Margaret of Sicily, Countess Palatine of the Rhine Margaret of Sicily, Countess Palatine of the Rhine Margaret of Sicily or Margherita di Sicilia-Aragona (Palermo, 1331 – Neustadt, 1377) was a Sicilian princess, daughter of the King Frederick III of Sicily and his wife Eleanor of Anjou. In 1348 she married Rudolf II, Count Palatine of the Rhine, and was Countess Palatine of the Rhine until 1353, year of the husband's death. Margaret was the youngest daughter of King Frederick II of Sicily-Aragon (1272-1337) and his wife Eleanore, daughter of Charles II of Anjou. Her parents resided in Palermo, where she presumably was born. In 1348 Margaret married the
History of Sicily status, Sicily was able to make a contribution to Roman culture through the historian Diodorus Siculus and the poet Calpurnius Siculus. The most famous archeological remains of this period are the mosaics of a nobleman's villa in present-day Piazza Armerina. An inscription from Hadrian's reign lauds the emperor as "The Restorer of Sicily", although it is not known what he did to earn this accolade. It was also during this period that we find one of the very first Christian communities in Sicily. Amongst the very earliest Christian martyrs were the Sicilians Saint Agatha of Catania and Saint Lucy of