Taormina
Discover Taormina
A concise introduction to Taormina, its geography, history and culture.
Introduction
Taormina is a small town of around eleven thousand people on the east coast of Sicily, between Messina and Catania, and it has been a resort for longer than almost anywhere else in the Mediterranean.
Its centre is a single pedestrian street, the Corso Umberto, running between two medieval gates along the spine of the hill, with squares opening off it onto terraces above the sea. The Teatro Antico at the eastern end is the reason for the town's fame: a Greek theatre rebuilt by the Romans, still used for performances, and positioned so that Etna appears through the gap in its ruined stage wall.
Below the town the coast drops to Mazzarò and the cove of Isola Bella, reached by cable car. Above it sits the village of Castelmola. Etna is about thirty kilometres away and visible from most of the town.