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. As an aspiring media professional strongly connected to my Sicilian roots, pursuing this opportunity has been such a meaningful experience for me. I have a foundational knowledge of Sicilian history and culture because my grandparents from both sides of my family immigrated to America from the island. Coming into the project, I reflected on my own experiences visiting some of the sites that have been a part of my work. The aim of The Norman Sicily Project is to document the cultural heritage of Sicily during the Norman period (c. 1061-1194) to make at-risk monuments accessible to scholars via the internet. Dr. Hayes and her husband, Joe Hayes, the project’s chief technical architect, have gone above and beyond to achieve these goals. What leverages the project as distinctive is its emphasis on sustainability and its embrace of received knowledge from native Sicilians. Their impact is credited on the project’s site. “An enormous debt of gratitude is owed to the countless Sicilians who, in numerous ways, have helped make this project possible. We hope that this effort is a small repayment for their unfailing kindness and generosity,” writes Dr. Hayes.