The paradox of Sicily: from externalized hermeticism to self-opening?

Abstract

Sicily is in the heart of the Mediterranean Sea, meeting place and cosmopolitanism in history. This is the particularity of this island: it has always been under the yoke of another civilization while being an important player. For centuries Sicily "drinks" the crops that pass over and around its land. The discovery of America changes the game and makes the Mediterranean less central; it is the end of the golden age of Sicily that is closed on itself. The Sicilians - on the island and emigrated - but remain in their microcosm, leaving Sicily without new ideas to combat a critical economic and social situation. But the arrival of migrants in Sicily could also give new impetus to this territory that needs a new vision. Paradoxically and despite thousands in Sicilians in the world, the strongest cosmopolitanism is in Sicily, which could resume its role of Mediterranean intercultural mediator in the coming years.

Keywords: Sicily, Mediterranean, dialect, cosmopolitanism, intercultural, Italy, migration crisis.