0:00:02 > 0:00:04- Buongiorno. Come sta?- Va bene. - Posso?- Si!- Grazie.
0:00:06 > 0:00:08It's lunchtime here in Palermo.
0:00:08 > 0:00:12What could be more Italian than to have a bowl of pasta?
0:00:13 > 0:00:17And so the story goes, Marco Polo, that great Italian adventurer,
0:00:17 > 0:00:19brought pasta back from China.
0:00:19 > 0:00:21- Tante grazie.- Grazie.
0:00:21 > 0:00:24But here in Sicily, we have an account
0:00:24 > 0:00:28from a century before Marco Polo by the Arab geographer Al-Idrisi
0:00:28 > 0:00:31of a town just down the coast from here, the town of Trabia,
0:00:31 > 0:00:34where they were making what he called itriyya,
0:00:34 > 0:00:36long, dried pieces of semolina -
0:00:36 > 0:00:37effectively tagliatelle.
0:00:37 > 0:00:43So it seems that pasta was actually introduced to Sicily by the Arabs.
0:00:43 > 0:00:46From there, it quickly became the nation's favourite dish.
0:00:50 > 0:00:54Sicily has always been on the border of two worlds,
0:00:54 > 0:00:57as much North African as it is European.
0:00:57 > 0:01:00From the ancient Greeks to modern migrants,
0:01:00 > 0:01:03the island's life and character have been shaped
0:01:03 > 0:01:07by an ever-shifting tide of humanity.
0:01:07 > 0:01:12Some have come to loot and conquer, others to build a new life,
0:01:12 > 0:01:16but all have left their mark on the Sicilian soul.
0:01:19 > 0:01:21Is it too late to run away?
0:01:21 > 0:01:23I'm Michael Scott.
0:01:23 > 0:01:28As an ancient historian, I'm on a journey to discover how Sicilians,
0:01:28 > 0:01:30so rarely in control of their own destiny,
0:01:30 > 0:01:33have forged an identity and culture that is...
0:01:33 > 0:01:35well, so Sicilian.
0:01:35 > 0:01:39We live on a volcano but it's normal!
0:01:39 > 0:01:40Yes.
0:01:40 > 0:01:44How they've learnt to face the future from a turbulent past.
0:01:47 > 0:01:52I want to know what Sicily's history and people can tell us
0:01:52 > 0:01:55about how to survive in our fast-changing world.
0:01:57 > 0:02:00We are giving an example to the rest of Europe.
0:02:00 > 0:02:04Welcome is the best guarantee for safety.
0:02:17 > 0:02:20Barely 100 miles from Africa,
0:02:20 > 0:02:24Sicily has long been a Mediterranean stepping stone.
0:02:26 > 0:02:30Since the start of the eighth century, Muslim Arabs had ruled
0:02:30 > 0:02:33the North African coast - just a day's sailing away.
0:02:36 > 0:02:39Mazara del Vallo today is a thriving cosmopolitan town.
0:02:39 > 0:02:42There's large Tunisian community here, who work on the fishing boats,
0:02:42 > 0:02:45for example. But it was also the place
0:02:45 > 0:02:50where the Arabs first came ashore in Sicily in the ninth century,
0:02:50 > 0:02:54in 827, upon the invitation of a rebellious Byzantine governor
0:02:54 > 0:02:57who'd got himself involved with a nun.
0:02:57 > 0:03:02It's a long story, but so was their gradual occupation of the island,
0:03:02 > 0:03:06for it took the Arabs over 50 years to conquer this place.
0:03:10 > 0:03:15Palermo became Sicily's new capital and, as the island opened up,
0:03:15 > 0:03:20immigrants flooded in, fleeing famine and unrest in North Africa.
0:03:20 > 0:03:24Under the Arabs, Christians and Jews had less civil rights than Muslims
0:03:24 > 0:03:27but they weren't forced to convert.
0:03:27 > 0:03:30Within a generation, the island had become
0:03:30 > 0:03:34one of the most multiethnic states in the whole of Europe.
0:03:37 > 0:03:40These things I saw on the plane over here.
0:03:40 > 0:03:42A lovely Sicilian lady was sitting next to me
0:03:42 > 0:03:44and she had one in her bag on the plane.
0:03:44 > 0:03:46I've no idea what it is but it looks great!
0:03:49 > 0:03:53With strong links to the rest of the Arab world, Sicily became
0:03:53 > 0:03:57one of the great trading centres of the Mediterranean.
0:03:59 > 0:04:01This is my kind of fish stall.
0:04:01 > 0:04:04You get to look the fish in the eye before you eat it.
0:04:04 > 0:04:05Fantastic!
0:04:06 > 0:04:09Welcome to the Ballaro markets here in Palermo.
0:04:09 > 0:04:11They've been here for a thousand years,
0:04:11 > 0:04:14dating back to the time of the Arab conquest that brought with it
0:04:14 > 0:04:18so much that we utterly take for granted here today -
0:04:18 > 0:04:22pistachios, almond, saffron, couscous, watermelon, sugar cane.
0:04:22 > 0:04:25And also systems of irrigation and agriculture
0:04:25 > 0:04:28that absolutely revitalised the western half of Sicily.
0:04:28 > 0:04:31HE SPEAKS ITALIAN
0:04:31 > 0:04:34And here in Palermo, the Arab city that was created with
0:04:34 > 0:04:39beautiful gardens and mosques and palaces and bazaars like this one,
0:04:39 > 0:04:42Arabs welcomed Christians, Jews, to trade here.
0:04:42 > 0:04:46It was absolutely the cosmopolitan melting pot
0:04:46 > 0:04:48of the ninth, tenth and 11th centuries.
0:04:48 > 0:04:52'Most Sicilians are proud of their Arab heritage,
0:04:52 > 0:04:57'but only a few material traces of those years have survived.'
0:04:57 > 0:04:59This should keep us going for a while.
0:04:59 > 0:05:02HE SHOUTS IN ITALIAN
0:05:07 > 0:05:10We've come to high ground on the outskirts of central Palermo
0:05:10 > 0:05:14in search of some remnants from the era of the Arab control
0:05:14 > 0:05:17and conquest of Sicily. And I'm told that, right here,
0:05:17 > 0:05:19there's an entrance to an underground world.
0:05:22 > 0:05:23Ciao! Buongiorno!
0:05:23 > 0:05:26- Come va?- Ciao.- Piacere.- Piacere.
0:05:32 > 0:05:34Possibly a little tight for me on the shoulder.
0:05:34 > 0:05:37We're not going with electric battery lights here.
0:05:37 > 0:05:40We're going old-school. We're going with gas-powered lighting.
0:05:40 > 0:05:43This is amazing! HE SPEAKS ITALIAN
0:05:43 > 0:05:44OK.
0:05:46 > 0:05:47I'm like a large candle!
0:05:47 > 0:05:50HE CHUCKLES
0:05:50 > 0:05:56Eight metres down lies a hidden network of tunnels, the qanats,
0:05:56 > 0:06:01a gravity-fed irrigation system that carried water from the hills above
0:06:01 > 0:06:03into Palermo and to the fields beyond.
0:06:05 > 0:06:08Obviously, if the water's hidden down here,
0:06:08 > 0:06:14it can't be contaminated by human hand or nature's hand so easily.
0:06:14 > 0:06:17But also because, down here, even with the hot weather,
0:06:17 > 0:06:19it doesn't evaporate.
0:06:19 > 0:06:21Genius!
0:06:22 > 0:06:25But, also, what we are seeing here is a system that's designed
0:06:25 > 0:06:29not just for bringing water for people to drink
0:06:29 > 0:06:32but water that can be used for irrigation, for crops.
0:06:32 > 0:06:37And it's that that really allowed Palermo to expand massively.
0:06:42 > 0:06:44So they distinguished
0:06:44 > 0:06:48between the water in these pipes, which was for drinking,
0:06:48 > 0:06:52and the water on the floor of the qanat, that was for irrigation.
0:06:52 > 0:06:54So this...
0:06:54 > 0:06:56This was the really good drinking water.
0:06:59 > 0:07:00No? OK.
0:07:00 > 0:07:04Palermo was one of the only cities on Sicily that had this system
0:07:04 > 0:07:09of qanats constructed, because it was a city of something like 200,000 people,
0:07:09 > 0:07:12possibly the tenth-biggest city in Europe at the time,
0:07:12 > 0:07:17and it needed a lot of water to be able to keep the people happy each day.
0:07:20 > 0:07:23THEY SPEAK ITALIAN
0:07:28 > 0:07:31Here, we've got an access point between different levels of the qanat.
0:07:31 > 0:07:34Rosanna's saying, "Go down and have a look."
0:07:34 > 0:07:37OK. So, here we go, then.
0:07:42 > 0:07:45HE GROANS
0:07:47 > 0:07:51This feels a much more constructed tunnel.
0:07:51 > 0:07:53You've got this man-made vaulted roof,
0:07:53 > 0:07:55very smart-looking roof, on both sides.
0:08:04 > 0:08:08Look at the clarity of this water!
0:08:08 > 0:08:10Absolutely unbelievable.
0:08:10 > 0:08:14Coming from that direction, from the mountains,
0:08:14 > 0:08:17heading in towards the city.
0:08:19 > 0:08:22Absolutely superb craftsmanship.
0:08:37 > 0:08:40You don't have to, though, go to such extraordinary lengths
0:08:40 > 0:08:43to see the remnants of the Arab period in Sicilian history.
0:08:43 > 0:08:48Here, Palermo Cathedral, this column has an inscription from the Koran,
0:08:48 > 0:08:49and it ends with saying,
0:08:49 > 0:08:53"Unquestionably, his is the creation and the command.
0:08:53 > 0:08:55"Blessed is Allah, Lord of the world."
0:08:55 > 0:09:00Now, this pillar comes from the Arabic mosque that was on this site,
0:09:00 > 0:09:02before which there had been a Byzantine church,
0:09:02 > 0:09:05and now stands Palermo Cathedral.
0:09:05 > 0:09:08And this column has been part of this building
0:09:08 > 0:09:11for approaching almost a thousand years. And as such,
0:09:11 > 0:09:13it speaks to Sicily's pride
0:09:13 > 0:09:17and the confluence of cultures that has defined its history.
0:09:21 > 0:09:25That mix of cultures was about to get even more diverse.
0:09:27 > 0:09:32Gathering in southern Italy, across the narrow Straits of Messina,
0:09:32 > 0:09:36was a group of adventurers only recently arrived from Normandy.
0:09:38 > 0:09:39In the early 11th century,
0:09:39 > 0:09:43a Norman band of brothers led by the De Hauteville family
0:09:43 > 0:09:46came down to southern Italy as mercenary soldiers, and by 1040
0:09:46 > 0:09:49they were the most powerful force in the area.
0:09:49 > 0:09:53It wasn't long before they started looking with avid eyes towards Sicily.
0:09:56 > 0:09:57Two of the De Hautevilles -
0:09:57 > 0:10:00Robert and the youngest of the brothers, Roger -
0:10:00 > 0:10:01led the invasion force.
0:10:04 > 0:10:10In 1061, the same decade that the Normans would also invade England,
0:10:10 > 0:10:13Robert and Roger crossed the straits between Italy and Sicily
0:10:13 > 0:10:15to take the town of Messina.
0:10:15 > 0:10:20But, unlike William the Conqueror's quick conquest of England,
0:10:20 > 0:10:23it would take Robert and Roger 30 years
0:10:23 > 0:10:27to get Sicily properly under control.
0:10:31 > 0:10:33One of the reasons it took so long was
0:10:33 > 0:10:37Robert had to keep going back to sort out southern Italy
0:10:37 > 0:10:40and Roger took, unlike William the Conqueror in England,
0:10:40 > 0:10:43a much more softly, softly approach to conquest.
0:10:43 > 0:10:45He worked WITH the local Arabs.
0:10:45 > 0:10:48Indeed, many joined his own forces.
0:10:48 > 0:10:51And it was from places like this, the Castle of Venus,
0:10:51 > 0:10:54that the Normans established their control of Sicily.
0:10:56 > 0:11:01Roger became the de-facto ruler of this island and his reputation went
0:11:01 > 0:11:06through the roof. He is described as being tall and eloquent and handsome
0:11:06 > 0:11:10and diplomatic and a great warrior and a scholar and, frankly...
0:11:10 > 0:11:12it makes you quite sick.
0:11:20 > 0:11:23Sponsored by the Pope, the Norman invasion of Sicily
0:11:23 > 0:11:25had been a Christian enterprise -
0:11:25 > 0:11:31yet Normans, Greeks, Jews and Arabs were now granted equal rights,
0:11:31 > 0:11:34free to practise their own religions and cultures.
0:11:37 > 0:11:40When Roger died, power passed to his son.
0:11:40 > 0:11:42Named after his father,
0:11:42 > 0:11:47Roger II had grown up surrounded by different cultures and religions
0:11:47 > 0:11:50and was determined to build on his father's legacy.
0:11:55 > 0:11:58Roger I had been a Norman count.
0:11:58 > 0:12:03Roger II had himself crowned as the first king of Sicily.
0:12:06 > 0:12:10Situated here, at the heart of the Norman Palace in Palermo,
0:12:10 > 0:12:12is this room, the Palatine Chapel,
0:12:12 > 0:12:17commissioned by Roger II and inaugurated in 1143.
0:12:17 > 0:12:21It really feels like the entire world has been sucked into this one room
0:12:21 > 0:12:25and, as a result, created a sensorial overload.
0:12:25 > 0:12:27On the one hand, Norman architecture,
0:12:27 > 0:12:29Italian marbles on the floor and the lower walls,
0:12:29 > 0:12:34but we're also surrounded by these shining Byzantine gold mosaics
0:12:34 > 0:12:38and, above our heads, a beautiful Islamic wood-carved ceiling.
0:12:50 > 0:12:53What makes this chapel so remarkable is that,
0:12:53 > 0:12:55at the time it was being constructed,
0:12:55 > 0:12:58Europe was still dealing with the after-effects of the great schism
0:12:58 > 0:13:01between the Western and Eastern Christian churches,
0:13:01 > 0:13:05and Europe was at war with the Islamic world - the Crusades.
0:13:05 > 0:13:07And yet, here in Sicily,
0:13:07 > 0:13:11in a place that had seen all of those influences come and go,
0:13:11 > 0:13:15this chapel brings all of them harmoniously together.
0:13:16 > 0:13:21Roger II was king of the third-largest kingdom in Europe
0:13:21 > 0:13:25at the time. And when he sat here in his chapel,
0:13:25 > 0:13:30he must truly have felt that he sat at the confluence of civilisation.
0:13:40 > 0:13:45Sicilians look back on the Norman period as a moment in time
0:13:45 > 0:13:49when Sicily got it absolutely right -
0:13:49 > 0:13:53memories that they keep alive in a uniquely Sicilian way,
0:13:53 > 0:13:55in the puppet theatre.
0:13:59 > 0:14:01I've come to the Borgo Vecchio district of Palermo
0:14:01 > 0:14:05to meet Enzo Mancuso, whose family have been making puppets
0:14:05 > 0:14:08and putting on puppet shows for three generations.
0:14:08 > 0:14:09Enzo?
0:14:09 > 0:14:12- Ciao! Come va?- Molto bene.
0:14:12 > 0:14:15Puppet theatre became popular in the 18th century
0:14:15 > 0:14:17but its origins are much older -
0:14:17 > 0:14:21the traditions and stories handed down from father to son.
0:14:32 > 0:14:34HE SPEAKS ITALIAN
0:14:51 > 0:14:54True puppeteers don't just operate the puppets -
0:14:54 > 0:14:56they make them as well.
0:15:40 > 0:15:42In a world before television,
0:15:42 > 0:15:46puppet shows were the soap operas of their day -
0:15:46 > 0:15:51a mishmash of history, tales of Sicilian love and honour,
0:15:51 > 0:15:53treachery and justice.
0:15:55 > 0:15:58APPLAUSE
0:16:00 > 0:16:03When you think of puppet shows, you think of Punch and Judy,
0:16:03 > 0:16:06but this is so much more - this is stories of legend,
0:16:06 > 0:16:09of myth and of history all wrapped up together in some of the most
0:16:09 > 0:16:13realistic and, frankly, bloodthirsty puppeteering I've ever seen.
0:16:18 > 0:16:20When Norman rule ended in Sicily,
0:16:20 > 0:16:23power passed to a man called Frederick II.
0:16:23 > 0:16:28Now, this guy acquired royal titles like most of us acquire hats.
0:16:28 > 0:16:31He was the King of Sicily, he was the King of the Germans,
0:16:31 > 0:16:33he was the King of Romans, he was the Holy Roman Emperor,
0:16:33 > 0:16:35he was even the King of Jerusalem.
0:16:35 > 0:16:38But, for me, the most interesting thing about this guy
0:16:38 > 0:16:43is that he employed a wandering Scottish intellectual as his adviser
0:16:43 > 0:16:46and his name was, if you can believe it, Michael Scott.
0:16:46 > 0:16:48It was a very solid choice, I think you'll agree.
0:16:48 > 0:16:53Now, this guy was a well-known translator of Greek,
0:16:53 > 0:16:57Latin and Arabic texts and he and Frederick became firm friends.
0:16:57 > 0:16:59Ciao! Come va?
0:16:59 > 0:17:03And if I was THAT Michael Scott, I would have advised Frederick this -
0:17:03 > 0:17:07that while everything seems rosy in Sicily right now,
0:17:07 > 0:17:09there may be trouble ahead.
0:17:09 > 0:17:12Because, while Sicily had been a kind of single entity
0:17:12 > 0:17:14with its own royal household,
0:17:14 > 0:17:19now it was part of a much bigger geopolitical game - one that would,
0:17:19 > 0:17:23as so often in history, see Sicily on the losing side.
0:17:25 > 0:17:28Fai attenzione, eh? Ciao!
0:17:41 > 0:17:45I've come to take part in a native Sicilian sport -
0:17:45 > 0:17:48stick fighting, bastone.
0:17:56 > 0:18:01On the death of Frederick II, Sicily fell into chaos and confusion.
0:18:01 > 0:18:05It was a time when Sicilians needed to defend themselves
0:18:05 > 0:18:06and their possessions.
0:18:31 > 0:18:32THEY SPEAK ITALIAN
0:18:32 > 0:18:35- Io voglio provarlo. Lei puo mi insegnare un po?- Si, si, si.- Bravo!
0:18:38 > 0:18:40OK. So, we're going to have a try of this
0:18:40 > 0:18:43and Giovanni is very kindly going to teach me a few moves.
0:18:43 > 0:18:44Stop!
0:18:44 > 0:18:46Mano destra.
0:18:46 > 0:18:49'For many years, techniques of knife and stick fighting were taught
0:18:49 > 0:18:53'only in secret, but now they are practised for sport,
0:18:53 > 0:18:56'Sicily's very own martial art.'
0:18:58 > 0:19:00Wow!
0:19:00 > 0:19:02THEY SPEAK ITALIAN
0:19:02 > 0:19:05'I used to fence for many years and I can see lots of similarities
0:19:05 > 0:19:07'but also key differences.
0:19:07 > 0:19:10'And, partly, I think it's to do with where this sport originated,
0:19:10 > 0:19:13'from shepherds with their staffs protecting their flocks,
0:19:13 > 0:19:17'both from wild animals as well as from people coming to steal from them.'
0:19:19 > 0:19:22I like the fact we're starting with going for the face.
0:19:22 > 0:19:24- It sounds pretty brutal!- OK.
0:19:28 > 0:19:30OK, so now we're going not just for the face, but for the body.
0:19:30 > 0:19:34This is the full-on attack, which I have to defend, from Giovanni.
0:19:34 > 0:19:36THEY SPEAK ITALIAN
0:19:36 > 0:19:39He's going to be gentle on me, to begin with at least. OK.
0:19:39 > 0:19:41Uno, due, tre,
0:19:41 > 0:19:43quattro, cinque, sei.
0:19:43 > 0:19:45Uno, due, tre,
0:19:45 > 0:19:47quattro, cinque, sei.
0:19:47 > 0:19:49Fantastico!
0:19:50 > 0:19:55From the Middle Ages on, Sicily would belong to foreign powers -
0:19:55 > 0:19:58no longer in charge of its own destiny -
0:19:58 > 0:20:02but Sicilians are nothing if not adaptable.
0:20:06 > 0:20:10In 1282, 500 years of Spanish rule began
0:20:10 > 0:20:12and when Spain discovered the Americas,
0:20:12 > 0:20:17ideas and products from the New World began to arrive on the island.
0:20:17 > 0:20:20And in the town of Modica in southern Sicily,
0:20:20 > 0:20:23they were blended into a very Sicilian confection.
0:20:28 > 0:20:30Wow! So this is the chocolate?
0:20:30 > 0:20:33This is OUR chocolate.
0:20:33 > 0:20:38Modican chocolate has been made the same way for the last 500 years -
0:20:38 > 0:20:41worked cold so it never becomes completely liquid.
0:20:41 > 0:20:44You can hear the granules in the chocolate as...
0:20:44 > 0:20:46Yes. The texture is very grainy,
0:20:46 > 0:20:50because the sugar never melts at the temperatures.
0:20:54 > 0:20:58How long has this recipe been made here in Modica?
0:20:58 > 0:21:04We often say that this was chocolate before chocolate,
0:21:04 > 0:21:06because Modica was a Spanish county.
0:21:06 > 0:21:09So during the Spanish domination,
0:21:09 > 0:21:13Spanish people brought this kind of working.
0:21:13 > 0:21:17I mean, I love the idea that the cocoa is coming from the Americas to Sicily.
0:21:17 > 0:21:20You're mixing it with sugar here in Sicily,
0:21:20 > 0:21:23another import to Sicily, to creating special Modican chocolate,
0:21:23 > 0:21:29but then you're adding spices from all the different places and peoples
0:21:29 > 0:21:33that have come to Sicily and been part of Sicilian history.
0:21:33 > 0:21:38So this chocolate mix is a kind of metaphor for what Sicily is.
0:21:38 > 0:21:41It is our philosophy of production.
0:21:41 > 0:21:46In everything we do, we mix all kinds of cultures
0:21:46 > 0:21:51that visited Sicily and then met together in Sicily
0:21:51 > 0:21:55and together could go out of Sicily.
0:21:55 > 0:22:02So only this particular melting pot of influences and ideas give us
0:22:02 > 0:22:06- something that there is nowhere else in the world?- Sure, sure.
0:22:12 > 0:22:16'Spanish rule brought New World influences to Sicily,
0:22:16 > 0:22:21'but it also delivered one of the Old World's greatest horrors.'
0:22:30 > 0:22:34This is a Moreton Bay fig tree, originally from Australia.
0:22:34 > 0:22:38The seeds take host in another tree, then grow these enormous roots down
0:22:38 > 0:22:43towards the ground and then strangle their host.
0:22:43 > 0:22:46And it's a very appropriate tree to be growing here in this square,
0:22:46 > 0:22:49which today looks very calm and peaceful and pleasant,
0:22:49 > 0:22:53but this was the headquarters of the Spanish Inquisition,
0:22:53 > 0:22:57just over there in the Palazzo Chiaramonte-Steri.
0:22:57 > 0:23:03Up until this point, Sicily had been a place of multi-faith toleration,
0:23:03 > 0:23:06but that was to be no more.
0:23:12 > 0:23:15The Spanish Inquisition was formed in 1478
0:23:15 > 0:23:18and in 1492, the rulers of Spain
0:23:18 > 0:23:22issued a new law banning all Jews from Spanish territories,
0:23:22 > 0:23:24and that included Sicily.
0:23:24 > 0:23:26This was a real problem for Sicily.
0:23:26 > 0:23:30In some towns, 10% of the population were Jews.
0:23:30 > 0:23:32They were doctors, weavers, metalworkers,
0:23:32 > 0:23:36and many people from Sicily demanded that they be allowed to stay,
0:23:36 > 0:23:39but the rule was enforced in 1492 and 1501.
0:23:40 > 0:23:43The work then for the Spanish Inquisition here in Sicily
0:23:43 > 0:23:49was to focus on those who had supposedly converted to Christianity
0:23:49 > 0:23:53and to root out those who were not proper Christians.
0:23:58 > 0:24:03In the honeycomb of former cells in the basement of the Palazzo
0:24:03 > 0:24:06are layers of graffiti left by the prisoners
0:24:06 > 0:24:10as they awaited torture at the hands of the Inquisitors.
0:24:12 > 0:24:17For around 300 years, the Spanish Inquisition was active in Sicily,
0:24:17 > 0:24:18seeking out heretics,
0:24:18 > 0:24:23those who communed with the devil and those who read forbidden books.
0:24:23 > 0:24:25It was a terrifying time.
0:24:25 > 0:24:29Even information given under religious confession could be used
0:24:29 > 0:24:32by the Spanish Inquisition in their trials,
0:24:32 > 0:24:35as well as information gained under torture.
0:24:35 > 0:24:39If found guilty, people could be sentenced as galley rowers -
0:24:39 > 0:24:41effectively a death sentence.
0:24:41 > 0:24:42They could be incarcerated in prison,
0:24:42 > 0:24:44they could be sent into exile
0:24:44 > 0:24:47or they could be executed and burned at the stake.
0:24:52 > 0:24:55Here behind me, the prisoners have drawn the symbol
0:24:55 > 0:24:58of the Spanish Inquisition, this crescent-shaped dragon
0:24:58 > 0:25:00with sharp teeth and eyes.
0:25:00 > 0:25:03It's either spewing out of its mouth or about to eat
0:25:03 > 0:25:06a key set of biblical figures who are all on their knees.
0:25:06 > 0:25:09There's Adam, Eve, Abraham, Isaac, Joseph.
0:25:11 > 0:25:17The walls are covered in drawings and in text.
0:25:17 > 0:25:21What strikes you very quickly is that they're not complaints
0:25:21 > 0:25:23about the terrible conditions,
0:25:23 > 0:25:27they're not cries out from individuals' personal lives.
0:25:27 > 0:25:30Instead, they are statements of faith.
0:25:31 > 0:25:35On one hand, that's kind of ironic, that people who are here,
0:25:35 > 0:25:38incarcerated for not being proper Christians,
0:25:38 > 0:25:43are scribbling on the walls professions of Christian faith.
0:25:43 > 0:25:48But, on the other hand, it tends to make me think that these people
0:25:48 > 0:25:51saw themselves as suffering the same kinds of injustice
0:25:51 > 0:25:53as Jesus Christ had done.
0:25:53 > 0:25:57They were, as Christians, following, somehow, in his footsteps.
0:26:03 > 0:26:05This scene, obviously, is well known.
0:26:05 > 0:26:07This is Jesus being forced to carry his cross
0:26:07 > 0:26:10on the way to his crucifixion.
0:26:10 > 0:26:14But check out the Roman soldiers - these guys, by their dress,
0:26:14 > 0:26:19by their hats, are clearly not Romans. These are the Spanish.
0:26:19 > 0:26:24And so it's another image in which the line is blurred between
0:26:24 > 0:26:26the poor people who were incarcerated here
0:26:26 > 0:26:30by the Spanish Inquisition and the trials and tribulations they were going through,
0:26:30 > 0:26:33and the trials and tribulations that Jesus Christ had suffered.
0:26:36 > 0:26:39When the Inquisition ended in 1783,
0:26:39 > 0:26:43the inquisitors burned all records of their deeds.
0:26:43 > 0:26:48The prisoners' graffiti is all that Sicily has left to tell the tale.
0:26:54 > 0:26:59While some Sicilians were being condemned to death by the Spanish Inquisition,
0:26:59 > 0:27:03another Christian community was revelling in the preservation
0:27:03 > 0:27:05and display of their dead.
0:27:09 > 0:27:12These are the Capuchin catacombs, in Palermo,
0:27:12 > 0:27:16but the bodies around me are no ordinary corpses.
0:27:16 > 0:27:19They are, in fact, mummified bodies.
0:27:21 > 0:27:24The practice began at the end of the 16th century,
0:27:24 > 0:27:27when the Capuchin monks were expanding their cemetery,
0:27:27 > 0:27:31and they found that the original monks, buried here before,
0:27:31 > 0:27:35their bodies had been naturally mummified.
0:27:35 > 0:27:37They thought it was an act of God
0:27:37 > 0:27:39and, as a result, did not rebury these friars,
0:27:39 > 0:27:42but actually put them on display as relics
0:27:42 > 0:27:45and continued the practice.
0:27:45 > 0:27:46And, as a result, down here today,
0:27:46 > 0:27:51there are well over 1,000 mummified corpses...
0:27:51 > 0:27:52staring at you.
0:27:54 > 0:27:58Palermo has the perfect climate for mummification.
0:27:58 > 0:28:01Low humidity, combined with the cooler air
0:28:01 > 0:28:03and porous limestone of the crypt,
0:28:03 > 0:28:07helping to dry out, rather than rot the bodies.
0:28:09 > 0:28:13We are standing in the engine room of the mummification process.
0:28:13 > 0:28:15They would bring the body in here,
0:28:15 > 0:28:18they would open it up, take out all the internal organs,
0:28:18 > 0:28:20and stuff the body with straw.
0:28:20 > 0:28:26Then they would leave it for up to a year on these terracotta cylinders,
0:28:26 > 0:28:31so that any remaining fluids could drain away.
0:28:32 > 0:28:36Then they would dress the body in a set of clothes
0:28:36 > 0:28:39that the person had chosen before their death,
0:28:39 > 0:28:41and then they would take it out
0:28:41 > 0:28:45to be hung up in one of the passageways outside.
0:28:45 > 0:28:49As a result, the smell - well, I'll leave it to your imagination.
0:28:53 > 0:28:57Soon enough, it was not just the Capuchin monks who wanted to be mummified,
0:28:57 > 0:28:59but people of each gender, every age and profession.
0:28:59 > 0:29:02As a result, there are corridors here of men, corridors of women,
0:29:02 > 0:29:05corridors of professionals, chapels of young virgins,
0:29:05 > 0:29:10chapels of children, and here, the corridor of families.
0:29:10 > 0:29:11And it was here in this corridor
0:29:11 > 0:29:15that the very last mummified body was placed in 1920.
0:29:15 > 0:29:18This is Rosalia.
0:29:18 > 0:29:20She was two years old when she died.
0:29:20 > 0:29:24And although the catacombs had technically been closed
0:29:24 > 0:29:27for 100 years or more at this time,
0:29:27 > 0:29:29her father, a very important Sicilian,
0:29:29 > 0:29:32managed to persuade the authorities to allow her body to be mummified
0:29:32 > 0:29:35and placed down here.
0:29:35 > 0:29:39And due to the almost perfect state of her preservation,
0:29:39 > 0:29:42she's known today as the Sleeping Beauty Of Palermo.
0:29:51 > 0:29:57Little Rosalia was almost certainly named after Palermo's much-loved patron saint,
0:29:57 > 0:30:00who it is said delivered the city from plague.
0:30:03 > 0:30:06THEY RECITE IN UNISON
0:30:08 > 0:30:12In the 12th century, a Norman woman called Rosalia left the city
0:30:12 > 0:30:16and headed up into the mountains for a life of prayer and meditation.
0:30:16 > 0:30:19She died in the mountains, in a cave.
0:30:19 > 0:30:25And then, in the 17th century, plague hit Palermo.
0:30:25 > 0:30:28Just two years, 1624 to 1626,
0:30:28 > 0:30:31something like 25% of the population died.
0:30:31 > 0:30:34The city sought some kind help.
0:30:38 > 0:30:42HE RECITES
0:30:42 > 0:30:46It was during that time that one man was given a vision
0:30:46 > 0:30:49to search for the bones of Rosalia.
0:30:49 > 0:30:51He found them, brought them back to Palermo...
0:30:51 > 0:30:53- Buona sera!- Buona sera!
0:30:53 > 0:30:55..he brought them back to Palermo.
0:30:55 > 0:31:00Where they were given proper honours and processed through the city.
0:31:00 > 0:31:05And as a result, it seems the plague was lifted,
0:31:05 > 0:31:09and so Rosalia was made the patron saint of Palermo.
0:31:10 > 0:31:13THE CROWD SING IN UNISON
0:31:17 > 0:31:19Every year on the night of the third of September,
0:31:19 > 0:31:22people start to process from the centre of the city
0:31:22 > 0:31:25to walk up the mountain -
0:31:25 > 0:31:27it's quite a long walk -
0:31:27 > 0:31:30To the cave where she died, which is now a church.
0:31:31 > 0:31:35For some, they will make this climb not only in prayer,
0:31:35 > 0:31:37perhaps even barefoot.
0:31:37 > 0:31:39It's been said that some do it on their knees.
0:31:39 > 0:31:42For others, it's not just a religious occasion,
0:31:42 > 0:31:45it's also a social and a cultural one.
0:31:45 > 0:31:49A moment for people from Palermo to take a step back from their normal lives,
0:31:49 > 0:31:51and have a moment to think.
0:31:51 > 0:31:53To spend time with friends, with family.
0:31:53 > 0:31:56To have a tradition that brings them together every year.
0:32:17 > 0:32:21Climbing in the name of religion, as I was soon to find out,
0:32:21 > 0:32:24seems to be something of a Sicilian past time.
0:32:36 > 0:32:42I'm reliably informed that we've come up something like 250 steps.
0:32:42 > 0:32:45And the reason we've made it all the way up here
0:32:45 > 0:32:47is to see this.
0:32:47 > 0:32:51One of the best examples of Sicilian baroque architecture.
0:32:57 > 0:32:59Italians are no strangers to earthquakes,
0:32:59 > 0:33:02but on the 11th of January 1693,
0:33:02 > 0:33:05Sicily was struck by one of the worst earthquakes
0:33:05 > 0:33:07in the whole of Italian history.
0:33:07 > 0:33:10Tens of towns were devastated.
0:33:10 > 0:33:13Something like 60,000 people were killed.
0:33:14 > 0:33:20If one were to look for some kind of silver lining from this disaster,
0:33:20 > 0:33:23it would be the fact that the Sicilians responded
0:33:23 > 0:33:28with a desire to rebuild some of those towns in greater form than ever before.
0:33:28 > 0:33:30The result was, amongst other things, this.
0:33:30 > 0:33:33The Church of San Giorgio, here in Modica.
0:33:33 > 0:33:36It's a prime example of Sicilian baroque,
0:33:36 > 0:33:38the style that flourished in this period.
0:33:38 > 0:33:41It's flamboyant, it's exaggerated, it's over the top,
0:33:41 > 0:33:43it's full of gaiety and life.
0:33:43 > 0:33:45In some ways, in direct contrast and competition
0:33:45 > 0:33:48with the devastation and disaster
0:33:48 > 0:33:50that had preceded it in towns like this.
0:33:55 > 0:33:57WHISTLE BLOWS
0:33:57 > 0:34:01- Ciao, come va? Tutto bene? Posso ave' una granita?- Si.
0:34:01 > 0:34:04- Faccio la migliore granita! - Bravo, la migliore granita!
0:34:04 > 0:34:07WHISTLE BLOWS
0:34:14 > 0:34:18The Arabs named the port town of Marsala in western Sicily.
0:34:18 > 0:34:21It was the Marsa, the port, of Allah.
0:34:21 > 0:34:25But it's a name that also recalls a strong relationship
0:34:25 > 0:34:28between Sicily and Britain.
0:34:28 > 0:34:31- Grazie tante.- Prego.
0:34:31 > 0:34:34Marsala wine, that's how we know this place.
0:34:34 > 0:34:37Indeed, Marsala wine was invented by an Englishman, a Yorkshireman,
0:34:37 > 0:34:39John Woodhouse, in the 18th century,
0:34:39 > 0:34:42who came here to Marsala and made this fabulous creation.
0:34:42 > 0:34:47And lots of famous people have contributed names to different Marsala wines over time.
0:34:47 > 0:34:52Lord Nelson, who also was in Sicily in the late 18th century
0:34:52 > 0:34:56while he was having his long-standing affair with Lady Hamilton,
0:34:56 > 0:34:57named a Marsala wine.
0:34:57 > 0:35:00And then, of course, another was named after Garibaldi -
0:35:00 > 0:35:03that hero in Italian unification.
0:35:03 > 0:35:06And, in fact, I'm standing outside the Porta Garibaldi -
0:35:06 > 0:35:09the Garibaldi gate of Marsala.
0:35:09 > 0:35:14Because it was in Marsala that Garibaldi first landed in Sicily
0:35:14 > 0:35:16when he was to begin his quest.
0:35:16 > 0:35:18And on the day he landed,
0:35:18 > 0:35:21there were two British frigates also in the bay.
0:35:21 > 0:35:24And it's said that the presence of those British ships
0:35:24 > 0:35:29stopped the Spanish Bourbons from obliterating Garibaldi in his tracks
0:35:29 > 0:35:31before he'd even begun.
0:35:31 > 0:35:32Cheers!
0:35:38 > 0:35:41Garibaldi's conquest of Sicily brought him to Palermo.
0:35:51 > 0:35:54In May 1860,
0:35:54 > 0:35:58Sicily emerged from centuries of slumbering in the shadows
0:35:58 > 0:36:03to once again become the centre of the world's attention.
0:36:03 > 0:36:07Giuseppe Garibaldi, leading a force of a little over 1,000 men,
0:36:07 > 0:36:12took the city of Palermo and freed Sicily from the Spanish Bourbons.
0:36:12 > 0:36:16And in so doing, began the process of the unification of Italy.
0:36:16 > 0:36:20News of Garibaldi's achievements spread across Russia, America,
0:36:20 > 0:36:22and, of course, London,
0:36:22 > 0:36:25where they were even fundraising for him.
0:36:25 > 0:36:29Charles Dickens and Florence Nightingale contributed to the cause.
0:36:29 > 0:36:31And in the ultimate accolade,
0:36:31 > 0:36:34Garibaldi had a biscuit named after him -
0:36:34 > 0:36:36the Garibaldi biscuit.
0:36:36 > 0:36:38In October 1860,
0:36:38 > 0:36:44Sicily was given a chance to vote on whether it wanted to become part of a unified Italy.
0:36:44 > 0:36:49And 99.5% of the voting population voted "yes".
0:36:51 > 0:36:53And this building is the result -
0:36:53 > 0:36:55the opera house of Palermo,
0:36:55 > 0:36:57built to put Palermo on the map.
0:36:59 > 0:37:03It's the largest opera house in Italy, the third-largest in Europe,
0:37:03 > 0:37:08and every part of its construction was supposed to hit the high notes of Sicilian history.
0:37:08 > 0:37:11From the Greek columns on the exterior,
0:37:11 > 0:37:16to the stage curtain, which had an image of the coronation of King Roger II
0:37:16 > 0:37:17from 12th century.
0:37:17 > 0:37:20With this building, in this building,
0:37:20 > 0:37:24the people of Palermo could feel they were truly on the world stage.
0:37:44 > 0:37:48No longer would Sicily be ruled from afar.
0:37:48 > 0:37:51The greatest threat now would come from within.
0:37:58 > 0:38:01In the ancient Greek theatre at Taormina,
0:38:01 > 0:38:04the opera Cavalleria Rusticana.
0:38:04 > 0:38:08First performed in 1890, it was an instant hit.
0:38:08 > 0:38:12Telling a tale of jealousy, pride and vengeance
0:38:12 > 0:38:14in a small Sicilian town.
0:38:19 > 0:38:25When the young soldier, Turiddu, accepts a duel with the cart dealer, Alfio, by biting his ear...
0:38:27 > 0:38:30..one of them must die.
0:38:30 > 0:38:32These were men of honour.
0:38:37 > 0:38:40In the opera's rehearsal room I met director Bruno Torrisi,
0:38:40 > 0:38:42and actor Filadelfo Paone.
0:39:26 > 0:39:30Among the opera's biggest fans were the Sicilian Mafia.
0:39:30 > 0:39:34Born in the aftermath of Garibaldi's liberation,
0:39:34 > 0:39:38they ran protection rackets in the lemon groves around Palermo.
0:39:38 > 0:39:42Now their violence could be explained away
0:39:42 > 0:39:46as nothing more than Sicily's primitive code of honour -
0:39:46 > 0:39:50a myth that they would carry with them into the modern world.
0:39:53 > 0:39:55By the early 1980s,
0:39:55 > 0:39:59the Sicilian Mafia had grown more bloodthirsty than ever before.
0:39:59 > 0:40:03In the space of two years, at least 1,000 murders.
0:40:05 > 0:40:10Magistrates Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino led the fight back.
0:40:11 > 0:40:13Until, in 1992,
0:40:13 > 0:40:18when a massive explosion ripped apart the motorway into Palermo,
0:40:18 > 0:40:22killing Falcone, his wife, and three police officers.
0:40:22 > 0:40:24Less than two months later,
0:40:24 > 0:40:28Borsellino and five policeman died in a car bomb.
0:40:28 > 0:40:32The public outcry led to the arrest of Salvatore Riina,
0:40:32 > 0:40:35the Mafia boss who'd ordered the assassinations.
0:40:35 > 0:40:40He was convicted of over 100 counts of murder.
0:40:40 > 0:40:42Riina's family left Palermo
0:40:42 > 0:40:45and returned to their hometown of Corleone.
0:40:47 > 0:40:51Before long Riina's teenage son, Giovanni,
0:40:51 > 0:40:53was throwing his weight around.
0:40:55 > 0:41:00In 1995, Emiliano was 13 years old
0:41:00 > 0:41:04when he went to visit his cousin in his aunt's clothes shop in Corleone.
0:41:04 > 0:41:06They were among the town's young men and women
0:41:06 > 0:41:10who'd refused to bow down to Mafia intimidation.
0:41:41 > 0:41:44Emiliano's cousin had been murdered
0:41:44 > 0:41:47by Giovanni Riina and fellow mafiosi.
0:42:01 > 0:42:05Less than a month later his female cousin, Giuseppe's sister,
0:42:05 > 0:42:09was driving with her family when the Mafia struck again.
0:42:25 > 0:42:28The young Riina was arrested,
0:42:28 > 0:42:29but the threat remained.
0:43:03 > 0:43:09'The 1990s marked a turning point in Sicilian attitudes to the Mafia,'
0:43:09 > 0:43:13a shift that could be traced to the very spot we were standing,
0:43:13 > 0:43:17from where the bomb that killed the magistrate Falcone on the motorway
0:43:17 > 0:43:19below us was detonated.
0:44:02 > 0:44:05The Mafia is still present in Sicily,
0:44:05 > 0:44:07though less violent than before.
0:44:09 > 0:44:14But, for many, this land will always be linked with the ultimate
0:44:14 > 0:44:16Mafia movie, The Godfather.
0:44:18 > 0:44:23I retraced Al Pacino's footsteps to a famous scene in the Bar Vitelli,
0:44:23 > 0:44:27filmed not in Corleone, where the Mafia demanded the pizzo,
0:44:27 > 0:44:29the protection money,
0:44:29 > 0:44:32but in the eastern hill town of Savoca.
0:44:32 > 0:44:35The bar, set up by their great aunt,
0:44:35 > 0:44:38is now being run by Giulio and Dario Motta.
0:44:38 > 0:44:40We've been here for a little while,
0:44:40 > 0:44:45and we've seen hundreds of people come to see the place.
0:44:45 > 0:44:47- Yes.- Where it was filmed.
0:44:47 > 0:44:51Which you've kept, kind of, unchanged here.
0:44:51 > 0:44:55How do you feel that you are running a business
0:44:55 > 0:45:01on the basis of a film that made the Mafia so famous?
0:45:01 > 0:45:05Does that sit badly, difficult, is there a difficulty for you?
0:45:05 > 0:45:06- How do you see it?- No.
0:45:06 > 0:45:10No, it's not difficult, because it's a movie.
0:45:10 > 0:45:15It's a real situation that isn't a good thing, the Mafia,
0:45:15 > 0:45:20but it's a part of the history of the Sicily.
0:45:20 > 0:45:23What calls the tourists here is The Godfather.
0:45:23 > 0:45:27But what makes them stay here is the sun,
0:45:27 > 0:45:30it's the limoncello, it's the granita, it's the coffee.
0:45:30 > 0:45:32- Everything! - THEY LAUGH
0:45:32 > 0:45:34Granita for breakfast!
0:45:34 > 0:45:37The best idea ever.
0:45:37 > 0:45:39But I have to ask you, if,
0:45:39 > 0:45:43you know, the Mafia is still part of Sicily's story today,
0:45:43 > 0:45:45- in different forms than it was in the film.- Yes.
0:45:45 > 0:45:49So if tomorrow a Mafia representative came to you here
0:45:49 > 0:45:54at Bart Vitelli and said, "It's time to pay the pizzo,"
0:45:54 > 0:45:55what would you say?
0:45:55 > 0:45:57How would you deal with that?
0:45:58 > 0:46:05I think that if someone comes here and asks me pizzo,
0:46:05 > 0:46:08I give to him the granita.
0:46:08 > 0:46:11And, after, he can go home.
0:46:11 > 0:46:12No problem.
0:46:12 > 0:46:14And what do you think, I mean, would you agree?
0:46:14 > 0:46:17I think...we close the bar.
0:46:17 > 0:46:21- We will close the bar. - Rather than pay the pizzo?- Yeah.
0:46:21 > 0:46:23Well, let's hope that doesn't happen,
0:46:23 > 0:46:25and that Bar Vitelli continues to flourish.
0:46:25 > 0:46:30- And I think we need to get a photo of us altogether before we go.- Yes!
0:46:32 > 0:46:34I came here and I said,
0:46:34 > 0:46:38"Oh, look at those people wanting to wear the hat and sit there, it's so stupid."
0:46:38 > 0:46:41- We are here to protect you. No worries.- But now...
0:46:41 > 0:46:44It's all I want to do, is stand here with you guys.
0:46:44 > 0:46:47This is awesome! THEY LAUGH
0:46:49 > 0:46:53The Mayor of Palermo, Leoluca Orlando,
0:46:53 > 0:46:55has been a long-term opponent of the Mafia.
0:46:55 > 0:46:59So how does he feel Sicilians should face the future?
0:47:01 > 0:47:06- To be mafioso was to remain close inside our roots.- Mm-hmm.
0:47:06 > 0:47:11Honour, family, friendship, Catholic faith...
0:47:11 > 0:47:13And we died.
0:47:13 > 0:47:15Because the Mafia killed us.
0:47:15 > 0:47:18Finally, the people decide to open the eyes
0:47:18 > 0:47:23and not longer go forward as the past,
0:47:23 > 0:47:25not seeing, not speaking, not hearing.
0:47:25 > 0:47:30So you've argued that the Mafia covered up the true Sicilian character.
0:47:30 > 0:47:33But how would you describe that character today?
0:47:33 > 0:47:39The Sicilian character is, today, is impossible to define.
0:47:39 > 0:47:41Because it's a meeting point.
0:47:41 > 0:47:46So I am Sicilian in a completely different way
0:47:46 > 0:47:50than the Sicilian that is in front of me.
0:47:50 > 0:47:55Because we are all a different combination of identities.
0:47:55 > 0:47:59So this different combination of identity
0:47:59 > 0:48:03lets us here appear to be the world in the future.
0:48:03 > 0:48:08When it will not be possible to close inside roots.
0:48:08 > 0:48:12Sicily has understood this necessity to combine roots and wings.
0:48:14 > 0:48:18After 3,000 years of conquest and immigration,
0:48:18 > 0:48:22Sicilians today are proud of their mixed heritage.
0:48:22 > 0:48:25So what can they tell us about how to cope
0:48:25 > 0:48:28with one of the greatest challenges of modern times?
0:48:30 > 0:48:34I travelled to the Sicilian island of Lampedusa,
0:48:34 > 0:48:37just a short distance from the Libyan coast,
0:48:37 > 0:48:41on the front line of Europe's migrant crisis.
0:48:43 > 0:48:47We've come down to the port, and soon enough a bus is going to arrive
0:48:47 > 0:48:50with a large number of migrants who have been saved from the seas
0:48:50 > 0:48:52by the Italian coastguard.
0:48:52 > 0:48:55And they're going to board the boat to head on to Sicily.
0:48:58 > 0:49:03Their journey already to this point has been miraculous in many ways.
0:49:03 > 0:49:04Just this year alone, so far,
0:49:04 > 0:49:083,000 people have died trying to cross the Mediterranean seas.
0:49:17 > 0:49:21It falls to the coastguard to try and save those lives.
0:49:25 > 0:49:27Coming here to Lampedusa and getting out on the sea
0:49:27 > 0:49:31gives you an entirely different perspective on what is the largest
0:49:31 > 0:49:35migration of people since the Second World War.
0:49:35 > 0:49:38There is law of the sea.
0:49:38 > 0:49:40Politics doesn't matter.
0:49:40 > 0:49:42Nationality doesn't matter.
0:49:42 > 0:49:45Race, gender, ethnicity, none of it matters.
0:49:45 > 0:49:48If there is somebody in trouble,
0:49:48 > 0:49:49you respond.
0:50:46 > 0:50:50At coastguard headquarters back on Lampedusa,
0:50:50 > 0:50:55I asked the man in local charge of the operation, Comandante Monaco,
0:50:55 > 0:50:59if he thought Sicilians saw the migration problem differently
0:50:59 > 0:51:01from other Europeans.
0:51:56 > 0:52:00In Sicily we have had, in the last two years,
0:52:00 > 0:52:05400,000 migrants who arrived in Sicily.
0:52:05 > 0:52:10You have not heard, have not read, one single act of intolerance.
0:52:12 > 0:52:14One single act of intolerance.
0:52:14 > 0:52:17We are giving an example to the rest of Europe.
0:52:17 > 0:52:22Welcome is the best guarantee for safety.
0:52:22 > 0:52:28When some strange migrant arrives, the migrants call the mayor,
0:52:28 > 0:52:31and the mayor speaks with the police.
0:52:31 > 0:52:34Because they feel Palermo is their city.
0:52:34 > 0:52:38They defend their city in London.
0:52:38 > 0:52:41The refugees feel London is their city?
0:52:41 > 0:52:48In Paris, the refugees, they call the police, or they close the eyes?
0:52:48 > 0:52:51It's fair to say, I think, that the mayors of London, Paris or Brussels
0:52:51 > 0:52:54might well say to you,
0:52:54 > 0:52:56"How many of those people will want to live in Sicily?
0:52:56 > 0:52:59"How many of those people will want to live in the UK?
0:52:59 > 0:53:02"It's not going to be a problem for you, it's going to be a problem for us."
0:53:02 > 0:53:03What would you say in return?
0:53:03 > 0:53:05You can say to people,
0:53:05 > 0:53:10"You cannot live here, because we have not enough hospitals.
0:53:10 > 0:53:12"Not enough apartments.
0:53:12 > 0:53:14"Not enough schools."
0:53:15 > 0:53:20But, today, we are in the hands of politicians,
0:53:20 > 0:53:24who have not understood that in the stomachs of human beings,
0:53:24 > 0:53:26there is no intolerance.
0:53:26 > 0:53:29Intolerance is in the... In the... In the...
0:53:29 > 0:53:33In the...mind
0:53:33 > 0:53:34of some politicians.
0:53:34 > 0:53:39If they send the message of fear, the people have fear.
0:53:39 > 0:53:43With their message of safety, the people feel safe.
0:53:43 > 0:53:46And today, Palermo is exciting and safe.
0:53:49 > 0:53:54Sicilians have lived in a world of constant change,
0:53:54 > 0:53:57never quite sure what the future may hold.
0:53:57 > 0:54:03Back on the slopes of Mount Etna, I met a young winemaker, Chiara Vigo.
0:54:03 > 0:54:06Against all the odds, she and her husband, Gianluca,
0:54:06 > 0:54:09are bringing new life to her family's vineyard,
0:54:09 > 0:54:13despite the fact that Europe's largest active volcano
0:54:13 > 0:54:15is on their doorstep.
0:54:17 > 0:54:22I think Etna people live in a sort of cataclysm.
0:54:22 > 0:54:26We live on a volcano, but it's normal.
0:54:26 > 0:54:30Otherwise, we would become crazy, I think.
0:54:30 > 0:54:33Can you explain to me, what is that?
0:54:33 > 0:54:39That very thick line of ground right there?
0:54:39 > 0:54:41Have you... Have you excavated this?
0:54:41 > 0:54:44No, this is lava.
0:54:44 > 0:54:47This is the eruption in 1981.
0:54:47 > 0:54:49That arrived until here.
0:54:49 > 0:54:53The lava destroyed two main roads.
0:54:53 > 0:54:55And also 20 hectares.
0:54:55 > 0:54:59And here, just in front of the vineyard,
0:54:59 > 0:55:01decided to change direction.
0:55:01 > 0:55:05- Hang on, hang on. So that is volcanic lava?- Yes.
0:55:05 > 0:55:07- Can we go and see it? - Yes, of course.
0:55:07 > 0:55:09Of course.
0:55:09 > 0:55:15It's just so... It's so menacing when you get up close.
0:55:15 > 0:55:19I mean, it's what, two and a half times my height?
0:55:19 > 0:55:21- Maybe more?- Yeah.
0:55:21 > 0:55:26- But, in another place on the lava... - Please, lead the way. Lead the way.
0:55:26 > 0:55:29..there is very strange surprise,
0:55:29 > 0:55:35because we discovered some vines survived under the lava.
0:55:35 > 0:55:36Wow!
0:55:36 > 0:55:41- So this is a vine that was covered by the lava in 1981.- Yes.
0:55:41 > 0:55:46And then the roots have forced their way through the lava
0:55:46 > 0:55:50- to find the light, to find the sun. - Light, sun.- Wow, I mean...
0:55:50 > 0:55:53- This is not an easy...- Yeah.
0:55:53 > 0:55:55I mean, this is a hard rock, huh?
0:55:55 > 0:55:58This is not an easy rock to find your way through. My God.
0:55:58 > 0:56:02That's why I feel the responsibility to take care,
0:56:02 > 0:56:08because in my life, there were important moments,
0:56:08 > 0:56:15like the lava, and after some years my father died here.
0:56:15 > 0:56:20So that there are some moments, very, very intense,
0:56:20 > 0:56:22that are linked with this place.
0:56:22 > 0:56:25And I cannot leave this place.
0:56:25 > 0:56:27It's in my blood.
0:56:27 > 0:56:30I can completely understand.
0:56:30 > 0:56:32- Is this the only vine that survives? - No, no. Not at all.
0:56:32 > 0:56:35- There are some others. - There are more?- Yes, there are more.
0:56:35 > 0:56:37- With grapes.- With grapes?
0:56:37 > 0:56:38Oh, my God.
0:56:38 > 0:56:40- Look.- Wow!
0:56:40 > 0:56:42What will you call this?
0:56:42 > 0:56:45Will you give this wine a particular name?
0:56:45 > 0:56:48- The survivor.- The survivor wine! I love it.
0:56:54 > 0:56:58This vine was covered by the eruption of Etna back in 1981.
0:56:58 > 0:57:01That was the year of my birth.
0:57:01 > 0:57:05Ever since then it's been pushing its way back up
0:57:05 > 0:57:08to emerge triumphant again.
0:57:08 > 0:57:13And... I feel quite silly, actually,
0:57:13 > 0:57:16I feel almost kind of moved to tears.
0:57:16 > 0:57:21Not by an example of human tenacity,
0:57:21 > 0:57:26but by an example of nature's ability to survive.
0:57:26 > 0:57:27And...
0:57:29 > 0:57:30Wow.
0:57:30 > 0:57:32Wow!
0:57:32 > 0:57:34That's one impressive plant.
0:57:50 > 0:57:52Sicily has, over the centuries,
0:57:52 > 0:57:54moved from being an absolute backwater
0:57:54 > 0:57:57to being the epicentre of world events, and back again.
0:57:57 > 0:58:02And as a result, many people you talk to will talk about the sadness of the Sicilians.
0:58:02 > 0:58:06The sadness that comes from being repeatedly conquered
0:58:06 > 0:58:10and having events totally out of your own control.
0:58:10 > 0:58:12But in this journey I haven't found that.
0:58:12 > 0:58:16Instead, I've been overwhelmed by the pride, the joy,
0:58:16 > 0:58:21and the excitement that Sicilians feel about their island,
0:58:21 > 0:58:23and about their future.
0:58:23 > 0:58:28And as Sicily once again becomes the epicentre for the great issues
0:58:28 > 0:58:32of the 21st century - globalisation, mass migration -
0:58:32 > 0:58:34you feel that this time,
0:58:34 > 0:58:40Sicily and the Sicilians might well be ready to show us the way.
0:58:40 > 0:58:42And I wish them luck.