Sicilian Maps & Symbols

The Sicilian Banner recently adopted by the autonomous region of Sicily has the Trinacria in its center on a shield of yellow gold and red-orange. This is a photograph that I took of the banner as it now hangs in the Palazzo Reale, the seat of the Regional Parliament. The head in the center was that of Medusa, whose hair was turned into snakes by the outraged goddess Athene. In their wisdom, the Sicilian parliament replaced the Medusa head with one that is less threatening to the innocent onlooker who, after all, should not be anticipating being turned to stone.