Kingdom of Sicily
The Kingdom of Sicily (Latin: Regnum Siciliae; Italian: Regno di Sicilia; Sicilian: Regnu di Sicilia) was a state that existed in the south of the Italian Peninsula and, for a time, in Northern Africa from its founding by Roger II of Sicily in 1130 until 1816. It was a successor state of the County of Sicily, which had been founded in 1071 during the Norman conquest of the southern peninsula. The island was divided into three regions: Val di Mazara, Val Demone and Val di Noto.
Kingdom of Sicily | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1130–1816 | |||||||||||||||
| Motto: Animus Tuus Dominus (Latin) Courage is thy Lord | |||||||||||||||
The Kingdom of Sicily in 1190 | |||||||||||||||
The Kingdom of Sicily and its territorial divisions in the 14th century. | |||||||||||||||
| Status | Sovereign state (1130–1412, 1806–1816) Part of the Crown of Aragon (1412–1516) Direct Spanish rule (1516–1713) Personal union with the Duchy of Savoy (1713–1720) Under Habsburg rule (1720–1735) Personal union with the Kingdom of Naples (1735–1806) | ||||||||||||||
| Capital and largest city | Palermo 38°35′31″N 16°4′44″E | ||||||||||||||
| Official languages | |||||||||||||||
| Religion | Roman Catholicism (official) | ||||||||||||||
| Demonym(s) | Sicilian | ||||||||||||||
| Government | Feudal monarchy | ||||||||||||||
| King | |||||||||||||||
• 1130–1154 | Roger II (first) | ||||||||||||||
• 1266–1282 | Charles I of Anjou | ||||||||||||||
• 1759–1816 | Ferdinand III (last) | ||||||||||||||
| Legislature | Parliament | ||||||||||||||
| History | |||||||||||||||
• Coronation of Roger | 1130 | ||||||||||||||
• Sicilian Vespers | 1282 | ||||||||||||||
| 1816 | |||||||||||||||
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| Today part of | Italy Malta | ||||||||||||||
In 1282, a revolt against Angevin rule known as the Sicilian Vespers threw off Charles of Anjou's rule of the island of Sicily. The Angevins managed to maintain control in the mainland part of the kingdom, which became a separate entity also styled Kingdom of Sicily, although it is retroactively referred to as the Kingdom of Naples, after its capital. From 1282 to 1409, the island was ruled by the Crown of Aragon as an independent kingdom, and was then added permanently to the Crown. In 1816, the island Kingdom of Sicily re-merged with the Kingdom of Naples to form the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, which in 1861 became part of the new unified Kingdom of Italy.