"Art and Architecture of Sicily' is the first book to cover the rich artistic heritage of Sicily from prehistory up to the late 20th century. Sicily's strategic position in the centre of the Mediterranean led to settlement or conquest by a succession of different peoples -- Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, Muslims, Normans, Germans, French, Spanish -- each one leaving its traces on Sicilian culture. The book provides a chronological survey, each section opening with a brief historical overview followed by an account of the development of the period's art and architecture. The leading architects, artists and stylistic currents are all discussed and outstanding individual buildings and works of art are analysed, some famous, others that will be new to many readers. While architecture is the principal starting point for the understanding of each period, paintings and sculpture are also treated in some detail, along with archaeology, urban development, patronage and decorative arts. The development of art and architecture in Sicily is not interpreted as a story of artistic conquests, but as one of acculturation and creative transformation. Challenging the commonly held view of Sicilian art and architecture as provincial and derivative, the author argues that successive layering of cultures, and the way each one interacted with its predecessors produced exceptional art and architecture quite distinct from anywhere else in Europe."-- Page 4 of cover.