They did bring sugar cane from North Africa and installed the first rudimentary sugar refinery in the area, at nearby Trappeto.

Delights of North African cooking include 'cuscusu'. This is the most basic form of pasta imaginable and is basically a refined version of the Tunisian 'couscous'.

Do try and make it to the Cous Cous festival in San Vito Lo Capo in September.

It is made of tiny balls of flour and water which are left to dry in the sun. The pasta is prepared by steaming it over a boiling pan of water.

Whereas the Arab variation is to add lamb or other meat products to the finished dish, in the province of Trapani, the water is often boiled with the local fish to give it a seafood flavour. The fish is then added to the pasta when ready.

Many other foreign dishes have entered Italy via the island and, over the centuries, they have become so absorbed into local culinary tradition that it is difficult to imagine them existing elsewhere.

Rice, saffron, sugar and many vegetables owe their place in Italian gastronomy to the Arab traders and invaders who introduced these exotic foods.

Not so surprising when you consider potatoes, tomatoes and tobacco didn't exist in Europe until the great navigators reached the Americas.