Porta Messina (Messina Gate), Taormina
Messina Gate guards the northern end of Taormina鈥檚 historic center, a stone arch that has seen both armies and tourists step beneath it. The town鈥檚 medieval walls once tied it into a full defensive circuit, fragments of which still show near the Clock Tower and Catania Gate to the south. While that southern gate was last restored in the 15th century, Messina Gate is a later arrival in its current form, rebuilt in 1808 under the Bourbons. Its style is straightforward and stately, marked by the Bourbon coat of arms on the keystone. For a time it bore the name Ferdinand Gate in honor of Ferdinand IV, but after Italian unification locals quickly reverted to the older and more practical title, Messina Gate.
Historically, this was the threshold for anyone arriving from the north. The road from Messina funneled directly through the arch into Taormina, shifting the traveler from countryside quiet into the town鈥檚 civic and commercial stage. The arch itself, while simple, carried weight as a boundary marker, a reminder that one was now entering a community both ancient and guarded.
In the present day, Messina Gate frames a different kind of entry. Instead of knights or merchants, visitors stream into Umberto Street, a lively stretch of caf茅s, shops, and palaces. Just inside, Vittorio Emanuele Square sets the tone with the 17th-century Church of Saint Catherine and the Corvaja Palace rising nearby. The gate no longer needs to defend Taormina, but it still delivers a sense of arrival, the kind that bridges centuries in a single step.
Historically, this was the threshold for anyone arriving from the north. The road from Messina funneled directly through the arch into Taormina, shifting the traveler from countryside quiet into the town鈥檚 civic and commercial stage. The arch itself, while simple, carried weight as a boundary marker, a reminder that one was now entering a community both ancient and guarded.
In the present day, Messina Gate frames a different kind of entry. Instead of knights or merchants, visitors stream into Umberto Street, a lively stretch of caf茅s, shops, and palaces. Just inside, Vittorio Emanuele Square sets the tone with the 17th-century Church of Saint Catherine and the Corvaja Palace rising nearby. The gate no longer needs to defend Taormina, but it still delivers a sense of arrival, the kind that bridges centuries in a single step.
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Porta Messina (Messina Gate) on Map
Sight Name: Porta Messina (Messina Gate)
Sight Location: Taormina, Italy (See walking tours in Taormina)
Sight Type: Attraction/Landmark
Guide(s) Containing This Sight:
Sight Location: Taormina, Italy (See walking tours in Taormina)
Sight Type: Attraction/Landmark
Guide(s) Containing This Sight:
Walking Tours in Taormina, Italy
Create Your Own Walk in Taormina
Creating your own self-guided walk in Taormina is easy and fun. Choose the city attractions that you want to see and a walk route map will be created just for you. You can even set your hotel as the start point of the walk.
Taormina Introduction Walking Tour
In 396 BC, the notorious tyrant Dionysius I of Syracuse instructed his commander Andromachus to establish a settlement at the foot of Mount Etna. This came after Dionysius had destroyed the ancient Greek city of Naxos, leaving its displaced inhabitants in need of a new home. The settlement's original name, Tauromenion, meaning 鈥渄welling on the Taurus,鈥� referred to the nearby mountain... view more
Tour Duration: 2 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 2.0 Km or 1.2 Miles
Tour Duration: 2 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 2.0 Km or 1.2 Miles