Taormina Introduction Walking Tour (Self Guided), Taormina
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 “dwelling on the Taurus,” referred to the nearby mountain ridge.
Perched high above the Ionian Sea, Taormina offered both natural protection and striking beauty. It quickly developed into a thriving community with temples, homes, and public buildings. Its most enduring monument is the Ancient Theatre, built by the Greeks in the 3rd century BC and later expanded by the Romans into a grand amphitheater. Today, the theatre stages concerts and performances, set against the breathtaking backdrop of Mount Etna and the sea.
During Roman times, Taormina became a favored resort for the elite, prized for its mild climate and sweeping views. Villas and baths dotted the hillsides, transforming the town into a luxurious retreat for Rome’s wealthy classes. Under Byzantine rule from the 6th century, Taormina was heavily fortified and became one of the empire’s last strongholds in Sicily, resisting Arab advances until the 10th century.
When the Arabs eventually took control, they revitalized the region through new agricultural practices-introducing citrus, sugar cane, and sophisticated irrigation systems-and re-established trade links that connected the town to the broader Mediterranean world. In the 11th century, the Normans incorporated Taormina into the Kingdom of Sicily, blending Latin, Greek, and Arab influences into the town’s cultural fabric. Throughout the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, Taormina maintained its reputation as one of Sicily’s jewels, attracting traders, scholars, and travelers alike.
By the 18th and 19th centuries, the town gained renewed fame as a stop on the Grand Tour of Europe-a cultural journey through the continent, particularly Italy, undertaken by young aristocratic men from northern Europe to complete their education and broaden their cultural horizons.
In modern times, Taormina’s reputation as a haven for artists and intellectuals only grew. Celebrated as a cultural sanctuary and the “Shangri-La of Sicily,” it has drawn famous personalities from Oscar Wilde and Greta Garbo to Elizabeth Taylor and Woody Allen. Perched 250 meters above the Ionian Sea, Taormina continues to inspire visitors who gaze from the Ancient Theatre out toward the sparkling waters below.
Despite his reputation as a cruel tyrant, Dionysius I did at least one thing right: he founded Taormina.
Perched high above the Ionian Sea, Taormina offered both natural protection and striking beauty. It quickly developed into a thriving community with temples, homes, and public buildings. Its most enduring monument is the Ancient Theatre, built by the Greeks in the 3rd century BC and later expanded by the Romans into a grand amphitheater. Today, the theatre stages concerts and performances, set against the breathtaking backdrop of Mount Etna and the sea.
During Roman times, Taormina became a favored resort for the elite, prized for its mild climate and sweeping views. Villas and baths dotted the hillsides, transforming the town into a luxurious retreat for Rome’s wealthy classes. Under Byzantine rule from the 6th century, Taormina was heavily fortified and became one of the empire’s last strongholds in Sicily, resisting Arab advances until the 10th century.
When the Arabs eventually took control, they revitalized the region through new agricultural practices-introducing citrus, sugar cane, and sophisticated irrigation systems-and re-established trade links that connected the town to the broader Mediterranean world. In the 11th century, the Normans incorporated Taormina into the Kingdom of Sicily, blending Latin, Greek, and Arab influences into the town’s cultural fabric. Throughout the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, Taormina maintained its reputation as one of Sicily’s jewels, attracting traders, scholars, and travelers alike.
By the 18th and 19th centuries, the town gained renewed fame as a stop on the Grand Tour of Europe-a cultural journey through the continent, particularly Italy, undertaken by young aristocratic men from northern Europe to complete their education and broaden their cultural horizons.
In modern times, Taormina’s reputation as a haven for artists and intellectuals only grew. Celebrated as a cultural sanctuary and the “Shangri-La of Sicily,” it has drawn famous personalities from Oscar Wilde and Greta Garbo to Elizabeth Taylor and Woody Allen. Perched 250 meters above the Ionian Sea, Taormina continues to inspire visitors who gaze from the Ancient Theatre out toward the sparkling waters below.
Despite his reputation as a cruel tyrant, Dionysius I did at least one thing right: he founded Taormina.
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Taormina Introduction Walking Tour Map
Guide Name: Taormina Introduction Walking Tour
Guide Location: Italy » Taormina (See other walking tours in Taormina)
Guide Type: Self-guided Walking Tour (Sightseeing)
# of Attractions: 13
Tour Duration: 2 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 2.0 Km or 1.2 Miles
Author: DanaOffice
Sight(s) Featured in This Guide:
Guide Location: Italy » Taormina (See other walking tours in Taormina)
Guide Type: Self-guided Walking Tour (Sightseeing)
# of Attractions: 13
Tour Duration: 2 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 2.0 Km or 1.2 Miles
Author: DanaOffice
Sight(s) Featured in This Guide:
- Porta Catania (Catania Gate)
- Quattro Fontane di Taormina (Four Fountains of Taormina)
- Duomo di Taormina (Cathedral of Taormina)
- Corso Umberto (Umberto Street)
- Torre dell’Orologio (Clock Tower)
- Piazza IX Aprile (April 9th Square)
- Chiesa di San Giuseppe (Church of Saint Joseph)
- Villa Comunale (Taormina Public Gardens)
- Teatro Antico di Taormina (Ancient Theatre of Taormina)
- Via Teatro Greco (Greek Theatre Street)
- Palazzo Corvaja (Corvaja Palace)
- Porta Messina (Messina Gate)
- Funivia Mazzaro-Taormina (Mazzaro-Taormina Cableway)
1) Porta Catania (Catania Gate)
Catania Gate has been standing guard at the southern end of Taormina since 1440, when the Kingdom of Aragon decided the hilltop town needed a proper gateway toward the road to Catania. Solid stonework and the Aragonese coat of arms still stare down from the arch, reminders that this was once a serious checkpoint, not just a photo stop. Back then, the gate formed part of a triple wall system that kept the medieval town secure while funneling merchants, travelers, and locals through a single controlled passage.
Just outside lies Giuseppe Buciuni Square, a place with more layers than it lets on. In Norman times, it was the site of official meetings held precisely at one in the afternoon, an oddly specific schedule that gave the gate its other name, the “Gate of the Touch.” Centuries later, the square was renamed to honor Buciuni, a local hero of World War II. Around it, the patchwork of architectural styles-Arab flourishes, Norman solidity, Gothic lines, and Spanish touches-tells its own story of Sicily’s revolving door of rulers.
Walking through the arch is still a ritual of sorts. One moment you’re outside the medieval boundary, the next you’re on Umberto street, Taormina’s showcase of cafés, palazzi, and shops that winds its way to Messina Gate on the far end. Flanking Catania Gate is the Palace of the Dukes of Santo Stefano, a 14th-century Gothic and Arab-Norman hybrid that makes the gate’s plain strength look even more austere.
Today, Catania Gate is less about defense and more about continuity. Every traveler who steps under its arch becomes part of the long procession of centuries, entering Taormina the same way countless others have since the 15th century.
Just outside lies Giuseppe Buciuni Square, a place with more layers than it lets on. In Norman times, it was the site of official meetings held precisely at one in the afternoon, an oddly specific schedule that gave the gate its other name, the “Gate of the Touch.” Centuries later, the square was renamed to honor Buciuni, a local hero of World War II. Around it, the patchwork of architectural styles-Arab flourishes, Norman solidity, Gothic lines, and Spanish touches-tells its own story of Sicily’s revolving door of rulers.
Walking through the arch is still a ritual of sorts. One moment you’re outside the medieval boundary, the next you’re on Umberto street, Taormina’s showcase of cafés, palazzi, and shops that winds its way to Messina Gate on the far end. Flanking Catania Gate is the Palace of the Dukes of Santo Stefano, a 14th-century Gothic and Arab-Norman hybrid that makes the gate’s plain strength look even more austere.
Today, Catania Gate is less about defense and more about continuity. Every traveler who steps under its arch becomes part of the long procession of centuries, entering Taormina the same way countless others have since the 15th century.
2) Quattro Fontane di Taormina (Four Fountains of Taormina)
The Four Fountains of Taormina play a small trick on the visitor: there is only one fountain, though its four spouting corners gave rise to the plural name. Standing in Cathedral Square before the Church of Saint Nicholas of Bari, the fountain was commissioned by the town in 1635, during the Baroque makeover of Sicily under Spanish rule. It was meant to quench the thirst of residents, livestock, and passing travelers, but at the same time to show that Taormina had taste-and funds-to spare.
Two stacked basins form the heart of the fountain, the smaller inscribed with the names of the town figures who paid for it. At each corner, a column sprouts a hippocampus, a strange hybrid of horse and fish, intended to pour water into small basins. Their plumbing is erratic now, but the creatures still stand guard, frozen in mid-spout.
The centerpiece is harder to overlook: a crowned centaur, long a symbol of Taormina, raised high on a pedestal. Here, though, tradition is bent-the figure is androgynous, orb and cross in one hand, scepter in the other, stomach spilling a little generously over its midsection. Far from the sleek warriors of myth, this centaur carries the airs of sovereignty with a human touch, an emblem both serious and sly.
Once the practical hub of Taormina’s public life, the Four Fountains now serve more as a stage set for the square. Encircled by narrow lanes and old palaces, they preserve the city’s mix of myth, Baroque style, and civic pride in stone and water.
Two stacked basins form the heart of the fountain, the smaller inscribed with the names of the town figures who paid for it. At each corner, a column sprouts a hippocampus, a strange hybrid of horse and fish, intended to pour water into small basins. Their plumbing is erratic now, but the creatures still stand guard, frozen in mid-spout.
The centerpiece is harder to overlook: a crowned centaur, long a symbol of Taormina, raised high on a pedestal. Here, though, tradition is bent-the figure is androgynous, orb and cross in one hand, scepter in the other, stomach spilling a little generously over its midsection. Far from the sleek warriors of myth, this centaur carries the airs of sovereignty with a human touch, an emblem both serious and sly.
Once the practical hub of Taormina’s public life, the Four Fountains now serve more as a stage set for the square. Encircled by narrow lanes and old palaces, they preserve the city’s mix of myth, Baroque style, and civic pride in stone and water.
3) Duomo di Taormina (Cathedral of Taormina)
The Cathedral of Saint Nicholas of Bari, also known as the Cathedral of Taormina, stands in Cathedral Square just off Corso Umberto and has been one of the town’s defining monuments since the 13th century. Built during the Norman period on the site of an earlier church, it earned the nickname “fortress cathedral” because of its thick stone walls and battlements, which reflected both its religious and defensive roles in a time when coastal towns were vulnerable to raids.
The façade presents layers of history. A large Renaissance rose window crowns the center above the main portal, flanked by Baroque Corinthian columns from the 17th century, while side entrances were added in the 15th and 16th centuries. The square bell tower, rebuilt several times, rises beside it. Inside, the cathedral follows a Latin cross plan with three naves ending in three apses. Pink marble columns divide the space, their capitals decorated with carved motifs of leaves and fish. The high altar of polychrome marble dominates the interior, while doorjambs feature carved symbols of the evangelists and apostles, adding to the rich iconography.
The chapels hold treasures of Sicilian art and devotion. In the right nave are works by Antonio Giuffrè and Antonello de Saliba, including depictions of the Visitation, Madonna, and the Last Supper, as well as a Byzantine Madonna covered in silver and jewels. The left nave contains lunettes by Alfonso Franco. In 1980, Pope John Paul II elevated the church to the status of Minor Basilica.
Outside, the Four Fountains of Taormina complete the setting, making the square and cathedral together a vibrant center of history, faith, and civic pride.
The façade presents layers of history. A large Renaissance rose window crowns the center above the main portal, flanked by Baroque Corinthian columns from the 17th century, while side entrances were added in the 15th and 16th centuries. The square bell tower, rebuilt several times, rises beside it. Inside, the cathedral follows a Latin cross plan with three naves ending in three apses. Pink marble columns divide the space, their capitals decorated with carved motifs of leaves and fish. The high altar of polychrome marble dominates the interior, while doorjambs feature carved symbols of the evangelists and apostles, adding to the rich iconography.
The chapels hold treasures of Sicilian art and devotion. In the right nave are works by Antonio Giuffrè and Antonello de Saliba, including depictions of the Visitation, Madonna, and the Last Supper, as well as a Byzantine Madonna covered in silver and jewels. The left nave contains lunettes by Alfonso Franco. In 1980, Pope John Paul II elevated the church to the status of Minor Basilica.
Outside, the Four Fountains of Taormina complete the setting, making the square and cathedral together a vibrant center of history, faith, and civic pride.
4) Corso Umberto (Umberto Street) (must see)
Umberto Street may carry the name of a 19th-century king, but its roots run much deeper than royal vanity projects. It follows the line of the old Greco-Roman road, the Consular Valeria road, stretching neatly between Catania Gate on one side and Messina Gate on the other. For centuries it has served as Taormina’s backbone, first for soldiers and merchants, later for nobles and pilgrims, and now for anyone with a camera or an appetite for gelato.
In medieval times, this was the town’s central spine, with alleys leading to monasteries, chapels, and palaces that announced Taormina’s status under whichever ruler happened to hold Sicily. Its architecture still reads like a roll call of conquerors: Norman arches, Gothic tracery, Renaissance refinements, and Baroque flourishes. The Palace of the Corvaja family, a 15th-century residence that mixes Arab and Norman motifs, is a standout along the route. Look closer and you’ll spot the layers of antiquity as well-the Temple of Jupiter Serapis replaced by the Church of Saint Pancras, or the Roman Odeon now lying hidden beneath the Church of Saint Catherine.
Midway along, April 9th Square opens like a stage set, complete with checkerboard paving and a terrace that frames the Ionian Sea and Mount Etna as though they were painted backdrops. Overlooking it all is the Clock Tower, or Middle Gate, linking the Greco-Roman quarter to the medieval heart of the town.
Today, Umberto Street is equal parts history book and shop window. Designer stores rub shoulders with artisan workshops, while cafés and wine bars spill out onto the flagstones. From dawn until late, the street hums with life, reminding visitors that Taormina has always known how to turn a simple road into the grandest of stages.
In medieval times, this was the town’s central spine, with alleys leading to monasteries, chapels, and palaces that announced Taormina’s status under whichever ruler happened to hold Sicily. Its architecture still reads like a roll call of conquerors: Norman arches, Gothic tracery, Renaissance refinements, and Baroque flourishes. The Palace of the Corvaja family, a 15th-century residence that mixes Arab and Norman motifs, is a standout along the route. Look closer and you’ll spot the layers of antiquity as well-the Temple of Jupiter Serapis replaced by the Church of Saint Pancras, or the Roman Odeon now lying hidden beneath the Church of Saint Catherine.
Midway along, April 9th Square opens like a stage set, complete with checkerboard paving and a terrace that frames the Ionian Sea and Mount Etna as though they were painted backdrops. Overlooking it all is the Clock Tower, or Middle Gate, linking the Greco-Roman quarter to the medieval heart of the town.
Today, Umberto Street is equal parts history book and shop window. Designer stores rub shoulders with artisan workshops, while cafés and wine bars spill out onto the flagstones. From dawn until late, the street hums with life, reminding visitors that Taormina has always known how to turn a simple road into the grandest of stages.
5) Torre dell’Orologio (Clock Tower)
The Clock Tower of Taormina, standing on Umberto Street, is less a simple landmark and more a time capsule of the town’s turbulent past. Once called the Middle Tower, it was planted on the remains of Taormina’s earliest defenses from the 4th century BC. The tower itself first rose in the 7th century AD, was rebuilt in the 12th, and later folded into the third ring of medieval walls protecting the Borgo quarter by the 15th century. As one of three gateways, it drew a line between Taormina’s Greco-Roman foundations and its medieval growth.
The tower’s life has been anything but calm. Its darkest moment came in 1676, when the forces of Louis XIV battered Taormina during a siege and left the structure in ruins. Locals, unwilling to let the gap stand, rebuilt it just three years later with some extra demands. They insisted on adding a clock and a carillon of bells, ensuring the tower no longer just guarded the town but also told it when to gather, worship, or celebrate. From mayoral elections to the July 9th feast of Saint Pancras, the bells marked out civic rhythms as clearly as any decree.
Visually, the tower is an exercise in layered strength and ceremony. Its square stone base supports a midsection with four rounded arches that hold the bells, all topped by a neat conical dome with windows looking out over the town. Flanking April 9th Square and close to the church of Saint Joseph, the tower anchors Taormina’s old center. Crossing its arch today still feels like a small act of arrival-into the bustle of Corso Umberto, framed by history and with Mount Etna waiting in the distance.
The tower’s life has been anything but calm. Its darkest moment came in 1676, when the forces of Louis XIV battered Taormina during a siege and left the structure in ruins. Locals, unwilling to let the gap stand, rebuilt it just three years later with some extra demands. They insisted on adding a clock and a carillon of bells, ensuring the tower no longer just guarded the town but also told it when to gather, worship, or celebrate. From mayoral elections to the July 9th feast of Saint Pancras, the bells marked out civic rhythms as clearly as any decree.
Visually, the tower is an exercise in layered strength and ceremony. Its square stone base supports a midsection with four rounded arches that hold the bells, all topped by a neat conical dome with windows looking out over the town. Flanking April 9th Square and close to the church of Saint Joseph, the tower anchors Taormina’s old center. Crossing its arch today still feels like a small act of arrival-into the bustle of Corso Umberto, framed by history and with Mount Etna waiting in the distance.
6) Piazza IX Aprile (April 9th Square) (must see)
April 9th Square comes with a story that is part history, part blunder. On April 9, 1860, the congregation at Taormina’s Cathedral was told that Giuseppe Garibaldi had landed at Marsala to liberate Sicily from Bourbon rule. The preacher’s announcement sparked jubilation, even though it was completely wrong-Garibaldi would not arrive for another month. The error was so memorable that when Italy’s unification was complete, the square was renamed after the date, preserving the echo of that mistaken cheer.
Before the renaming, it was known as Sant’Agostino Square, after the small Church of Saint Augustine built in 1448. That church still stands, though today it holds books instead of worshippers, serving as the town’s public library. Across the square rises the Church of San Giuseppe, a Baroque confection from the 17th century with a staircase as theatrical as its façade. Completing the ensemble is the medieval Clock Tower, rebuilt in the 1600s after French troops leveled it, once marking the dividing line between Taormina’s Greco-Roman foundations and its medieval quarter.
The square unfolds directly off Umberto Street, halfway between the town’s two historic gates, and has always been a gathering place. Cafés and shops crowd its edges, with artists ready to sketch a visitor’s likeness for the price of a cappuccino. Yet the highlight is the terrace itself: its checkerboard paving leads to a panorama stretching from the Ionian Sea across the Bay of Naxos to Mount Etna’s volcanic peak. Few places capture Taormina’s mix of drama, history, and spectacle as vividly as this plaza.
Before the renaming, it was known as Sant’Agostino Square, after the small Church of Saint Augustine built in 1448. That church still stands, though today it holds books instead of worshippers, serving as the town’s public library. Across the square rises the Church of San Giuseppe, a Baroque confection from the 17th century with a staircase as theatrical as its façade. Completing the ensemble is the medieval Clock Tower, rebuilt in the 1600s after French troops leveled it, once marking the dividing line between Taormina’s Greco-Roman foundations and its medieval quarter.
The square unfolds directly off Umberto Street, halfway between the town’s two historic gates, and has always been a gathering place. Cafés and shops crowd its edges, with artists ready to sketch a visitor’s likeness for the price of a cappuccino. Yet the highlight is the terrace itself: its checkerboard paving leads to a panorama stretching from the Ionian Sea across the Bay of Naxos to Mount Etna’s volcanic peak. Few places capture Taormina’s mix of drama, history, and spectacle as vividly as this plaza.
7) Chiesa di San Giuseppe (Church of Saint Joseph)
The Church of Saint Joseph, set right next to the Clock Tower on April 9th Square, makes no effort to hide its Baroque flair. Raised between the late 1600s and early 1700s as the home of the Confraternity of Souls in Purgatory, it was Taormina’s way of showing that devotion could come with a theatrical touch. Dedicated to Saint Joseph, the patron of workers and families, it quickly became a stage for processions and celebrations that spilled into the piazza, blending religious fervor with civic pride.
Its façade is pure Sicilian Baroque flair. A sweeping double staircase leads up as if summoning visitors onto the set. Scrolls and curves abound, twin towers frame the entrance, and the central portal is decked out with carved stonework capped by a triangular pediment. Above it all, Christ the King keeps watch from a marble niche. Side doors open to the sacristy on one hand and a hall often turned into exhibition space on the other, giving the building a role that has stretched beyond the strictly liturgical. The Salesian Order took charge in 1919, adding more decoration, and after a closure in 2015 for repairs, the church was restored to its full Baroque vigor.
Inside, restraint meets richness: a single nave lined with marble altars, frescoes of prophets, and Gospel scenes. A dome supported by marble columns crowns the tabernacle, while the main altar, in colorful Taormina marble, pulls the eye forward. Alongside the Church of Saint Augustine and the Clock Tower, Saint Joseph’s church completes the square’s ensemble-a trio that makes April 9th Square one of Taormina’s most theatrical corners.
Its façade is pure Sicilian Baroque flair. A sweeping double staircase leads up as if summoning visitors onto the set. Scrolls and curves abound, twin towers frame the entrance, and the central portal is decked out with carved stonework capped by a triangular pediment. Above it all, Christ the King keeps watch from a marble niche. Side doors open to the sacristy on one hand and a hall often turned into exhibition space on the other, giving the building a role that has stretched beyond the strictly liturgical. The Salesian Order took charge in 1919, adding more decoration, and after a closure in 2015 for repairs, the church was restored to its full Baroque vigor.
Inside, restraint meets richness: a single nave lined with marble altars, frescoes of prophets, and Gospel scenes. A dome supported by marble columns crowns the tabernacle, while the main altar, in colorful Taormina marble, pulls the eye forward. Alongside the Church of Saint Augustine and the Clock Tower, Saint Joseph’s church completes the square’s ensemble-a trio that makes April 9th Square one of Taormina’s most theatrical corners.
8) Villa Comunale (Taormina Public Gardens) (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’s landscape with the same flair others reserved for writing novels. Her first venture was the small “Beautiful Island” 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 “Victorian follies” she dubbed “hives”-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’s landscape with the same flair others reserved for writing novels. Her first venture was the small “Beautiful Island” 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 “Victorian follies” she dubbed “hives”-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.
9) Teatro Antico di Taormina (Ancient Theatre of Taormina) (must see)
The Ancient Theatre of Taormina, set high on a hillside with sweeping views of Mount Etna and the Ionian Sea, is one of Sicily’s most celebrated monuments. Built in the 3rd century BC under the reign of Hiero II of Syracuse, it followed the typical Greek theatre design, with a semicircular cavea carved into the slope and a simple stage used for drama and religious festivals. Constructing it required immense effort, as more than 100,000 cubic meters of rock were manually removed from the mountain. From the beginning, the theatre was not only a cultural center but also a striking blend of architecture and landscape.
In the Roman period, particularly in the 2nd century AD, the theatre was adapted to suit changing tastes. The modest Greek stage was replaced with a monumental scaenae frons adorned with marble columns and statues, while the orchestra area once used by musicians was transformed for gladiatorial contests. The theatre could seat between 5,000 and 5,400 spectators, arranged in nine sections with porticos. Its scale and acoustics made it a favored venue for performances, while its dramatic setting enhanced every spectacle.
During the Middle Ages, the theatre fell into disrepair, but it never lost its allure. Rediscovered in the 18th and 19th centuries by travelers on the Grand Tour, it became renowned as one of the most beautiful ancient theatres in the world. Writers, painters, and aristocrats immortalized its vistas, cementing Taormina’s reputation as a cultural haven.
Today, the Ancient Theatre remains the second-largest in Sicily and is still in use. Since the 1950s, it has hosted concerts, plays, operas, and film festivals. For visitors, walking through its ruins offers both a journey into Sicily’s Greek and Roman past and an unforgettable panorama where history, myth, and natural beauty come together.
In the Roman period, particularly in the 2nd century AD, the theatre was adapted to suit changing tastes. The modest Greek stage was replaced with a monumental scaenae frons adorned with marble columns and statues, while the orchestra area once used by musicians was transformed for gladiatorial contests. The theatre could seat between 5,000 and 5,400 spectators, arranged in nine sections with porticos. Its scale and acoustics made it a favored venue for performances, while its dramatic setting enhanced every spectacle.
During the Middle Ages, the theatre fell into disrepair, but it never lost its allure. Rediscovered in the 18th and 19th centuries by travelers on the Grand Tour, it became renowned as one of the most beautiful ancient theatres in the world. Writers, painters, and aristocrats immortalized its vistas, cementing Taormina’s reputation as a cultural haven.
Today, the Ancient Theatre remains the second-largest in Sicily and is still in use. Since the 1950s, it has hosted concerts, plays, operas, and film festivals. For visitors, walking through its ruins offers both a journey into Sicily’s Greek and Roman past and an unforgettable panorama where history, myth, and natural beauty come together.
10) Via Teatro Greco (Greek Theatre Street)
Greek Theatre Street is Taormina’s most theatrical approach, guiding visitors from Abbey Square straight to the town’s crown jewel, the Ancient Theatre. Its stones have carried generations of footsteps since Greek and Roman times, when crowds climbed this slope for tragedies, comedies, and later Roman spectacles. Even as centuries passed and rulers changed, the street kept its role as the artery leading into Taormina’s cultural life.
By the 18th and 19th centuries, it had gained a second life as part of the Grand Tour. Poets, painters, and aristocrats wandered here, with Goethe and D.H. Lawrence among those who praised both the ruins and the views that frame them. Their rapturous accounts gave the street an almost literary reputation, binding it to the romantic imagination of Europe.
Landmarks lend the walk its character. The staircase of Timoleon rises in honor of the Corinthian general who once defended the town, staged like a Sicilian answer to Rome’s Spanish Steps and dressed with azaleas each spring. Not far away are the legacies of Taormina’s more recent past: the villa of Lady Florence Trevelyan, who left the town its celebrated gardens; the medieval Corvaja Palace, now housing the Museum of Sicilian Art and Traditions; and Cuseni House, an Art Nouveau villa that hints at Gaudà in its curves. The Hotel Timeo, a 19th-century favorite of visiting elites, still watches over the street with quiet grandeur.
Today, Greek Theatre Street is more than a passage-it is an unfolding sequence of shops, cafés, and glimpses of sea and mountain, with the Ancient Theatre waiting at the end and the fortress of Mount Tauro towering above. It feels less like a walk and more like a rehearsal for the spectacle ahead.
By the 18th and 19th centuries, it had gained a second life as part of the Grand Tour. Poets, painters, and aristocrats wandered here, with Goethe and D.H. Lawrence among those who praised both the ruins and the views that frame them. Their rapturous accounts gave the street an almost literary reputation, binding it to the romantic imagination of Europe.
Landmarks lend the walk its character. The staircase of Timoleon rises in honor of the Corinthian general who once defended the town, staged like a Sicilian answer to Rome’s Spanish Steps and dressed with azaleas each spring. Not far away are the legacies of Taormina’s more recent past: the villa of Lady Florence Trevelyan, who left the town its celebrated gardens; the medieval Corvaja Palace, now housing the Museum of Sicilian Art and Traditions; and Cuseni House, an Art Nouveau villa that hints at Gaudà in its curves. The Hotel Timeo, a 19th-century favorite of visiting elites, still watches over the street with quiet grandeur.
Today, Greek Theatre Street is more than a passage-it is an unfolding sequence of shops, cafés, and glimpses of sea and mountain, with the Ancient Theatre waiting at the end and the fortress of Mount Tauro towering above. It feels less like a walk and more like a rehearsal for the spectacle ahead.
11) Palazzo Corvaja (Corvaja Palace)
Corvaja Palace, standing in Abbey Square near Umberto Street and the Church of Saint Catherine, wears its history on its stone walls. The building began life in the 10th century, when Arab rulers erected a square defensive tower that still anchors the structure today. The Normans later added their touch in the 11th century, softening the fortress into a residence that balanced power with prestige. By the 13th and 14th centuries, Catalan Gothic windows and Norman halls joined the mix, layering styles in a way that turned the palace into an architectural sampler of Sicily’s past.
The Corvaja family gave the building its name in the 17th century, owning it for nearly three centuries until 1945. Their legacy is written into the façades and the interiors: pointed arches, carved mullioned windows, and biblical relief panels cut from Siracusa stone showing the Creation of Eve, Original Sin, and the Expulsion from Paradise. The Parliamentary Hall adds another chapter, recalling the early 15th century when the Sicilian Parliament convened here beneath frescoes of Daniel in the Lions’ Den and The Flight into Egypt.
By the mid-20th century the palace was falling apart, until architect Armando Dillon’s restoration in 1948 returned it to dignity. Today, it pulls double duty as Taormina’s Museum of Folk Art and Traditions-complete with puppets, crafts, and everyday artifacts-and as the town’s tourist office. For visitors, Corvaja Palace is both a historical mosaic and a practical stop, where centuries of politics, artistry, and family power come together under one roof.
The Corvaja family gave the building its name in the 17th century, owning it for nearly three centuries until 1945. Their legacy is written into the façades and the interiors: pointed arches, carved mullioned windows, and biblical relief panels cut from Siracusa stone showing the Creation of Eve, Original Sin, and the Expulsion from Paradise. The Parliamentary Hall adds another chapter, recalling the early 15th century when the Sicilian Parliament convened here beneath frescoes of Daniel in the Lions’ Den and The Flight into Egypt.
By the mid-20th century the palace was falling apart, until architect Armando Dillon’s restoration in 1948 returned it to dignity. Today, it pulls double duty as Taormina’s Museum of Folk Art and Traditions-complete with puppets, crafts, and everyday artifacts-and as the town’s tourist office. For visitors, Corvaja Palace is both a historical mosaic and a practical stop, where centuries of politics, artistry, and family power come together under one roof.
12) Porta Messina (Messina Gate)
Messina Gate guards the northern end of Taormina’s historic center, a stone arch that has seen both armies and tourists step beneath it. The town’s 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’s 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 cafés, 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’s 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 cafés, 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.
13) Funivia Mazzaro-Taormina (Mazzaro-Taormina Cableway)
The Mazzarò–Taormina Cableway solves a problem as old as Taormina itself: how to get from the mountain to the sea without a battle with winding roads. Opened in 1993, the line stretches just over 600 meters and manages the descent in two minutes flat. Two groups of four cabins, each carrying up to eight people, glide up and down with a rhythm that moves roughly 650 passengers per hour. With departures every quarter of an hour, it functions less like a novelty ride and more like a finely tuned commuter link-though with far better views.
Its roots, however, stretch back to 1928, when the first version of the cableway appeared. After several closures and renovations, the modern system took shape in the 1990s and was upgraded again in the early 2000s, smoothing out the ride while boosting safety and reliability. Today, more than a million people ride it annually, making it as much a part of Taormina’s identity as its ancient streets and seaside terraces.
The upper station sits conveniently close to Umberto Street and the Greek Theatre, while the lower station opens almost directly onto the beaches of Mazzarò and the celebrated Isola Bella. Along the way, gondolas rise about 100 feet above the ground, their wide windows framing views of the Ionian Sea, rugged cliffs, and the looming outline of Mount Etna.
For travelers, the cableway is transport with a flourish. It’s practical, efficient, and modern, yet still manages to turn a short commute into a miniature spectacle of landscape and light.
Its roots, however, stretch back to 1928, when the first version of the cableway appeared. After several closures and renovations, the modern system took shape in the 1990s and was upgraded again in the early 2000s, smoothing out the ride while boosting safety and reliability. Today, more than a million people ride it annually, making it as much a part of Taormina’s identity as its ancient streets and seaside terraces.
The upper station sits conveniently close to Umberto Street and the Greek Theatre, while the lower station opens almost directly onto the beaches of Mazzarò and the celebrated Isola Bella. Along the way, gondolas rise about 100 feet above the ground, their wide windows framing views of the Ionian Sea, rugged cliffs, and the looming outline of Mount Etna.
For travelers, the cableway is transport with a flourish. It’s practical, efficient, and modern, yet still manages to turn a short commute into a miniature spectacle of landscape and light.
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