Sicily

It's hard to know where to start with the big island (Sicilia in Italian) where ancient and Byzantine Greeks, Romans, Arabs, Normans and Spaniards have left behind culinary delights, with plenty of aubergines, olives, pine nuts, anchovies, and especially capers.

Just to scratch the surface: pasta con le sarde or pasta alla Norma are popular starters; sweet-sour caponata goes with fish. The island makes great street food, from arancini to sfincione, and shows its sweet tooth in cassata, cannoli and frutta martorana.

The name is derived from the Sikels, one of the island's ancient pre-Greek tribes. Sicilian is one of the hardest to understand of Italy's regional languages; see Italian pronunciation for some helpful hints.