It was in Syracuse that the mathematician is said to have leapt naked from his bath shouting “eureka!”, having come up with the principle of specific gravity while enjoying a good soak.In the city’s Archaeological Park is the area known to the Greeks as Neapolis (00 39 0931 66206; open daily 9am-3.30pm, later in summer; entrance €4.50/£3). This contains the Greek theatre, cut out of the rock; it was one of the largest of its kind, and was the place where many well-known Greek plays were first performed. It is interesting to compare this with the Roman amphitheatre, in the same park but built several centuries later. This oval-shaped space was used by the gladiators, who entered the arena through one of several entrances; the animals were kept in the tunnels beneath the seats until it was time for them to go into the arena.WHAT DID THE ROMANS EVER DO FOR SICILY?Not much.

The period of Roman control was a devastating one for the Sicilians. They took over control of the island from the Greeks after the Punic Wars in the 3rd century BC. Many Greek settlements were destroyed, and poverty became widespread. But among the remains of Roman occupation there is one important site that is often overlooked by visitors to the island. The Villa Romana del Casale (00 39 0935 680036; open daily 8am-4pm, until 7pm in summer) was built for a member of the imperial family, and occupied until the 12th century, when it disappeared under a mudslide.The villa was rediscovered in the Fifties; its 46 rooms and corridors are built around a central courtyard, and contain a breathtaking selection of mosaic floors.

The scenes they depict include human figures and animals – domestic creatures alongside the more exotic elephants and tigers; hunting and maritime scenes; and an almost-complete floor showing a group of bikini-clad women. The villa is slightly off the beaten track in the centre of the island, a couple of miles outside the pleasant town of Piazza Armerina, but the quality of the mosaics makes a visit well worth the journey.HOW DO I GET TO SICILY?Currently the only scheduled option is to fly to either Palermo or Catania with Alitalia (0870 544 8259; ), changing planes in Rome or Milan Malpensa, for about £270 return. An easier – and possibly cheaper – option might be to book a package trip such as those offered by Crystal Italy (0870 888 0233; ) and other operators. Typically these include flights, accommodation and a hire car. On 1 May Ryanair (0871 246 0000; ) re-establishes the air link between London and Sicily’s capital, Palermo. There will be daily non-stop flights from Stansted.Anyone determined to take their own car can reach Sicily by ferry and hydrofoil from the mainland ports of Reggio di Calabria and Villa San Giovanni.

There are good roads around the Sicilian coast, although getting round in the interior is less easy. Public transport, at least between the main towns, is efficient; for details of rail services consult .SHOULD I JUST FLY TO PALERMO AND STAY THERE?Sicily’s capital is an attractive city, although not everyone’s idea of a holiday destination given the frenetic pace of life there.From the visitor’s point of view, many of its attractions are on or around the Corso Vittorio Emanuele, from the gothic Chiaramonte Palace at the port end of the street, as far as the Palace of the Normans further west. This is currently closed while earthquake damage is repaired, but the Palatine Chapel remains open (daily 9am-12 noon, Mon-Fri 3-5pm). Between these two palaces is the junction of Vittorio Emanuele and Via Maqueda, known as the Cuatro Canti, where three tiers of marble statues adorn each of the four corners.