Sicily is a piece of sub-continental land that is surrounded by water.
Sicily ( [ ˈsɪsᵻli ] ; Sicilia [ siˈtʃiːlja ] , Sicìlia ) is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea . Sicily is located in the central Mediterranean Sea , south of the Italian Peninsula , from which it is separated by the narrow Strait of Messina . Terra Australis ( Latin for South Land ) is a hypothetical continent first posited in antiquity and which appeared on maps between the 15th and 18th centuries .