What is Taormina known for?

Greek-Roman theatre carved into Monte Tauro in the third century BC, Sicily's second-largest ancient theatre, with Etna directly behind the stage. Working tourist town since the nineteenth century, set on the Grand Tour route after Goethe's Italian Journey described the theatre in 1787. Small island reserve below the cliff, joined to the mainland by a sandbar, a Bandiera Blu beach reached by cable car or steep path.

Taormina is a comune in the province of Messina, Sicily region of Italy, about 48 kilometers from Catania.

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.

48 km / 30 mi

Nearest hub (Catania)

10,471

Population

May–Oct

Best time to visit

Recognised as

Bandiera Blu

Why come

Taormina sitson 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.

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Gallery

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Known for

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.

When to visit

Best months · May–Oct

Best
Hot or crowded
Quiet
Mostly closed

May, June, September and October are the working months in Taormina. Late spring keeps the air clear over Etna and the cruise season has not yet peaked. Taormina Arte runs concerts and opera at the Teatro Antico from June through August; the same weeks bring the highest crowds on Corso Umberto. July and August can push past thirty degrees with little breeze on the terrace, and the cable car to Isola Bella runs full from morning. November through March is quieter and mild. The Teatro Antico stays open, the castle path is walkable, and the village functions normally for residents and overnight visitors.