CONIFA is hereby honored to present our latest approved member, Sicilia FA.

At the CONIFA Global Executive Committee meeting, held 27th June, the ExCo decided to approve the membership application from Sicilia FA.

● Geography: Sicily is an island, its borders are surrounded by the sea and therefore
absolutely well defined (it is included in the list of countries and territories of the
Travelers Century Club, criteria 7 for admission to CONIFA);

● Language: Sicily has its own language, internationally recognized (it is included in the
list ISO 639.2 and 639.3 with code SCN, criteria 10 for admission to CONIFA);

● History: Sicily had its own independent state from 1071 to 1816, first as a county
(1071-1130) and then as a kingdom (1130-1816), developing its own specific political
and institutional traditions, centered on the oldest Parliament in Europe. In the last two
centuries the Sicilians have repeatedly fight for their self-determination and, for this
reason, Italy had to recognize the island’s autonomy in 1946 (criteria 11 for
admission to CONIFA);

● Legal status: Sicily is currently one of the five Autonomous Regions with a Special
Statute of Italy (the only island together with Sardinia). The first in order of foundation
and the only one whose legislative body is recognized as an effective parliamentary
assembly. This means that, compared to other Italian regions, Sicily is recognized with
the widest spaces of autonomy by virtue of its historical, political and geographical
specificities (criteria 11 for admission to CONIFA);

● Cultural identity: Sicily has a cultural identity that makes it recognizable in Italy and
abroad as a reality in its own right, also by virtue of particular folkloristic peculiarities
like, for example, the Puppets Opera (Opera dei Pupi), the Sicilian Carts, its typical
cuisine, and a flag that is over 700 years old (admission criteria 11 of CONIFA)

Find out more about Sicilia FA at their membership page here: Sicilia FA