Villa Comunale (Taormina Public Gardens), Taormina (must see)
Lady Florence Trevelyan, born in New Castle on Tyne, England, a gardener by profession, was in love. Unfortunately, she was in love with the future King Edward VII of England. This could not be. Queen Victoria sent Florence packing. She settled in Taormina in 1884. She married the Mayor, Salvatore Cacciola, and planted a garden.
Lady Florence Trevelyan was no ordinary gardener. Once she settled in Taormina, she began shaping the town鈥檚 landscape with the same flair others reserved for writing novels. Her first venture was the small 鈥淏eautiful Island鈥� offshore, where she built a retreat and filled it with exotic species collected on her travels. From there she moved inland, buying hillside plots between Bagnoli Croce and Giardini, laying out gardens that married Mediterranean plants with specimens brought from far-flung corners of the world. To crown her efforts, she scattered the grounds with eccentric 鈥淰ictorian follies鈥� she dubbed 鈥渉ives鈥�-brick towers and fanciful structures that borrowed freely from Gothic and Moorish design. Their playful oddity still distinguishes the gardens from more predictable landscapes.
When Florence died in 1907, the municipality inherited her creations and opened them to the public. True to the English landscape tradition, the Villa Comunale was arranged with winding paths, manicured beds, fountains, and shaded corners. Visitors today still wander past palms, cypresses, oleanders, and blooms that shift with the seasons, while the follies stand like whimsical punctuation marks among the greenery. Yet the real showstopper comes from the terraces: sweeping panoramas that take in the Bay of Naxos, the Ionian Sea, and the silhouette of Mount Etna.
More than a century on, the Public Gardens remain a favorite gathering spot. Families stroll, children play, and concerts animate the lawns, all within a setting that balances nature with a dash of eccentric history. In shaping these grounds, Lady Florence left Taormina a gift that feels as alive and unconventional as the woman herself.
Lady Florence Trevelyan was no ordinary gardener. Once she settled in Taormina, she began shaping the town鈥檚 landscape with the same flair others reserved for writing novels. Her first venture was the small 鈥淏eautiful Island鈥� offshore, where she built a retreat and filled it with exotic species collected on her travels. From there she moved inland, buying hillside plots between Bagnoli Croce and Giardini, laying out gardens that married Mediterranean plants with specimens brought from far-flung corners of the world. To crown her efforts, she scattered the grounds with eccentric 鈥淰ictorian follies鈥� she dubbed 鈥渉ives鈥�-brick towers and fanciful structures that borrowed freely from Gothic and Moorish design. Their playful oddity still distinguishes the gardens from more predictable landscapes.
When Florence died in 1907, the municipality inherited her creations and opened them to the public. True to the English landscape tradition, the Villa Comunale was arranged with winding paths, manicured beds, fountains, and shaded corners. Visitors today still wander past palms, cypresses, oleanders, and blooms that shift with the seasons, while the follies stand like whimsical punctuation marks among the greenery. Yet the real showstopper comes from the terraces: sweeping panoramas that take in the Bay of Naxos, the Ionian Sea, and the silhouette of Mount Etna.
More than a century on, the Public Gardens remain a favorite gathering spot. Families stroll, children play, and concerts animate the lawns, all within a setting that balances nature with a dash of eccentric history. In shaping these grounds, Lady Florence left Taormina a gift that feels as alive and unconventional as the woman herself.
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Villa Comunale (Taormina Public Gardens) on Map
Sight Name: Villa Comunale (Taormina Public Gardens)
Sight Location: Taormina, Italy (See walking tours in Taormina)
Sight Type: Park/Outdoor
Guide(s) Containing This Sight:
Sight Location: Taormina, Italy (See walking tours in Taormina)
Sight Type: Park/Outdoor
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