Sicily suffered a ferocious outbreak of the Black Death in 1656 , followed by a damaging earthquake in the east of the island in 1693 . Sicily was frequently attacked by Barbary pirates from North Africa . The subsequent rebuilding created the distinctive architectural style known as Sicilian Baroque . Periods of rule by the house of Savoy ( 1713 – 1720 ) and then the Austrian Habsburgs gave way to union ( 1734 ) with the Bourbon-ruled Kingdom of Naples , under the rule of Don Carlos of Bourbon ( later Charles III of Spain )
damaging earthquake
1693 Sicily earthquake
History of Sicily