The most flourishing period for Sicily was when Frederick II Hohenstaufen assumed the power. Grandson of Frederick Barbarossa, ruled Sicily from 1198 to 1250. Grown in Palermo in a rich intellectual environment due to coexistence of different races and cultures, Frederick was patron of the arts. During his reign, Sicily had a splendid cultural flowering time associated with a renewal of the administration and a revival of trade and manufacturing activities. His court in Palermo became an important literary European centre, a point of meeting for Arab, Byzantine, Jewish and Latin cultures. Tolerant and respectful, had a benevolent behaviour towards Islam, and gathered to his court the best scholars from all the coasts of the Mediterranean.

The Kingdom of Sicily, after the death of Frederick II, passes into the hands of Charles I d'Anjou, whose bad government generated a strong discontent among the Sicilian because of an oppressive fiscal policy. In addition, the Angevin were insensitive to the people applying usurpations, oppression and violence. The revolt of the Vespers was caused by a particular event: during the evening prayer (Vespers) of 30 March 1282, in the Church of the Holy Spirit in Palermo, a French soldier had tried to search a woman under the clothes for weapons. The reaction of her husband began the great revolt that spread immediately across the island. The Palermo began the "hunt for French" which lasted for the following night, causing the killing of several French soldiers. Palermo immediately declared independent, and the revolt spread throughout the rest of the island. Charles I d'Anjou decided to intervene militarily put under siege the city of Messina.The Sicilian organized defence managing to successfully reject the French army. The Sicilian nobles decided to ask for help to Peter of Aragon, offering the crown of Sicily. The Spanish king, sensitive to this request, sent a fleet commanded by Roger of Lauria. The events of Vespers thus transformed into a conflict for the control of the island. On September 1282 Charles I d'Anjou was defeated and returned to Naples, leaving Sicily in the hands of the Aragons. On August 31, 1302 in the castle of Caltabellotta was signed peace between Charles de Valois, representative of Charles II d'Anjou and Frederick III of Aragon. In 1347, in the Castello Ursino Catania was signed a further agreement between Angevins and Aragons, thereby closing the the second phase of Vespers. But only with the Treaty of Avignon could be considered definitively closed the issue of Vespers: on August 20, 1372 Jeanne d'Anjou and Frederick IV of Aragon signed the peace treaty after ninety years since that famous Easter Monday.

The historical events during the Bourbon kingdom will have important repercussions on the history of Sicily to the present day. King Ferdinand of Bourbon promulgated under Sicilian nationalist aristocracy pressure, a Constitution (1812).But after the Congress of Vienna and the post-Napoleonic restoration, Ferdinand dissolved the Sicilian Parliament (1816). In 1820-21 a rebellion against Bourbon broke out. After the 1848 Revolution, the separatists formed a parliament autonomous from the Kingdom of Two Sicilies. Despite these hard fights, Sicily experienced a high economic development and industrial, becoming one of the richest regions of Italy. As reported by "Universaille Exposition de la science" in Paris, in the XIX century Sicily was one of the the biggest economic powers in Europe. The same population growth was welfare symptom under the Bourbons: the population at the beginning was increased by 50%. The Bourbons build the railway line Messina-Catania, on the firsts in Italy. *Sicily and United Italy The "Landing of a Thousand" in Marsala (1860). After having defeated the Borbonici during the hard battle in Calatafimi, Garibaldi occupied Palermo. In July a new defeating of royal troops regie in Milazzo made Sicily annexed to the nascent kingdom.

The "Landing of a Thousand" at Marsala on May 11, 1860 marked a great shift. In 1861 occurred the annexation of Sicily to the Kingdom of Italy with the expulsion of the Bourbons by Garibaldi. After having beaten the Bourbons in the hard battle of Calatafimi, Garibaldi occupied Palermo. In July still beating the bourbons troops in Milazzo and Messina, so Sicily was annexed to the nascent kingdom. Sicily began to decline by as a result of economic measures which debased the sicilian economy: the service conscripts required, tax on wheat ground, on bread and pasta (the food of the poor). Many industries were closed or penalized for the economic take-off of regions of Lombardy-Veneto. The Savoy government appropiated the treasure of Sicilia and Napoli Banks, and exploited these resources to grant loans to manufacturing industries in northern Italy. Roads and railways were abandoned, the ports lost importance and the Sicilian economy initiated to decline.

The origins of the Mafia can be traced back to a kind of power vacuum created over the centuries. Earth dominated and never governed, home of the most sad and original form of home rule resulted in a terrible criminal organization. The object of contention of Mafia was to manage citrus groves in the province of Palermo, putting under its control landowners. Over the years the phenomenon emerged under the eyes of the public, but without any significant intervention. The only exception was during 1926, in which occurred a phenomenon referred with terror byTommaso Buscetta: the "Siege of Gangi" by the "Iron Prefect" Cesare Mori appointed by Mussolini. The dictatorial government could not allow the existence of a shadow-govern as was established in Sicily, and started hunting to boss and bandits who had been found and imprisoned together with who was suspected to protect them.

In 1939 the island was the scene of a strong propaganda in favour of war, but the events developed against Sicilian people."The operation Husky"started: Allies landed in Gela on July 10, 1943 with the intent to occupy the island that became, in short time, scene of death due to the clash between the Allies, Germans and Italians.Since Fascism was against the Mafia, landing ally could only be seen as a good omen by the criminal hierarchies, which have restored when the war ended just managing to penetrate the mesh of politics in the New Republic.