An essential companion to the 2016 exhibition at The British Museum, Sicily: culture and conquest captures the spirit of Sicily and offers a fascinating insight into its multi-layered history. The island, located at the heart of the Mediterranean, has over the centuries seemed alluring to successive waves of Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, Arabs and Normans. This magnificent book focusses on two of Sicily’s most significant and vibrant periods: the sweeping expansion of the Greeks, and the extraordinary period of enlightenment that took place under Norman rule. Over 200 remarkable objects are presented here, including sculptural decorations from temples, churches and palaces, stunning gold jewellery, and spectacular mosaics and textiles.