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Stemma di Taormina

Sicily · Messina

Taormina

A 204-meter terrace above the Ionian with Etna on the southern horizon, a Greek-Roman theatre carved into the rock since the third century BC.

Known for

  • TEATRO ANTICO

    Greek-Roman theatre carved into Monte Tauro in the third century BC, Sicily's second-largest ancient theatre, with Etna directly behind the stage.

  • GRAND TOUR

    Working tourist town since the nineteenth century, set on the Grand Tour route after Goethe's Italian Journey described the theatre in 1787.

  • ISOLA BELLA

    Small island reserve below the cliff, joined to the mainland by a sandbar, a Bandiera Blu beach reached by cable car or steep path.

When to visit

Best · May–Oct

  • J
  • F
  • M
  • A
  • M
  • J
  • J
  • A
  • S
  • O
  • N
  • D
  • Best
  • Hot or crowded
  • Quiet
  • Mostly closed

The festa: Pancrazio di Taormina, 9 July

Why come

Taormina sits on Monte Tauro, on the Ionian coast halfway between Messina and Catania. The Siculi welcomed the survivors of the Greek colony of Naxos in 358 BC after Dionysius of Syracuse destroyed it; Andromachus refounded them as Tauromenium on the rock above. Augustus made it a Roman colony, deporting much of the population and resettling it with Roman families.

The Teatro Antico, built in the third century BC and remodelled by the Romans in the second century AD, is the second-largest ancient theatre in Sicily after Syracuse, framed by Etna on the southern horizon and the Ionian directly below. Above the centro the Castello di Monte Tauro, an Arab-Norman fortress, sits ; further up, Castelmola hangs at 884. Goethe came in May 1787 and wrote that no theatre audience had ever held such a view; the description put Taormina on the Grand Tour.

The town has been a working tourist destination since the nineteenth century. Isola Bella, the small island connected to the mainland by a tongue of sand, is a Bandiera Blu beach below the centro.

The Sunday letter

We haven’t written Taormina’s letter yet.

One town every Sunday, with the photo, the food, the festa. Be there when this one comes up. Free, by Peter & Sophia from Pietrasanta.

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Taormina — photo 1
Taormina — photo 2

What to see

  • Teatro Antico

    Greek theatre of the third century BC, remodelled by the Romans in the second century AD, 109 meters in diameter and framed by Etna on the horizon.

  • Palazzo Corvaja

    Fourteenth-century Sicilian-Gothic palace at the entrance to Corso Umberto, on the site of the Roman forum and the Arab cube of the citadel.

  • Castello di Monte Tauro

    Arab-Norman fortress at 397 meters on the rock above the centro, reached on foot from Via Circonvallazione.

  • Isola Bella

    Small island below the centro, connected to the mainland by a thin sandbar, with a nature reserve and a Bandiera Blu beach.

  • Castelmola

    Hilltop frazione at 884 meters above Taormina, with remains of the Norman castle and a wider view over the Ionian and Etna.

  • Villa Comunale

    Public garden laid out in the late nineteenth century by Lady Florence Trevelyan, with Liberty-style pavilions and views over the coast.

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We recommend

Where to eat and stay

Not our picks, but places the guides put their name to — a Michelin star, a Gambero Rosso fork, a Slow Food snail, a Michelin Key for the hotels. Worth a table, a counter, or a night when you pass through.

Living here

  • Population 10,471
  • In-betweeni
  • Pharmacy in town
  • High school within a 30-minute drive
  • Train station in the comune
  • Nearest airport Sicily, 56 min drive
  • Regional capital Palermo, 3 h 15 min drive
Tags & datadesignations · numbers · sources

The numbers

  • Elevation: 204 m
  • Population: 10,471
  • Surface area: 13.13 km²

These figures were compiled from public directories — ISTAT, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata — and from the official listings of the guides named on this page. Town details change; verify with official sources before you travel.

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