Mackay leads the reader from ancient amphitheatres through Arab gardens to baroque cathedrals. He delves into the island’s great literature, such as Giuseppe di Lampedusa’s masterpiece, The Leopard. In its modern era, Sicily has been the site of revolution, the Cosa Nostra and, in the twenty- first century, a focal point in the refugee crisis.

The Invention of Sicily is a dazzling introduction to the island, its history and its people.