Sicily is the largest region in Italy in terms of area, with a population of over five million and has contributed many famous names to all walks of life. Geographically, it is the largest and most populated island in the Mediterranean Sea.

This list includes notable natives of Sicily and its predecessor states, as well as those who were born elsewhere but spent a large part of their active life in Sicily. People of Sicilian heritage and descent are in a separate section of this article. The Sicilian-Americans have a specific list.

Religious figures

Saint Rosalie Interceding for the Plague–Stricken of Palermo, painting of Anthony van Dyck (1624), Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City.

Philosophers and scientists

Ettore Majorana, theoretical physicist who worked on neutrino masses; the Majorana equation and Majorana fermions are named after him.

Writers and journalists

Luigi Pirandello, dramatist, novelist and poet; he was awarded the 1934 Nobel Prize in Literature for "his almost magical power to turn psychological analysis into good theatre."

Rulers, monarchs and warriors

The Siculo-Norman Roger II, first king of Sicily. Crowned in the Palermo Cathedral in 1130, he founded a kingdom lasted 686 years.

Politicians, civil servants and military personnel

Sergio Mattarella politician, judge and current President of Italy.
Vittorio Emanuele Orlando, 23rd Prime Minister of Italy who led Italy to victory during World War I and whose political leadership and military reforms and appointments enabled Italy to defeat Austria-Hungary. He was known as "Premier of Victory."

Painters, sculptors and architects

Antonello da Messina, painter from Messina, active during the Italian Renaissance; Giorgio Vasari credited him with the introduction of oil painting into Italy.

Musicians

Vincenzo Bellini, opera composer who was known for his long-flowing melodic lines for which he was named "the Swan of Catania"; some of his works such as La sonnambula, made him one of the most famous composers of his time in Italy and Europe.

Actors, directors and producers

Frank Capra, Sicilian-born American film director, producer and writer who became the creative force behind some of the major award-winning films of the 1930s and 1940s.
Maria Grazia Cucinotta, actress who has featured in many films and television series since 1990, and internationally known for her role in the Italian film Il Postino.

Sports figures

Criminals

Further information: List of Sicilian Mafia members

Others

Miriam Leone, television personality and beauty pageant titleholder who won the Miss Italia 2008 beauty contest.

Notable people of Sicilian descent by birthplace

Europe

Italy:


Belgium:

France:

Germany:

Switzerland:

United Kingdom:

Africa

Algeria:

Libya:

Tunisia:

America

Argentina:

Canada:

United States:

Australia

Australia:

Footnotes

  1. ^ Born in Normandy, Roger I was the founder of the Sicilian branch of the Hauteville dynasty.
  2. ^ Son of the Great Norman Count Roger I of Sicily, Roger II was born in the Calabrian town of Mileto.
  3. ^ Son of the emperor Henry VI of Swabia and of the Sicilian queen Constance I, Frederick II was born in the small town of Jesi, near Ancona, during a voyage towards Palermo, the city where he grew up. According to many historians, f.i. William Harvey Maehl, the personality of Frederick II was "most of all Sicilian". Maehl concludes that "To the end of his life he remained above all a Sicilian grand signore, and his whole imperial policy aimed at expanding the Sicilian kingdom into Italy rather than the German kingdom southward." (See: Maehl, William Harvey. Germany in Western Civilization. University of Alabama Press, 1979. p. 64).
  4. ^ Son of Frederick II and Bianca Lancia, there are some doubts about his place of birth. According to the most prevalent thesis Manfred was born in Venosa (Basilicata), at that time belonging to the Kingdom of Sicily. However, some Sicilian historians suggest Palermo as his birth place (See: Ortolani, Giuseppe Emanuele. Biografia degli uomini illustri della Sicilia (Vol. 1), 1817).
  5. ^ Son of Peter III of Aragon and Constance II of Sicily, Frederick III was born in Barcelona, but passed most of his life in Sicily, defending for many years the independence of the Kingdom and founding the Sicilian branch of the House of Barcelona.
  6. ^ Son of a Sicilian father and a Neapolitan mother, Visconti was born in Turin but grew up in Palermo.
  7. ^ Son of a Sicilian father and a Venetian mother, Lanza di Trabia was born in Lombardy but grew up in Palermo.

See also

Categories