homebase if your friends are looking more for a beach holiday, since it's big on that kind of tourism AND Taurmina & the Etna are in spitting distance. (Never been to Giardini Naxos tho). Taurmina is a very beautiful, old little town atop a steep mountain right at the ocean. The Ancient Greek Theater is a side to behold and you can do lots of strolling around in its tight little alleys and more open piazze. Noto. But probably go really early or late and probably not in the middle of the summer (as me and my family did), because the humid heat was SO BAD. Being inlands means no sea breeze. But do go see it - I meant it when I said it's the most beautiful city I've ever laid eyes on. Catania has been a while (I'll probably go there next after I maybe gave Naples a second shake via semester abroad), but it is a very beautiful city. Lots and lots to see and do there as well - As East South Sicily's center, it's very lively and diverse. Baroque grandeur galore, too! (Even if not as uniform and perfect as Noto). And you can take a look at one of the big effing Staufer castles. It used to be at the port, but the volcanic erruption in the 17th century added so much land to the (now ruined) city that it's now inside of it. If you wanna hang but have great opportunity for culture, I'd say go Syracuse. Siracusa has an archaeological park, a puppet museum (I sadly, sadly haven't gotten around to visit on any of my trips yet), a papyrus museum and a very impressive archaeological museum. Ortigia, the island that houses the ancient city center and is connected to mainland syracuse by large bridges, is the perfect place to spend your evenings. Modica - Actually never been there, can't give you any intel, but it's chocolate is the pride of Sicily. Palermo - Definitely a sight to see and worth its capital status. Go check out the Falcone e Borsellino Murial at the port (you won't miss it) and definitely go see the No Mafia Memorial. The catacombs of the Porta d'Ossuna are a good place to spend half an hour before you check out the Palazzo Reale and la Cattedrale. Sadly, the Catacombi dei Cappuccini closed due to Covid while I was there but I WILL come back and I WILL wage psychological warfare on myself by walking among all those bones and mummies. Seriously tho, it sounds pretty neat, go there for meee. And check out some Normanno-Arabo churches. I'd actually recc San Cataldo over San Giovanni degli Eremiti - although the latter has a very pretty courtyard. You can always have a stroll through Kalsa or any adjacent area more to the west of city for a good time at night. And visit Monreale! It's a good daytrip activity. That's my limited "What to see in Sicily" guide. I also hope that one day (maybe during one of the next spring breaks) I'll make it to Ireland.
@@SarahWolverine thanks much! If you visit Ireland, I would recommend seeing the West - travel the Wild Atlantic Way, there is no bigger pity than going to Ireland and never leaving Dublin, venture to the giants causeway up north too If you're interested in sport you should definitely check out Hurling - fastest field game on earth and the final is played in Europe's third largest stadium (I'm from the southernmost region of Ireland, weather is still very mild but at least I'm not unfortunate enough to have a Dublin accent ;))
On the subject of the absolute coolness of the blending of cultures in Norman Sicily, several years ago (I think around 2016), I was in London and the British Museum was holding a special exhibition on the vast and varied history of Sicily and all the blending of cultures that make Sicily such a unique place in Eurasian history. And in particular, there was one object that really stood out as the symbol of all this cultural exchange, and it was a headstone which was divided into three sections- one section in Arabic, one section in Hebrew, and one section in either Latin or Greek. And what was especially cool about this was that each section used their respective culture's own calendar and dating system, so it gave the person's life and times in three different ways of counting the years! This level of respect for cultural differences and showing how they can all live together and work together even if they seem different was so beautiful and it was so cool to see it represented in an object like a headstone (though in fairness, headstones often can be one of the best historical sources). Sicily may be the poor ball getting kicked by the boot that is the rest of Italy, but it really is such an underrated and beautiful historical culture.
What a coincidence, I just recently learned that my Grandma's family was from Sicily. I know they came over mid-late 1800s.I'm also told that after my Grandma's mother died, her sister stepped up and married my great-grandpa because (again, I was told) it was common practice at the time.
Hi I know this comments already like 3 weeks old but I just wanted to say that pretty much the same thing happened with my great-great-grandma and grandpa after they both got widowed
Seems to have been a pretty common practice... keeping it in the family so to speak! I've always wondered about how it worked emotionally and psychologically? I mean, you'd know the person pretty well already (a bonus in eras & cultures where arranged marriage was still pretty common) and would know the in-laws etc already, making the transition less jarring. Presumably you'd also already have emotional investment in any kids that existed from the previous marriage too, so that (given historical evidence of poor treatment of step-children) would've been a definite incentive for the surviving parent. It must've surely have been pretty weird though to go from years of viewing someone like a sibling-in-law (hands off!) to now being married to them...? I can imagine that if you actually cared for your new spouse, competing with the memory of your deceased sibling for their affections would also be fairly strange...?
As a Sicilian: thank you! You have NO IDEA how flabbergasting it is when other people in Italy literally don't have any single idea that yes, the south has its own history (which usually involves a lot of stabbing, but I digress) and don't know anything about it
I've visited most of the places you've shown on this video many times, they're very beautiful! Thanks for this video from a Sicilian still living in Sicily!
Sicily blew away my expectations. I hadn’t really researched shit or anything. Was just asked to come and travel around the island. You see all those influences from different cultures, religions ect. Was a fkn amazing collab
I can't even begin to describe how much Ancient Sicily Content™ I had to cut for time.
Fear not, Magna Graecia will get the spotlight it deserves in another video.
-B
And it did.
Could you do videos on one of these mythologies
1)Ramayan
2)Hanuman
3)Ganesha
You choose.
Do Hungary.
Please do a video on Wallachia, home to Count Dracula
Sad
"Big mess, lots of stabbing."
--Blue's greatest contribution to historical scholarship.
Counterpoint: “Fighting, bleeuleeeh”
This sounds like most of history.
@@Andri474 For all countries. One way or another. Lol
Who knew that history could be so funny…😂
As a Sicilian I appreciate the empathy displayed about how much we are looked down upon by the people of northern Italy
Sicily has a 48.3% unemployment rate and you wonder why us Northerners are sick of paying your bills.
And you people take all our money yet call us "polentoni" whenever you get the chance. Even though we bankroll your lifestyle, absolutely no respect.
@@trevorjohnston777 You can talk about respect when you "respect" our "lifestyle". I don't pretend to know a lot about my family's home country's politics, but you stereotyping my culture and looking down your nose at us is supercilious and rude
@@trevorjohnston777 Guess what, I had no idea you paid my bills. LOL.
@@trevorjohnston777 As a non-Italian I regret breathing the same air as you.
I love the how European history has so many moments of 'Surprise! Normans!'
Nobody expects the Norman Conquerors!
Only if there are rivers though. It's always funny to see how the Vikings were basically everywhere except for the Alps because those rivers flow to the Black Sea.
It was Walpole
@@Alias_Anybody To be fair by the time the Vikings reached the Black Sea the Alps were an afterthought compared to the Byzantines
one of the weirdest exports from scandinavia
Fun fact that is easily overlooked: Naples liberated herself from fascist and nazist government during the Quattro giornate di Napoli. The allies just had to walk in unharmed cause the Germans had already fled from the city
Ah, as kickass as Yugoslav partisans
@@aisir3725 The Italian resistance gets overlooked, but I would NOT want to be the Jerry or Fritz trying to fight them, because I like being alive.
@@jamesharding3459 if the partisans are as Bad as the Italian army (wich got disarmed by the germans in a matter of days) than i think the "jerry“ wouldnt be that scared at all.
@@josefstrauss9017 Try "Almost as good as the Yugoslavians".
@@josefstrauss9017 guerilla isn't like regular army. The partisans fought and sabotaged the nazis a lot. We didn't stay idle.
The most Strategic triangle in the whole world!
Even more than Triangle Strategy from Square Enix.
@@drilltotheheavens1695 Beat me to the punch.
Heard about egypt?
@@Frost-bc7kz Egypt isn't a triangle
The number of times I hear something along the lines of "they decided to join the war in Sicily" in classical documentaries... everyone wants that triangle
"The real trouble with mercenaries isn't so much that you have to pay them to fight...it's that, unless you're VERY lucky, you'll have to pay them again, to stop."
Rule of Acquisition #34: War is good for business.
Rule of Acquisition #35: Peace is good for business.
also they'll run at the first sign they are losing, or when offered more money by the opposite side, or when seeing a better opportunity to be seized.
Apart if they are swiss
So this is how it feels when Blue talks about where you live. I really wish more people from here had as much interest in our history as you do.
God, i never felt so patriotic.
now im jealous, he's hasn't done netherlands yet. But sicily is still pretty cool
I just moved out from Sicily, this video made all the nostalgia come back :(
I wonder if Blue can talk about central Massachusetts
The closest i got was when he did the Iroquois, but as a person of welsh/dutch ancestry its more of a shared land pride.
Same but honestly I feel like nowadays there isn't much to be proud of aside from the aesthetic beauty of Sicily and our food.
Idk Sicily could do much better if it wasn't so utterly corrupt.
Blue: *Gets excited*
Me: Oh he must’ve found another multicultural, multi ethnic, religiously tolerant home for intellectuals and artists somewhere new which promptly fell apart when it was taken over by intolerant people.
Wait a couple years and he could do one on America
It’s an interesting concept. Cultural hegemony has benefit that it’s more orderly and streamlined, cultural diversity has the benefit that it’s more creative and intellectual.
While we can bash people for rejecting diversity, it can and often does make sense from the perspective of the rulers. However it similarly makes sense to have the cultures merge into one Voltron culture. However, that takes a lot of time. If you’re going through unsteady times, waiting for cultural osmosis is a nonstarter. While I think most would say that diversity is better, it may not always be practical.
Or that’s my interpretation.
P.s. When I say cultural osmosis, I mean cultures melting together and rubbing off on one another to the point where they are substantially similar rather than one culture adopting a few aspects of another culture, then demanding that people of the other culture conform.
History shows, yet again, that multiculturalism, and working together builds a great society, and the opposite does, well, the opposite.
@@Isometrix116 From the perspective of the rulers, yeah, it's true that it's a more certain path to retaining power. It's not a good thing, but it IS undeniable that it's easier to STAY king when there isn't a lot of diversity in your population, and people can't imagine a better way to live.
@@MyPisceanNature History shows that countries with 1 dominant culture do better than multicultural countries mate.
Blue: “Nerf the damn Normans”
History.exe: “We’ve heard your complaints. In update 11.94 Normans will be nerfed culturally by 50% and militarily by 25%”
This sounds like something from a Crusader Kings or Europa Universalis patch note.
@@albertamalachi3560 since it’s 1194, it’ll most likely be Crusader Kings.
AOE2 devs be like
What does this even mean
@@Astrydrto which comment?
I see the Normans took a page from Palpatine's book of technically fighting on both sides of a war to ultimately consolidate power and take over everything. It's a pretty effective book, I don't know why more people haven't read it.
In finance, that's called a hedge fund.
Hello there
They haven't read it because it's a sith book and therefore not a story the Jedi would tell you.
The Normans have proceeded to execute Order 60 Sith.
Because it’s awfully tricky to get the trust of both sides at the same time.
Sicily is the guy in the Mediterranean that has literally seen everything.
Seriously! Phoenicians, Greeks, Carthaginians, Romans, Spaniards, Islam, etc
@@jrodriguez1374 Don’t forget the Normans!
@@jrodriguez1374 carthaginians and Phoenicians are the same, Carthaginians were just the offshoot of Phoenicians who settled in the central Mediterranean (in Tunisia and surrounding areas)
@@odd-ysseusdoesstuff6347 of course :3
@@erectilereptile7383 idk... I think they were different enough to classify them as their own thing. I mean, using what you said we could classify the Romans as an offshoot of Greeks, or Normans as an offshoot of Gauls. And if that's the case why separate them at all?
How blue interprets Norman rule: "Culture is Harmonic"
How Normans ruled: "I swear by Jesus carrying Yggdrasil, if you people dont get along Hrothga- i mean Henry "Slicer" the 3rd here will axe you so hard that the grandchild of your second nephew twice removed will feel it!"
"YOU WILL ACCEPT AND CELEBRATE YOUR DIFFERENCES OR SO HELP ME-!"
@@lottiesearle3393 No no, that would be neo communists and sockjust parasites.
"Henry" and "Ralf" only care that you get along with others, it doesn't matter if youre all as white as the wings of valkyr- i mean angels or as diverse as the 80 heraldries across the "borrowed" shields used by them and their buddies.
@@ANDELE3025 oh boy I love this tangent!
“Big mess, lots of stabbing”
“Fighting…. Blergegrgedh”
“Wild times, way off topic”
I love Blue’s way of avoiding the many many wars that happened throughout history
From a Sicilian Normann this is terrible, the Wars were the best part of my history
Sicilian history seems like the most ambitious crossover event that I’ve never heard of.
I’m mildly upset about this now, thanks Blue!
But now you have!
History is one long depressing story of "almost there...."
I mourn Roger II and I didn't even know he existed until this video.
@@MyPisceanNature
Case and point:
We almost stopped climate change in the 1980s, just like we’ve solved acid rain and the ozone layer hole
Back then a mild carbon tax and financial Incentive and some investment would’ve solved it
But we didn’t stop climate change
We knew everything we know now back then forty years ago, but now it’s been politicized and partisanized and politics has been seriously messed up
So now we’ve wasted forty years doing basically nothing as emissions increase with only a 1 in 20 chance of actually limiting the amount of warming to the Paris accord’s goal
And it’s all thanks to Oil company lobbyists and Ronald Reagan
May I also interest you in a Malta
As a Sicilian I'm very glad you made this video, a lot of don't know ho much history, culture and art Sicily has. Most people know Sicily only because of Mafia :(
own a greco sicilian friendship discord server if you want to join send me your account
My history teacher plays your videos in class. I’m officially beyond nerd trash.
I wish my History Teacher did this
My History teacher last year, I told her at the start of the year, "you should look up Overly Sarcastic Productions!" and she played the video about Rome at the end of the year. Goal: achieved.
@@luckneh5330 My teacher played the Alexandria video and I was like “HEY I KNOW THESE GUYS”
@@shin_taps That's actually awesome LOL. It's always nice when a teacher always puts up something that you recommended to them
I feel like the trifecta of funny RUclips channels your teacher shows you in class is made up of Crash Course, Overly Sarcastic Productions, and CGP Grey.
The 3 absolutes of history
"No one expects the Spanish inquisition"
"Surprise it's the Normans"
And "the Mongols are the exception"
So the Mongols expect the Spanish Inquisition?
@@spencersonnefeld YES.
@@spencersonnefeld Actually the you'd have to bee an absolute buffoon to be surprised by the Spanish inquisition. They literary put a month long notice before they came to you. Even the mongols are no exception to this. Or maybe they are and they aren't surprised by the Normans I don't know enough to give a crap.
@@spencersonnefeld Which is ironic considering how much time I spent on writing this comment.
They weren't an exception in Vietnam 🤣
I live in Sicily, I was born here in the capital and I grew up here with my father telling me the hidden stories of the city and visiting some of the most beautiful but hidden places. I always thought that this is the city of secrets, where many people who live here don't know this places and don't know their history. And I always wondered why it was like this. But now it's more clear. Thank you, Blue!
Please share those secrets with someone or write them down before they are lost forever! Prego.
So cool take my on a tour! I need to know where I came from since my grandparents never got to take me back!
I'm from Apulia and I know all the history behind the buildings in my city :)
@@deannafromdablock1994 Same here!
My great grandfather dad and mom came from sicily and I have the last name pepitone use to me pipitone and always been fascinated and wish 1 day I can vist I never meet another person than my family with my last name or another Sicilian
Sicilly: a land so far in the background of Europe that even Blue spends a third of this video talking about other countries doing things somewhere else.
I get the impression that's also Scandinavia past maybe the 11th century. Once everyone else got their shit together and raiding became less lucrative, I swear they basically fell off the map, baring Sweden for awhile. To the point that when I heard that Britain bothered to raid Copenhagen... twice, in the Napoleonic wars I was surprised they were that relevant.
@@andrewhopkins886 Denmark is actually pretty strategic as you can use it to block much of the trade from a lot of Eastern Europe
@@chrissmith3587 True. At the time I didn't really appreciate how important trade was to countries but yeah, the denmark straight is a choke point of immense proportions if you are on the far side. I just didn't understand that. Though as a side-note I thought I'd just point out that the brits attacked to keep the danish fleet from supporting napoleon (From what I've heard, take it with a side of salt). Which is intriguing, given that a country as small as denmark apparently had a fleet powerful enough to give the british empire pause.
@@andrewhopkins886 if you look at the ships surrendered and then the numbers at battles at Trafalgar, it is not an insignificant amount
Additionally it was a very well located fleet as it was able to effectively control any maritime trade
@@andrewhopkins886, do you know what Wellesley''s horse was called? Hint: it's related to your comment.
I literally never knew Muslims played such a big part in Southern Italian history. The fact that members of the court knew Arabic absolutely blows my mind it looks like another key location (along with Spain and Turkey/South East Europe) where Muslims played a key role in developing European culture, science, and politics.
On a totally unrelated note, it looks like the Mafia helped end World War II and that's pretty awesome!
It's a mostly inflated story that of Mafia role in WW2.
I can' provide any source right now, but being an Italian this story came out at school and was swiftly disproven.
If it had any role, it was in reducing the amount of control Nazis had when shit already hit the fan.
If anything, WW2 was a big source of the power the various italian criminal organizations had in the following decades as the new italian government and even the allies were happy to support Cosca if this meant reducing the mess they left behind while focusing on larger issues.
The specific details depend on the area but... well, the Fascist Italy system heavily depended on being fine for the capitalists overlords of some areas, it being in contact with Mafia groups was likely to begin with, and tjey just left when shit hit the fan in 1943.
iirc, the Mafia (Jewish factions as well as Italian-American factions) helped in the US as well with protecting military ships at harbor in NYC, and breaking up fascist/pro-Nazi rallies that the police couldnt legally stop from happening. There is one particularly entertaining story of an influential Jewish mafia boss by the name of Meyer Lansky who talked openly about "roughing up" attendees at a Fascist rally, at the request of NYC police. Fun times.
You could say it's... A surprise to be sure, but a welcome one
@@OverlySarcasticProductions Hello there
@@arutka2000 Is the phrasing there because of who started this comment chain, or just the most delightful of coincidences?
As a Sicilian American, I thank you for giving my ancestors' history and culture a proper overview. This is what a history is supposed to be. I've heard enough poopooing pity for my island for one lifetime-- it's nice to finally hear what's really going on at the bottom of the boot.
I am Sicilian and wanted to say thank you for putting this historical video together. It’s very well done and much appreciated.
Sicily is truly a gem, the most diverse region of Italy, definitely a treat! 🇮🇹
Absolutely true! It's different from other Italian regions
As a person of Sicilian ancestry who often visits Sicily I am really happy that you made this
Thank you blue
own a greco sicilian friendship discord server if you want to join send me your account
The norman kingdom of Sicily is by far my favorite part of medieval history. Glad to see more of it on the channel!
Love the unique blend of cultures and ethnicities that is Southern Italy and Sicily. Really demonstrates how interesting the Mediterranean world is
We are not a "blend". We have our own identity, with some foreign influences. As every other people in the world
As a fan from Sicily this is really cool! I had the luck of having an art teacher in middle school that loved Palermo architecture and we even did a few tour of the city discussing the mix of norman arab and baroque style. I really wish that they would treat the monuments better but the only thing that i can say it's that they are... trying (still a lot of work to do but in the last few years (pre-covid) they created some events around palermo center)
the state of our monuments is partially attributed to Mafia. They suck large sums of money that should be reserved for the public use, they bribe politicians, they maintain the status quo. They adapt when we try to root them out and find other, scummier ways to maintain their wealth. Like Tomasi di Lampedusa said, adapt to change in order to not change at all.
I was at the art biennale & had a wonderful tour walking around Palermo. Stunning architecture & stories. Our guide ended dropping us at a square drinking with university students.
The most important words...
"Built on the quintessentially Normand idea that Culture is Harmonic, it gets exponentially more beautiful when combined and transformed into something that each culture could never have been on it own."
Beautifully said❤️
11c. Britain blinking in confusion.
The sheer amount of words in the Sicilian language that are derivative of Spanish, French and Arabic ones is the perfect example of how much influence the land has received from the many cultures that dominated it over the centuries
YEEEEESSSSSSSS. THIS IS THE BEST BIRTHDAY GIFT EVER. Favourite cultural/political entity of the mediterranean.
a fellow oct 1st kid!
Cool video but I don't like how you skipped over ancient Sicily; I understand that the videos are oversimplified but the strugle between Greeks and Carthagenians is such an interesting topic!
Own video?
I think the Magna Graecia video is coming up.
My family is from Sicily, my great grandfather came over in the early 1900s. My dad says I have like 20 cousins who still live in Sicily. Glad to hear more about where my family comes from thank you blue.
Capela palatina is the most beautiful church I’ve ever been to, the mosaics are just jaw dropping
im currently writing my masters thesis on the cultural mashup that was sicily and i love seing my baby getting some love on this channel
You rule over a galaxy why are you righting a master thesis
Fun fact: the Sicilian language is sometimes closer to Spanish than to today's Italian. For example, the word "work" (in Italian "lavorare") in Sicilian is pronounced "travagghiare" (in Spanish "trabajar").
Simana and semana instead of italian settimana
This is not necessarily because of the spanish conquest, but more so because they both come from latin. In french the verb for work is very similar to spanish and sicilian
@dulaman9791, The Kingdom of Aragon didn’t speak Spanish. They spoke Catalan.
Giuseppe Garibaldi deserves a video on his own. The man fought and did revolutions in at least 2 continents
tbh he should make a video on the Italian Risorgimento, or the three wars of unification. It involved a lot of fighting, uniting, conniving and help from foreign countries to be one nation.
@@mygetawayart own a greco sicilian friendship discord server if you want to join send me your account
FINALLY, AS A NEAPOLITAN I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS VIDEO SINCE LITERALLY THE INCEPTION OF THIS CHANNEL.
well, it did focus heavily on Sicily, but thenagain, the video was titles Sicily. I would like to see one that focuses heavily on Naples (though I am not one bit Neopolitan or even Italian for that matter)
@@ecurewitz same, although I do have roots in Sicily so egh, il take it
Icky world war two stuff I'm pretty sure Blue describes most history beyond the bizantines as icky
Only post Byzantine history that is not icky is the Ottomans 😂.
He likes the Ottomans as a historical thing, and that's directly post-Byzantine
Ick
Humankind peak with The serrenisima Republic remember
There's a lot less pretty domes after the Byzantines, what do you expect?
You missed an important note: who was the genius who discovered that pistacchio is a dessert nut?
This person deserves to be honored in our history.
As a guy born and raised in this cursed island I thank your for this short but meaningful overview.
own a greco sicilian friendship discord server if you want to join send me your account
I just realized that I'm learning so much more from 15 minute videos than I possibly could have from a formal history class. I think that is because of the wonderfully inviting blend of humor, earnestness, and snark to be found here.
I’m from Calabria and I greatly appreciate this video. It’s fantastic knowing that someone else out there knows and appreciates our culture .
If you take any advice I suggest to make a video about grecanic, (also known as griko or Calabrian Greek), it’s a linguistic minority in Calabria descending directly from Ancient Greek, like some sort of dialect.
own a greco sicilian calabrian friendship discord server if you want to join send me your account
Id also appreaciate. Much love to the greeks of Calabria♥ The Griko language is unique! It musy be pereserved I wish UNESKO and the EU to take action .
My favorite island. Every time I have a week or two to explore something, I find a new and unexpected corner. Not mentioned here are the ancient cultures which came before the Greeks. There's Erice, a spectacular fortified town on a steep rock on the West Coast with mysterious Pre-Greek inscriptions which had been a famous tourist destination with a Venus cult during Roman times.
I'm from the Aghlabids and my great great grandfather, who was around 1910 or something, was named "Sicilian" in Arabic. My clan still boasts about ruling Sicily and Tunisia, despite living in nomadic anti-state societies for 900 years after.
I've heard that many Tunisians have somehow italic ancestry, so maybe you have a degree of sicilian genes, who knows
own a greco sicilian friendship discord server if you want to join send me your account
A book I would advice you is "The Leopard" of Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa. There is an entire part of the book where one of the protagonists pratically gives an entire discourse on how sicilian history and italian history is pratically is a history of being dominated. And after all it's a very good book.
I read that book for school, and I absolutely loved it. That was one of the benefits of having a language teacher who is also history teacher.
Fun fact: the original title is "Il Gattopardo" which might be translated as "The Serval" or "The Ocelot" but for some reason they decided to use "The Leopard" instead.
I especially loved how he described Sicily as the “America of Antiquity” because of all the cultural and racial intermixing on the island.
@@FlaviusBelisarius-ck6uv Personally I would not loved that, considering all the invasions and occupations they got subjected to form that genetic pool : P
@@FlaviusBelisarius-ck6uv Sicilians aren't genetically different from other italians. This is an anglosphere myth
“And then the NORMANS happened.”
And there was much rejoicing
yaaaaay
finally someone who takes the history of my region outside of Italy.
You did a good job
My parents were stationed in Napoli for 3 years. They loved it and thank you for acknowledging the way southern Italy is criminally underrated
I love how you used the architecture of different periods as a metaphor for the culture of the time. I definitely want to visit those beautiful buildings
My first step mother was Sicilian from Giardini Naxos. When I went there it felt like home in Greece and the people were so friendly and the food was the best! I looked at Etna in awe , and Taormina up above is a miracle on its own! Unfortunately I only visited the East coast of Sicily from Messina south to Giarre. And we experienced a dancing night up in one of the inland villages on the hills west of Naxos . Remarkable culture ! I love Sicily!
I am a Sicilian and i just found this out, I love hearing some history that doesn't involve the mafia the whole video lol, so much other details, thank you!!! ❤
Sicily is one of the most beautiful places I've ever been. I've been twice and cannot wait to return and explore more of the island. If you like red wine you ought to try Frappato, in general I almost always prefer Italian and Sicilian reds but that particular grape is my absolute favourite
I’m from Sicily and I love my land so much. I’ve always studied it’s history and knowing what my native land has been trough, I never really understood why it’s past was so unknown. So, thank you so much for making this video and spreading the word.
heyy buddy i own a greco sicilian napolitana friendship server if you want to join send me your discord account
Can you make more Southern Italian videos? I feel like most Italian Americans come from Southern Italy, so it would be cool to hear more of our history! Great videos and thanks!
This!
Living here in northern Italy, I never got the "big picture" of how the south went into decline. This very entertaining video was stunning. Thanks for your work.
Check out the "questione meridionale".
I love that you made this video. I am from Sicily and I believe we have the best history and it rarely gets put on display. Thank you!
@Sicilianuwhy not?
@Sicilianu I was born and live in Corleone ahahahha 😅😂😂
@@landon2714 own a greco sicilian friendship discord server if you want to join send me your account
@Sicilianu own a greco sicilian friendship discord server if you want to join send me your account
Blue, buddy, you can't just drop "So the Allies worked with the Mafia against the Fascists" and then zoom straight to the ending! That sounds cool as hell!
And by cool I mean fascinating and also probably super depressing and extremely shady. My apologies everyone, I should have stated that upfront.
The story of how that happened is quite interesting too, though it's more ridiculous politics and shenanigans of the sort than historical events.
They allowed freedom to Lucky Luciano (who was in jail) if his mob managed to avoid any sabotage of US ships in the NY harbor and they also asked him for advice on the landing area and stuff like that.
Yeah it's super cool how post war the CIA combined with the Mafia for illegal drug trades while helping in the years of lead by killing pesky anti-mafia activists and politicians for being communist. Super cool, thanks America. You guys murdered the future of my country for the sake of fascists and drug money and you laugh about it.
Weeell not so much, as an Italian
@@unlucky46th Yeah, he actually made a really good video, but I deeply distaste the notion for which "(Italian) fascists are bad, so even the actual good stuff they did is to be overlooked". Also, Mussolini was the only European leader who actually liked the Arab world, he proclaimed himself "Sword of Islam" and actively encouraged Muslim culture. It could have been mentioned, given that he covered the prosperity of the Norman kingdom. But Mussolini lost the war, so he's always bad.
The city grid shot at 9:48 will haunt my dreams. That is otherworldly.
This is mindblowing, I never imagined that the Normans had such an impact in the Italian Peninsula!
It has occurred to me that most times a state chooses to practice tolerance for the differences amount their subjects it usually spars some kind of golden age for that state which usually results in a lot of new ideas. So, in short, if humans had practiced more tolerance throughout history we could likely more advanced than we are now.
More like they always collapse from infighting(roma, byzantines, any islamic empire). Sicily kind of worked because the "arabs" and "greeks" were just orthodox and muslim italians, and that came to an end too.
@@jl9211 well every country or empire eventually fall
Bad argument you have there
@@ASWE15 Norman Sicily didn't "fall", it became part of the HRE through a marriage. Point is that people discussing historical Sicily regularly mix up ethnicity and religion.
I visited Palermo pre-COVID, and he really understates how amazing the chapel is! Also as probably the first person in my family to go back in a century, I hate how little of the history and culture my great-grandparents passed down (aside from making cuccudatti). They left, and we literally don't know if they had anyone still there. There's so much just there I had to take a picture and go research later, like the rebellion right before the unification and the Plaza of the Thirteen Victims, which had a monument that's now sitting on the side and the Anti-Mafia monument is in the center now. Someday I'll make it back for a longer trip, and go see more outside the city not as a broke af student anymore, and maybe to my family's hometowns (Vicari and Palazzo Adriano) finally.
"Culture is harmonic" is such a beautiful way of phrasing it, and honestly just makes me all the more sad about the whole Sicily situation. Thank you for the new phrase though!
My partner is sicilian, and recently ive been on the hunt for as much as I can learn. Thank you for this video
I loved Sicily when I went. Of course I was deployed in the Navy at the time, but it was still lovely.
Coming from Sicilian decent this was incredible helpful. My great grandmother was one of the Sicilian immigrants that settled in Independence Louisiana, where there is an annual Sicilian festival, understanding my heritage in is very important to me and I’m proud of it
Can you talk about Sardinian history in one of your videos in the future? I am a Sardinian guy so I'm very proud of my island, that has also an interesting history, so please do a video about sardinia, if you want to do a video first about Naples or other italian cities/areas ok, I can wait, but pleaaaaase🙏🙏🙏
I love that so much of Southern Italy was multicultural and that the environment of actual religious tolerance and freedom allowed for some great thriving and amazing architecture.
I'm glad you do. When a northerner says I'm not really Italian I'm inclined to agree with them
Unfortunately, the "multicultural period" was very short: after the Norman rule, the Christians expelled the remaining muslims
@@daniele7989 LOLOLOL
@@daniele7989 nah, in many ways, we are more italians than them. Our languages are more similar to what Dante spoke, and we have to remember that the first Area that was called Italy was alongside the Strait of Messina. But, in the end we are all italians, I think...
@@esti-od1mz You're in denial. There was plenty of intermixing and influence you can still see to this day in most of Southern Europe, including Sicily. Some of them look like actual Arabs even now!
Finally I've been waiting for this!!
Thanks from Palermo, I really appreciated this video, I'm a proud Albanian/Sicilian (that's another great piece of history right there) and when someone ask me why I love so much a place that everyone try to escape from, well my answer is pretty much the same.
The fact I can understand what Blue is saying without truly knowing what he's saying.
I just learn so much when watching blue and red IN A NOT boring way like thank you so much for allthis really helps me get the "history" yearning i have without actually having to dig thru many books
Let’s be honest: Anything in History were people still remember being alive when it happened it’s kinda icky.
SUPRISE! I am the funniest YTer evah!!!! Just kidding, it was no surprise. Everybody knew already. HAHAHHAHA!!!! That was an amazing joke (it was real talk though). WAWAWAWAWA!!!! Good afternoon, dear eri
I hate remembering
I find it less icky (as in uninteresting) and more that it quickly becomes political so everything after WWII can quickly become an uncomfortable conversation. (Or pointless screaming, arguing is never productive especially on the internet)
@@jasonreed7522 I'd agree with both of these, personally. The politics isn't fun, and more recent events carry... More impact I guess? Since they're less removed from the present.
Nghe xong bài này cái thấy tâm trạng buồn và nặng nề kinh khủng. Nhưng lại cứ phải replay hoài cả ngày😍
As a Sicilian thank you very much for this video, I'm tired of seeing my country associated only to a bunch of scumbags while glossing over the thousands years of rich history. The downfall of Sicily though came only after the empire of Frederick II, his reign was still caratterized by the same spirit of mutual respect between different cultures of the Norman period.
own a greco sicilian friendship discord server if you want to join send me your account
I am so grateful to all those invasion that give us so much culture and variety! Italy is so beautiful everywhere 🧡
Unfortunately we don't care that much
You are literally my favourite youtubers TvT
"Icky world war two stuff" that had me dying XD
Amazing and totally fascinating! You have condensed so much valuable information into this video and the visuals really make it clear what was going on in which period. Gold medal standard! Bravissimo!!
Thx Blue, that's a cool spotlight on the south and as a southerner myself I can say that even here this part of history is severly overshadow, I mean it's not that we are unaware of it, it's just that this feels like the boring unimportant part of local history no one actually cares about outside here, I mean I still find the _rest_ of Italian and european history much more interesting and important, but it's nice not to forget this part
P.s As for the Mafia bit which surprised many... weeeell you guys should rethink the unblemished understanding you have of the Americans in war, they debatably aren't the spotless heroes of Europe and definitely not of any other place, just think that the saying in Naples went like "adda venì Baffone": Big Mustache (Stalin) will come and fix the situation
My pediatrician was Sicilian. He had a map on the wall in his exam room focusing on the island. He was the first person to tell me the way the Italy boot looks like it's kicking Sicily is very appropriate. That primed my mental pumps to see how diverse and strange history gets.
blue, let's be honest here, we both know we'd all sit through you waxing philosophic about southern italy for an entire hour.
This warms my heart because my mom was a missionary in Naples (she calls it Napulia) and Sicily for a year and a half and I grew up on stories of this wild place. Funny he should use the kicking metaphors since Sicily calls themselves the football because of where they are; also my Mom says one of their ancient kings, Fredrick the II got excommunicated 3 times, recommunicated never (pope got huffy that he started his deathbed promise crusade late due to malaria, then went on crusade having been excommunicated, then got Jerusalem through diplomacy not violence), and flowers still appear at Fredrick II's tomb. Also also, my Mom also says there's a bunch of farmers that keep historical artifacts the government doesn't know about on their mantle piece because if they report plowing up relics they loose the farm with no compensation.
Aaaaand my heart breaks for another cultured gemstone in history due to the ignorant monarchy/imperialism after the cool rulers died
And South Italy has SUCH a goddamn beautiful history just for its children today to be the beaten horse of the country.
Blame the 800, both after the unification and before, for that.
The North had a larger experience with revolts and such, in the South, beyond the big cities, little happened. Hell, there were people not unlike feudal lords in early 1900 in Calabria
@@Hyperversum3 even before that what screwed us for good was the Spanish domination which prevented renaissance from firing and later created the stepping stone for absolute imperialism in the region.
@@Old_Harry7 That's another big point foreigners miss about.Italy indeed.
The extreme difference between regions isn't random, it's the result of over 1300 years of Italy being a culturally defined region, but not politically united even in the slightest.
It's kinda of annoying to see people speak about Italy like the big imperialisitc nations of Europe when it was first and foremost a country that was AFFECTED by other empires
@@Hyperversum3 To me it looks like hstorical developments gave way to an essentially feudal state being integrated into an already industrializing one without effective land reform on top of having all protectionist tariffs on its primary export broken down just to support the latter's industrialization. The only attempt by any Italian government to rectify this disparity after unification seems to have been the Cassa del Mezzogiorno. Doesn't seem to have helped much either beyond inducing dependency on subsidization for growth.
Edit: Okay so I've only read two wikipedia paragraphs and... dang. The post-unification governments really didn't care about the south, did they? Ridiculously unfair tax burden to have the south produce 40% of taxes when the land isn't nearly as profitable elsewhere, region-specific tariffs to shield northern industry from competition while leaving the south out to dry all while forcing it to contribute the most to a public spending effort focused on northern railways.
@@wildfire9280 It has always been an issue that Italian governements, both the Kingdom and the Republic, have been more than happy to allow regional governements to have lots of responsability when It came down to infrastructures and local stuff.
Thus, It was hard to crack the shell of corruption that kept the South so limited in its economy.
It's not so much about Industrialization and lack of action of the central governement, but rather than there were people that had lots of personal gains and benefits, even outside of criminality, to keep things as they were.
As an Italian, I can't blame enough the governements between 1955/6 and 1970.
They had all the opportunities to change the situation, coming out from the early mess that the War left behind. But of course... Nope, nothing was done with real effort. After all, what should have expected from the Democrazia Cristiana?
It's hard to remain popular when you do big changes and try to force progress even when the people that would benefit from it stand against It.
It's even harder when your entire political agenda is mantaining the status quo.
And then again, when the DC and similar parties disappeared through the 90s, they simply left the ground to the various Berlusconi governments that... Yep, once again where as much as possible about keeping people Happy with the status quo
I was scrolling through RUclips recommendations, on the day my daughter is to be married. I came across this video, and you made me an offer I couldn’t refuse: an entertaining and educational video about the history of the old country.
Mama Mia
I'm pretty sure my grandmother's family came from Sicily, so this was a treat to see! It's really is such a fascinating slice of Mediterranean history, it's nice to see it get some genuine love and attention.
lol, no offence but I find this attitude of you Americans quite "interesting" I mean, you could be as much if not more delighted with idk Cuban history but no, Sicily it's nicer because maybe your grandmother family came frome there, I mean, see what interest you and not what some dead relative of you might have wanted you to be interested in
@@Camaleonte9087 Just let people be interested in whatever they want to be.
@@dangerdan2592 sure, that's the whole point, you don't need some kind of "connection" to be interested in something
@@Camaleonte9087 You don't need it, but if you do have a connection with something, I don't see a problem in being interested in it. It's sort of like an ice breaker. You're already somewhat familiar with it even if it's a little bit. In Europe, I'm sure many children or grandchildren of migrants are interested in where their family came from, but I only ever see Americans catch flak for this. I mean it is annoying when some Americans play up the connection to their ancestors too much and have too much pride in it, but just being interested in the history is fine in my opinion. But hey, I'm an American as well so maybe I'm biased.
GRAZIE MILLE for this! Visited Sicily & the Aeolian Islands 3 summers ago & was fascinated by the natural beauty as well as the architectural marvels, & the many layers to their history & culture. Had an amazing guide in Palermo who took us barhopping & explained modern city as well as its ancient roots. When I tried to look into its ancient history, I found that there wasn't much in-depth stuff about ancient Carthaginian, Greek & Norman rule & just got some touristy śhīt (probably a lot more info available in Italian). I haven't even finished watching this video yet but I know you guys can deliver so thank you in advance!!!!! LOL.
I think we need to start a petition to get blue to play Crusader Kings 3.
I'm... interested to see what in Odin's beard he'll do.
Probably the same that everyone does: start a game aiming to a serious play and ending as an incestuous chinese giant ruling in Sri Lanka that has just made a deviant cannibal become the new pope.
@@marcorizzoni9766 That sounds both oddly specific and something that blue would do.
I really appreciate these history videos you make which bring light to little known yet important historical facts that deserve to be remembered
Can't believe you skipped over 1190, a.k.a. "Hey Tancred, if you're going to seize your dead cousin William's Sicilian kingdom and imprison his widow, try not to do it the very same year that her brother Richard the Lionheart comes cruising through the Mediterranean on the way to the Holy Land, along with his on-again, off-again boyfriend King Philip of France and two stonking armies". The year 1190 in Sicily was like three seasons of Game of Thrones on fast forward.
LOLOLOLOL
lived in sicily for my entire elementary school life. did not know about the muslims or normans. which was surprising since every field trip, vacation, and family outing always sneaked in some history of sicily.
also sicilian architecture is a vibe. i can see why people might dismiss a lot of the buildings since they are old, but idk. i really like it. theres something about it that really hits home.
“You rise you fall, business is business” is an all time quote lol
I'm amazed at how much of Southern Italy's and Siciliy's history is about who invaded when. Yes, that's been Italy's fate, even before it was Italy, but I'd like to hear more about the indigenous cultures including the Etruscans.
Some timestamps for places:
6:15 - I cannot confirm if all the pictures from before are from the Chapel in the Palazzo Reale (I didn't see it on my last trip - but next time). I do think one or two ARE of the Duomo di Monreale though. It's a small town above Palermo with an amazing view and a beautiful Church! The picture at 6:16 shows the courtyard of the adjacent monastery.
9:46 - That's Noto, south and inlands of Syracuse. It is, without a doubt, the most beautiful city I've ever seen. No exaggeration. Nothing else can compete with it.
10:00 - That's the Duomo del Catania! It actually also incorporates some Norman architecture in the back, but yeah, it's mostly baroque. For a baroque church, it is very nice and light though. It's quaint.
I'd be super stoked to see a longer version of this some day - Maybe actually focusing on the seperate fates of parts of the mezzogiorno? The island, Calabria, Puglia, Campania etc.
Sicilians do feel a strong sense of uniqueness still. I'm glad you mentioned the differences between South and North in general - My shirt that makes use of the word "Terroni" (an insult towards South Italians in reference to their agricultural culture) shows that well. And no worries, it's reclaiming the word and from an all-things-Sicily shop in Palermo :P
And thanks for the little acknowledgement of Fritz II. of the Staufer Dynasty. I can't help it, I do like the dude a lot when I look at his HRE Career. I definitely plan to look more into him in the future.
Grazie per leggere
Fritz 2 was definetely one of the better leaders we got for a while. Probably until now.
Ok as an Irishman that suddenly really wants to visit; what cool places would you recommend - obviously include the cool architecture but save some spaces for my boring non nerdy friends
@@ieatbananaskins7926 First of all, I'd say that Sicily is also a great island to visit because I think it and Ireland got a lot in common. (Aside from the weather LOL).
Out of the places I know, I'd definitely recc Taormina. You could use Giardini Naxos as homebase if your friends are looking more for a beach holiday, since it's big on that kind of tourism AND Taurmina & the Etna are in spitting distance. (Never been to Giardini Naxos tho). Taurmina is a very beautiful, old little town atop a steep mountain right at the ocean. The Ancient Greek Theater is a side to behold and you can do lots of strolling around in its tight little alleys and more open piazze.
Noto. But probably go really early or late and probably not in the middle of the summer (as me and my family did), because the humid heat was SO BAD. Being inlands means no sea breeze. But do go see it - I meant it when I said it's the most beautiful city I've ever laid eyes on.
Catania has been a while (I'll probably go there next after I maybe gave Naples a second shake via semester abroad), but it is a very beautiful city. Lots and lots to see and do there as well - As East South Sicily's center, it's very lively and diverse. Baroque grandeur galore, too! (Even if not as uniform and perfect as Noto). And you can take a look at one of the big effing Staufer castles. It used to be at the port, but the volcanic erruption in the 17th century added so much land to the (now ruined) city that it's now inside of it.
If you wanna hang but have great opportunity for culture, I'd say go Syracuse. Siracusa has an archaeological park, a puppet museum (I sadly, sadly haven't gotten around to visit on any of my trips yet), a papyrus museum and a very impressive archaeological museum. Ortigia, the island that houses the ancient city center and is connected to mainland syracuse by large bridges, is the perfect place to spend your evenings.
Modica - Actually never been there, can't give you any intel, but it's chocolate is the pride of Sicily.
Palermo - Definitely a sight to see and worth its capital status. Go check out the Falcone e Borsellino Murial at the port (you won't miss it) and definitely go see the No Mafia Memorial. The catacombs of the Porta d'Ossuna are a good place to spend half an hour before you check out the Palazzo Reale and la Cattedrale. Sadly, the Catacombi dei Cappuccini closed due to Covid while I was there but I WILL come back and I WILL wage psychological warfare on myself by walking among all those bones and mummies. Seriously tho, it sounds pretty neat, go there for meee. And check out some Normanno-Arabo churches. I'd actually recc San Cataldo over San Giovanni degli Eremiti - although the latter has a very pretty courtyard.
You can always have a stroll through Kalsa or any adjacent area more to the west of city for a good time at night. And visit Monreale! It's a good daytrip activity.
That's my limited "What to see in Sicily" guide. I also hope that one day (maybe during one of the next spring breaks) I'll make it to Ireland.
@@SarahWolverine thanks much! If you visit Ireland, I would recommend seeing the West - travel the Wild Atlantic Way, there is no bigger pity than going to Ireland and never leaving Dublin, venture to the giants causeway up north too
If you're interested in sport you should definitely check out Hurling - fastest field game on earth and the final is played in Europe's third largest stadium
(I'm from the southernmost region of Ireland, weather is still very mild but at least I'm not unfortunate enough to have a Dublin accent ;))
@@ieatbananaskins7926 jaysus do u really. That’s a bit unhygienic 😂😂😂
On the subject of the absolute coolness of the blending of cultures in Norman Sicily, several years ago (I think around 2016), I was in London and the British Museum was holding a special exhibition on the vast and varied history of Sicily and all the blending of cultures that make Sicily such a unique place in Eurasian history. And in particular, there was one object that really stood out as the symbol of all this cultural exchange, and it was a headstone which was divided into three sections- one section in Arabic, one section in Hebrew, and one section in either Latin or Greek. And what was especially cool about this was that each section used their respective culture's own calendar and dating system, so it gave the person's life and times in three different ways of counting the years! This level of respect for cultural differences and showing how they can all live together and work together even if they seem different was so beautiful and it was so cool to see it represented in an object like a headstone (though in fairness, headstones often can be one of the best historical sources). Sicily may be the poor ball getting kicked by the boot that is the rest of Italy, but it really is such an underrated and beautiful historical culture.
What a coincidence, I just recently learned that my Grandma's family was from Sicily. I know they came over mid-late 1800s.I'm also told that after my Grandma's mother died, her sister stepped up and married my great-grandpa because (again, I was told) it was common practice at the time.
Hi I know this comments already like 3 weeks old but I just wanted to say that pretty much the same thing happened with my great-great-grandma and grandpa after they both got widowed
Seems to have been a pretty common practice... keeping it in the family so to speak! I've always wondered about how it worked emotionally and psychologically? I mean, you'd know the person pretty well already (a bonus in eras & cultures where arranged marriage was still pretty common) and would know the in-laws etc already, making the transition less jarring. Presumably you'd also already have emotional investment in any kids that existed from the previous marriage too, so that (given historical evidence of poor treatment of step-children) would've been a definite incentive for the surviving parent.
It must've surely have been pretty weird though to go from years of viewing someone like a sibling-in-law (hands off!) to now being married to them...? I can imagine that if you actually cared for your new spouse, competing with the memory of your deceased sibling for their affections would also be fairly strange...?
As a Sicilian: thank you! You have NO IDEA how flabbergasting it is when other people in Italy literally don't have any single idea that yes, the south has its own history (which usually involves a lot of stabbing, but I digress) and don't know anything about it
❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤
Edit: "Culture is harmonic" is such a lovely phrase...
I've visited most of the places you've shown on this video many times, they're very beautiful! Thanks for this video from a Sicilian still living in Sicily!
Wow, you even made me, a northern Italian, respect and enjoy Sicilian history. Well done
Sicily blew away my expectations. I hadn’t really researched shit or anything. Was just asked to come and travel around the island. You see all those influences from different cultures, religions ect. Was a fkn amazing collab