Guida pratica
What to see??
This is my little guide to tourist and not so tourist spots in Taormina.
Here you will find panoramic points of cultural interest, in addition to the typical tour of the city.
I hope you like it...
This is the most important tourist spot in Taormina. The views of Etna, Giardini Naxos and the entire coast of the Ionian Sea make the place an enchanting experience.
I recommend visiting it early in the morning or late in the afternoon and If you are lucky you can enjoy the shows that are offered throughout the summer.
The acoustics are incomparable and the mystique of the place will make this visit an unforgettable memory.
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Teatro Antico di Taormina
1 Via del Teatro GrecoThis is the most important tourist spot in Taormina. The views of Etna, Giardini Naxos and the entire coast of the Ionian Sea make the place an enchanting experience.
I recommend visiting it early in the morning or late in the afternoon and If you are lucky you can enjoy the shows that are offered throughout the summer.
The acoustics are incomparable and the mystique of the place will make this visit an unforgettable memory.
Piazza Duomo was the favorite place of illustrious men who visited Taormina in the past, such as Oscar Wild, Guy de Maupassant, Alexander Dumas j., Richard Wagner and Johannes Brahms.
In addition to the Cathedral, the Town Hall also overlooks the square.
In the center of the square there is a magnificent fountain, attributed to one of the last students of the Florentine Montorsoli.
The fountain was built in 1635 on circular steps. The four lateral fountains are delicious.
The Minotaur, symbol of the city of Taormina, is sculpted on the central jet.
Piazza Duomo
Piazza Duomo was the favorite place of illustrious men who visited Taormina in the past, such as Oscar Wild, Guy de Maupassant, Alexander Dumas j., Richard Wagner and Johannes Brahms.
In addition to the Cathedral, the Town Hall also overlooks the square.
In the center of the square there is a magnificent fountain, attributed to one of the last students of the Florentine Montorsoli.
The fountain was built in 1635 on circular steps. The four lateral fountains are delicious.
The Minotaur, symbol of the city of Taormina, is sculpted on the central jet.
Trevelyan Park, Villa Comunale, of Taormina was built in the mid-19th century. at the behest of Lady Florence Trevelyan, an English noblewoman raised at the court of Queen Victoria, cousin of her grandmother, Lady Maria Wilson. Daughter of wealthy parents, Edward Spencer Trevelyan and Catherine Ann Forster, Lady Florence began her long journeys through Europe and North Africa in 1879 before returning to England from which, in February 1884, she was exiled on charges of having an affair with Queen Victoria's firstborn, the future King Edward VII, already married to Alexandra of Denmark. Trevelyan subsequently settled in Taormina, where on 13 July 1890, she married the mayor Salvatore Cacciola, with whom she purchased 87 lots of land and some old houses, which she razed to the ground, to create the current Public Garden.
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Villa Comunale Di Taormina
Via Bagnoli CrociTrevelyan Park, Villa Comunale, of Taormina was built in the mid-19th century. at the behest of Lady Florence Trevelyan, an English noblewoman raised at the court of Queen Victoria, cousin of her grandmother, Lady Maria Wilson. Daughter of wealthy parents, Edward Spencer Trevelyan and Catherine Ann Forster, Lady Florence began her long journeys through Europe and North Africa in 1879 before returning to England from which, in February 1884, she was exiled on charges of having an affair with Queen Victoria's firstborn, the future King Edward VII, already married to Alexandra of Denmark. Trevelyan subsequently settled in Taormina, where on 13 July 1890, she married the mayor Salvatore Cacciola, with whom she purchased 87 lots of land and some old houses, which she razed to the ground, to create the current Public Garden.
The castle of Taormina is located on a rock of Monte Tauro, at almost 400 meters above sea level.
From here you could control the valley of the Alcantara river.
In Greek and Roman times, the Taurus fortress was the lower acropolis of Tauromenion.
The upper one was located further north, near present-day Castelmola.
According to tradition, the castle of Taormina was built by the Arabs.
In reality, the period in which it was made is still unknown.
However, it is possible that the Muslims had their bulwark in the fortress in 1079, during the siege of the Normans.
Count Roger adopted an ingenious strategy to cut off all supplies to the Saracens: around Taormina and its fortress, the Count had twenty-two wooden towers built. The Muslims surrendered after a few months.
During the rule of Frederick II, called "Stupor Mundi" for his intellectual, political and military qualities, the castle of Taormina was entrusted to a noble castellan.
The gate of the fortress was guarded by sentries who stood on the patrol walkways.
The external walls have been preserved very well, while the internal ones have almost all collapsed.
Castello Saraceno
The castle of Taormina is located on a rock of Monte Tauro, at almost 400 meters above sea level.
From here you could control the valley of the Alcantara river.
In Greek and Roman times, the Taurus fortress was the lower acropolis of Tauromenion.
The upper one was located further north, near present-day Castelmola.
According to tradition, the castle of Taormina was built by the Arabs.
In reality, the period in which it was made is still unknown.
However, it is possible that the Muslims had their bulwark in the fortress in 1079, during the siege of the Normans.
Count Roger adopted an ingenious strategy to cut off all supplies to the Saracens: around Taormina and its fortress, the Count had twenty-two wooden towers built. The Muslims surrendered after a few months.
During the rule of Frederick II, called "Stupor Mundi" for his intellectual, political and military qualities, the castle of Taormina was entrusted to a noble castellan.
The gate of the fortress was guarded by sentries who stood on the patrol walkways.
The external walls have been preserved very well, while the internal ones have almost all collapsed.
The church of the Madonna della Rocca, dating back to the 12th century and restored in 1600, stands on a small mountain overlooking Taormina from which you can enjoy a breathtaking view.
The small church of the Madonna della Rocca is so called because it was built and carved into the rock.
Legend has it that during a storm a shepherd boy went into a cave to take shelter with his flock and, in the glare of the lightning, he saw a lady holding a child in her arms. He was scared and ran away, leaving the sheep. When he returned with his parents, at the point where he had seen the lady, there was a crack in the rock inside which he could see a painting depicting the lady with the child. Since the apparition of the Madonna to the shepherd boy, the small cave became a place of pilgrimage for many faithful who still today, every third Sunday of September, go to the church to celebrate the Madonna della Rocca.
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Chiesa Madonna della Rocca
The church of the Madonna della Rocca, dating back to the 12th century and restored in 1600, stands on a small mountain overlooking Taormina from which you can enjoy a breathtaking view.
The small church of the Madonna della Rocca is so called because it was built and carved into the rock.
Legend has it that during a storm a shepherd boy went into a cave to take shelter with his flock and, in the glare of the lightning, he saw a lady holding a child in her arms. He was scared and ran away, leaving the sheep. When he returned with his parents, at the point where he had seen the lady, there was a crack in the rock inside which he could see a painting depicting the lady with the child. Since the apparition of the Madonna to the shepherd boy, the small cave became a place of pilgrimage for many faithful who still today, every third Sunday of September, go to the church to celebrate the Madonna della Rocca.
Brought to light only in 1943, the Naumachie are a long red brick façade from the Roman era.
The monumental succession of the 18 major niches interspersed with smaller rectangular niches is appreciable. All for a elevation of 122m long by 5m high.
There are various hypotheses on its use, what is certain is that it was not used for the representation of naval battles (contrary to its name); much more likely it was a Gymnasium, that is, a place to do gymnastic exercises.
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Naumachia di Taormina
13 Via NaumachiaBrought to light only in 1943, the Naumachie are a long red brick façade from the Roman era.
The monumental succession of the 18 major niches interspersed with smaller rectangular niches is appreciable. All for a elevation of 122m long by 5m high.
There are various hypotheses on its use, what is certain is that it was not used for the representation of naval battles (contrary to its name); much more likely it was a Gymnasium, that is, a place to do gymnastic exercises.
It is a large terrace suspended between sky and sea, on the upper part of Via Pirandello, between the Miramare hotel and the reinforced concrete pillars of what until the Second World War was the grand Castellammare hotel (completely gutted immediately after the war to be adapted into a casino and then remained a ruin when there was no longer any talk of a gaming house).
It dominates one of the most enchanting landscape views of Taormina, with the Isola Bella rock which is certainly the most photographed and famous Sicilian tourist corner in the world (even more than the Greek theatre). In the long Taormina summers it is the most popular little square, until late at night, by Taormina residents and tourists. In the two photos below a panoramic view that can be enjoyed from the Belvedere square in Taormina.
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Belvedere Isola Bella
83-85 Via Luigi PirandelloIt is a large terrace suspended between sky and sea, on the upper part of Via Pirandello, between the Miramare hotel and the reinforced concrete pillars of what until the Second World War was the grand Castellammare hotel (completely gutted immediately after the war to be adapted into a casino and then remained a ruin when there was no longer any talk of a gaming house).
It dominates one of the most enchanting landscape views of Taormina, with the Isola Bella rock which is certainly the most photographed and famous Sicilian tourist corner in the world (even more than the Greek theatre). In the long Taormina summers it is the most popular little square, until late at night, by Taormina residents and tourists. In the two photos below a panoramic view that can be enjoyed from the Belvedere square in Taormina.
In a bay of the Ionian Sea there is a small oasis that shines green in the middle of the crystalline sea. Separated by a strip of beach that appears depending on the tides, the Isola Bella of Taormina has been defined by many as the Pearl of the Mediterranean. The dense Mediterranean vegetation makes it mysterious and fascinating at the same time.
The beauty of this islet at the foot of Taormina can be appreciated from above, from every point of the bay, but also from below, from the pebble beach that keeps it company and watches over it.
Today Isola Bella belongs to the Department of Cultural Heritage, but over the years there have been many successive owners. Gifted to Pancrazio Ciprioti by the King of the Two Sicilies Ferdinand I of Bourbon, Lady Florence Trevelyan bought that islet in the middle of the blue and made it become a small oasis unique in its kind.
At the end of the 19th century, her philanthropist husband Salvatore Cacciola, to please his wife, had a small house built on the island and planted rare and valuable tropical plants. In 1954 the Bosurgi brothers from Messina became the owners and built a splendid residence with 12 independent rooms.
These, communicating with each other with stairs and terraces, together with a small swimming pool, were camouflaged among the plants and rocks of the island. Only in 1984 did the Sicilian Region finally declare Isola Bella as a site of artistic interest of naturalistic, historical and cultural value. In 1998 the Nature Reserve was established, initially managed by the WWF and later by the province of Messina
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Isola Bella
In a bay of the Ionian Sea there is a small oasis that shines green in the middle of the crystalline sea. Separated by a strip of beach that appears depending on the tides, the Isola Bella of Taormina has been defined by many as the Pearl of the Mediterranean. The dense Mediterranean vegetation makes it mysterious and fascinating at the same time.
The beauty of this islet at the foot of Taormina can be appreciated from above, from every point of the bay, but also from below, from the pebble beach that keeps it company and watches over it.
Today Isola Bella belongs to the Department of Cultural Heritage, but over the years there have been many successive owners. Gifted to Pancrazio Ciprioti by the King of the Two Sicilies Ferdinand I of Bourbon, Lady Florence Trevelyan bought that islet in the middle of the blue and made it become a small oasis unique in its kind.
At the end of the 19th century, her philanthropist husband Salvatore Cacciola, to please his wife, had a small house built on the island and planted rare and valuable tropical plants. In 1954 the Bosurgi brothers from Messina became the owners and built a splendid residence with 12 independent rooms.
These, communicating with each other with stairs and terraces, together with a small swimming pool, were camouflaged among the plants and rocks of the island. Only in 1984 did the Sicilian Region finally declare Isola Bella as a site of artistic interest of naturalistic, historical and cultural value. In 1998 the Nature Reserve was established, initially managed by the WWF and later by the province of Messina
Piazza IX Aprile is the most elegant "living room" in Taormina.
Characteristic are the outdoor bars and the artists who paint portraits and landscapes.
From the balcony you can admire a magnificent panorama that embraces Etna, the bay of Naxos and the ruins of the ancient theater of Taormina.
Pan04
The square is so called because on 9 April 1860, during a mass in the Taormina cathedral, the rumor spread that Garibaldi had landed in Marsala to begin the liberation from the Bourbons in Sicily.
The news turned out to be false: in fact Garibaldi would have landed in Marsala only a month later, i.e. on 9 May.
The people of Taormina also wanted to remember that date by dedicating the most beautiful square in the city to it.
Piazza XV Aprile 2
Before then, the square was called Piazza Sant'Agostino, from the name of the church built in 1448 and which occupies one side of the square.
The church is now home to the Municipal Library.
Another religious building is located on Piazza IX April.
This is the church of San Giuseppe, built in the 17th century.
The church is still open for worship and is entrusted to the Salesian Fathers.
It represents a fine example of Sicilian baroque.
Of notable beauty is the double staircase located in front of the entrance.
The most important building in the square is certainly the clock tower.
Built in the 12th century, it was destroyed several times over time, but was always rebuilt.
Piazza IX Aprile, Taormina
Piazza IX Aprile is the most elegant "living room" in Taormina.
Characteristic are the outdoor bars and the artists who paint portraits and landscapes.
From the balcony you can admire a magnificent panorama that embraces Etna, the bay of Naxos and the ruins of the ancient theater of Taormina.
Pan04
The square is so called because on 9 April 1860, during a mass in the Taormina cathedral, the rumor spread that Garibaldi had landed in Marsala to begin the liberation from the Bourbons in Sicily.
The news turned out to be false: in fact Garibaldi would have landed in Marsala only a month later, i.e. on 9 May.
The people of Taormina also wanted to remember that date by dedicating the most beautiful square in the city to it.
Piazza XV Aprile 2
Before then, the square was called Piazza Sant'Agostino, from the name of the church built in 1448 and which occupies one side of the square.
The church is now home to the Municipal Library.
Another religious building is located on Piazza IX April.
This is the church of San Giuseppe, built in the 17th century.
The church is still open for worship and is entrusted to the Salesian Fathers.
It represents a fine example of Sicilian baroque.
Of notable beauty is the double staircase located in front of the entrance.
The most important building in the square is certainly the clock tower.
Built in the 12th century, it was destroyed several times over time, but was always rebuilt.