Take a journey through time when you visit these five Sicilian attractions. Medievalists and Italian culture enthusiasts will enjoy an abundance of architectural masterpieces that serve as standing icons of Sicily’s Norman past. The Norman period (c. 1061 – 1194) encompasses a culturally rich point in Sicily’s history during which the island experienced transformative sociopolitical changes. Despite the significant amount of time that has passed since the Norman period, its influence remains relevant to the twenty-first-century traveler and scholar.

Sustainability, accessibility, and storytelling are at the heart of The Norman Sicily Project. Earlier this year Professor of History Dawn Hayes received a prestigious grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities’ Humanities Collections and Reference Resources program for her project, “Documenting the Past, Triaging the Present and Assessing the Future: A Prototype for Sicily’s Norman Heritage, ca. 1061-1194.” When I received an email from Dr. Hayes congratulating me on receiving a position as a Media and Metadata Assistant to work on the project, I was ecstatic.