Taormina is a picturesque Mediterranean city on the east coast of Sicily, located right on the slope of Mount Monte Tauro. This resort place attracts tourists with stunning surrounding landscapes, proximity to the famous volcano Etna, ancient architectural monuments, excellent Italian restaurants, bars, night clubs, fashionable hotels.
There is a legend saying that Taormina was founded by Greek sailors who forgot to sacrifice to the god of the seas, for which an angry Poseidon sent a storm on them, during which the ship was washed ashore near Monte Tauro. Returning to their homeland, the sailors shared their impressions of a wonderful place with fellow citizens and, already in 735 BC the first immigrants from Greece appeared in Taormina. Over its more than 2,000-year history, the city managed to be ruled by Greeks, Byzantines, Romans, Normans, Arabs, and only in 1861 became part of the United Italian Kingdom.
Taormina won her spa glory in the 19th century
His spa glory Taormina conquered in the 19th century. It is believed that she owes this to Goethe, who especially noted the beauty of the city during a trip to Sicily. Since then, celebrities have come to Taormina - Maupassant, Wagner, Nabokov, Dumas, Dali have been here. Nowadays, the resort is very popular with movie stars who come here for a film festival in June - at different times the festival was visited by Elizabeth Taylor, Sophia Loren, Hugh Grant, Marlon Brando and many other famous cinema figures.
Climate and weather
Taormina has a very warm climate, typical of the Mediterranean - summers are long and hot, and winters are mild and short. The number of sunny days per year reaches three hundred, insignificant precipitation falls mainly during the winter months - from November to March.
The best time to relax in Taormina is May-June and September-October - the average air temperature at this time is from +20 to + 25 ° C, in July-August it can be quite hot, sometimes the temperature reaches + 40 ° C.
For more information about the climate on the island, see the article Weather in Sicily for months.
Sights
the main Taormina landmark - The ancient theater, built by the Greeks in the III century BC. The work was truly titanic, for a construction with a diameter of 109 meters it was necessary to level the hillside, moving about 100 cubic meters of limestone. In the Roman era, the theater was rebuilt to conduct gladiatorial battles.
The ancient Greek theater serves as the main stage for the annual arts festival
Today, the ancient Greco-Roman theater serves as a venue for cultural events - the Taormina Arte international art festival is held here annually, as well as various art exhibitions, theater performances and concerts - the theater still has excellent acoustics. The amphitheater is famous not only for its historical value, but also for its magnificent panoramic views of the picturesque bays of Sicily, as well as the famous volcano Etna.
No less famous landmark Naumahia - The construction of the ancient Roman period, from which only a powerful wall with deep niches remained. Not bad preserved Corvaya Palace, located on Piazza Victor Emanuele, the former antique forum, a tourist office is now located in this building. It is worth visiting the Piazza Duomo with the medieval cathedral of St. Nicholas, as well as the main square of the city - April 9, where you can see the medieval churches of St. Giuseppe and St. Augustine, as well as the magnificent clock tower.
Etna Volcano is located 55 km from Taormina
Another place popular with both tourists and locals is the city garden Villa Communalecreated by Englishwoman Florence Trivilian. Here you can see many fancy staircases, terraces, gazebos surrounded by exotic plants that look as well-groomed and attractive as many years ago.
Taormina Hotels
As a popular and "untwisted" resort, Taormina is known for its developed hotel infrastructure. Although the town itself is small, more than 80 hotels are ready to receive guests here.
Taormina Hotels represented in the entire "assortment of stars", however, hotels with 3 * and 4 * prevail. View a map of hotels, photos and descriptions, as well as read hotel reviews and book a room here.
Excursions from Taormina
Taormina is a very small city, all significant sights can be visited within one or two days, on the remaining days of vacation you should go on excursions in the surroundings.
The nature park surrounding Mount Etna is especially beautiful in autumn
Undoubtedly, the main TOP direction is volcano etna - The highest mountain of Sicily, as well as the highest volcano in Europe. The tour bus rises to a height of about two thousand meters, you can continue the path higher by cable car or by jeep. The area surrounding the volcano is no less picturesque - Etna Natural Park. The excursion program often includes a visit to the bed of the Alcantara River - a picturesque gorge formed by lava flows during one of the volcanic eruptions.
Around the volcano runs the route of the ancient Prietnensky trainpassing through the surrounding villages: the train leaves Catania, stops at Lingualoz, Randazzo, Giarre.
The garden of Villa Communale has a lot of fancy staircases, terraces and exotic plants
Travelers with children should visit the magnificent amusement park Etnalandlocated in the town of Belpasso near Etna.
From Taormina you can go on an excursion to Palermo - the capital of the island, famous for its squares, cathedrals, theaters. For more on what to see in Palermo, BlogoItaliano wrote here.
Beaches
In the vicinity of Taormina there are many beautiful beaches, which are especially famous for the neighboring towns of Giardini Naxos (sandy) and Letojanni (pebble). And here is the most famous beach in the vicinity of Taormina - Lido Mazzaro, which won its fame during the "Golden Age" of Hollywood, when it was often visited by visiting overseas stars. In more detail about this and other beaches in our article - The best beaches of Sicily.
There are many beautiful beaches around Taormina.
The beach season in Taormina lasts from May to September, during which the sea temperature is especially comfortable.
Photos by: drdad, nickl-photography, gnuckx, girolame, makoekis, travfotos, Nellie Windmill.
