Many people reading this review will have already visited Italy, often many times. Leaving aside the romantic destinations to the south of Naples near the Amalfi coast, most such trips take place in the north of the country, Rome and above.

This is a terrible injustice to the “boot” of Italy and Sicily which offer myriad delights of history, art, literature, panoramic views, cuisine and more. Unfortunately, the poor economic performance of southern Italy compared to the north, and the omnipresent Mafia with its affiliates, have dulled the tourist’s desire to explore this part of the Bel Paese. This is a pity, as anyone reading Jamie Mackay’s The Invention of Sicily will soon discover.