Sicily and encouraged the growth of smallholdings, undermining the dominance of the latifundia. The Arabs further improved irrigation systems. The language spoken in Sicily under Arab rule was Siculo-Arabic and Arabic influence is still present in some Sicilian words today. Although the language is extinct in Sicily, it has developed into what is now the Maltese language on the islands of Malta today. A description of Palermo was given by Ibn Hawqal, an Arab merchant who visited Sicily in 950. A walled suburb, called the Al-Kasr (the palace), is the centre of Palermo to this day, with the great Friday mosque
Vittoria, Sicily Vittoria, Sicily Vittoria is a town and "comune" in the province of Ragusa, Sicily, southern, Italy. With its 62,748 inhabitants Vittoria is the second most populated municipality of the province of Ragusa after Ragusa. Vittoria is the youngest town in the province and it presents a modern checkerboard structure, with wide and straight streets. The town's womenfolk are known to still do intricate embroideries, first adopted during the period of Arab rule in Sicily. The town was founded on a very fertile valley known as "Boscopiano". On the south of the city there is the "natural reserve of Aleppo's pine"