Nicosia di Sicilia

Nicosia stands among the hills of central Sicily, roughly halfway between Palermo and Messina. Its position on the route between the two cities gave it strategic importance, while its houses and churches spread across the heights beneath an old castle overlooking the surrounding Sicilian countryside. Under the Normans, settlers from Lombardy and Piedmont joined the population, leaving a Gallo-Italic dialect that distinguished the town and its surroundings.

King William II made Nicosia a royal town. Its place on the island's main route continued to bring travellers and rulers through it; among those received here was Emperor Charles V. The town's northern Italian speech endured alongside its Sicilian setting, preserving a trace of the medieval migrations that helped shape its community.