"If someone had just one day to spend in Sicily and were to ask me what to go and see, I would reply
without hesitation Taormina. It is only a landscape, but a landscape in which you can find everything
created on the earth to seduce the sight, the spirit and the imagination." Thus Maupassant described the
ancient Tauromenion, founded in 358 BC on Monte Tauro by a group of Greeks from nearby Naxos, the oldest
Greek colony in Sicily. 40 kilometres to the north of Messina and 200 metres above sea level, set between
the magnificent Etna, the azure coastline of Capo Taormina and Isola Bella (now a Riserva Naturale Orientata)
and the luxuriant vegetation of the gardens of Naxos. This is perhaps the most famous image of the city,
as it can be admired from the splendid setting of the Greek Theatre. This complex dates prevalently to
the Roman period, like the Naumachia, the vast wall structures (an ancient system for the
collection of rainwater) situated immediately below Corso Umberto. Joining Porta Messina to Porta Catania, this street
crosses the centre of the city, passing by the most important monuments:
Palazzo Corvaja and the Church
of Santa Caterina d'Alessandria in Piazza Vittorio Emanuele (behind which are the remains of the Imperial
Age odeon), the Church of Sant'Agostino, that of
San Giuseppe and the Porta di Mezzo
in Piazza 9 Aprile, (the hub of social life with its historic bars), the Piazza del
Duomo di San Nicolò and the
Palazzo dei Duchi di Santo Stefano (a prestigious venue for art
exhibitions).
The Greek Theatre and the enchanting Villa Comunale (set sheer over the sea) are the setting for a series
of events, usually held in the summer season, grouped under the title of "Taormina Arte": music, theatre
and a cinema festival, set up in 1954 and oriented for some years now towards English language productions.
