The town of Taormina is located on a plateau of Monte Tauro in the east of the island of Sicily and has a long and eventful history. In the historic old town, there are ancient palaces, churches, romantic alleys and squares to admire.
Old town
From Piazza S. Antonio, we walk through Porta Catania to Piazza IX Aprile (view from the terrace) and then along Corso Umberto to Porta Messina on the other side of the city.
Cathedral San Nicolò
The Cathedral of San Nicolò, also known as the Fortress Cathedral, was built in the 15th century on the ruins of a smaller church from the early Middle Ages.
Noteworthy are a Byzantine Madonna, a painting by Antonio Giuffrè depicting the Visitation of Mary, and the Renaissance altar by Antonello de Saliba (1504). The main portal of the cathedral and the carved rose window above it were renovated in 1638 in the Renaissance style.
In the square in front of the cathedral stands a Baroque fountain built in 1635 with two water basins, one above the other. Above it towers the Centauressa, a figure similar to the Greek centaurs.
San Giuseppe
The Church of San Giuseppe in Piazza IX Aprile houses a large statue of Saint Catherine of Alexandria in a niche above the portal.
Ancient theatre
The Ancient Theatre of Taormina is the second largest in Sicily after the one in Syracuse. Although it is often referred to as the Teatro Greco, it is a Roman structure built in the 2nd century BC on top of a smaller theatre built by the Greeks in the 3rd century BC.
