Taormina Travels

Taormina Travelogue

Aerial view of Taormina showing the coastline and the ancient theatre. (The Guardian)

Ancient History of Taormina

On the east coast of the isle of Sicily, lies Taormina, a popular tourist destination for over 100 years.

Located on the Ionian Sea, near the Straits of Messina, a narrow stretch of water that separates the island of Sicily from the Italian mainland. The Straits of Messina are where the deadly singing Sirens of ancient Greek mythology and the treacherous whirlpool mentioned in Homer's Iliad and Odyssey are said to have lived.

The ancient inhabitants of Taormina were the Siculi, native Sicilians before the Greeks and others arrived to claim their land. It is estimated that Greek settlers arrived in the area about 700 B C and founded a town they called Naxos. Greek philosopher, Strabos, noted that the colonists from Naxos, founded ancient Taormina. In 345 B C historical records note that it was a prosperous settlement and Heiron, a leader of Syracuse  (or Siracusa, an ancient town in southern Sicily) was the leader of the area for a time. The settlement ultimately became a Roman territory when all of Sicily became a Roman province. It was named, Taormenium, and somehow managed to maintain some independence from Rome, unlike nearby Messina, which was forced by the Romans to provide war ships for the powerful Roman fighting forces. 

Teatro Antico, Ancient Greek, then Roman theatre (my photo).

Close up of the ancient theatre, white Greek columns and orange Roman brickwork. (my photo)

Looking down at the coastline of Taormina. (my photo)

For a period of time, Taormenium was held by insurgent Roman slaves, they held it for longer than expected because of its favorable coastal position, but eventually it fell to Rome, who promptly dispatched the rebels with the sword. Subsequently after more warring, Caesar Augustus chose the site for a Roman colony because of the advantageous positioning on the coast and imported hand picked colonists so he could keep an eye on the locals and deter them from challenging Rome in the future. After the fall of Rome those colonists were expelled, the city was renamed, and became a stronghold for the Byzantine Empire. In the early Middle Ages, Fatimid Arabs (a Shia caliphate that controlled Northern Africa) overtook the city in 962 AD, after a 30 week siege. The Muslim rule lasted roughly 100 years, then power was transferred to the Normans. The city passed through various ruling dynasties including the Hohenstaufens (Germans), Angevins (English), the Aragonese (Spanish), and then the French in the late 1600's who came in from Messina.

Saracen Castle ruins in the hills above Taormina

Palazza Corvaja in Taormina showing the Arabic influence in architecture.

Porta Catania and San Stephano, again showing Arabic architectural influence.

Modern Age

Map, sowing the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies.

Taormina was ruled by the Bourbon Dynasty (approximately 1600's through 1800's), and was part of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies comprised all of the island of Sicily, and all of the peninsula of Southern Italy located south of the Papal States. It was the largest sovereign kingdom by population and geographic size in the 1800's, up until the unification of Italy in the 1860's. At that time construction projects were begun which made access to Taormina, located on the coastal mountainside, easier, and travel from Taormina to the population centers of Messina and Catania was improved.

In the early 1800's German poet and statesman, Goethe, sang the praises of Taormina in his work “Italian Journey”. It became the playground of such luminaries as Oscar Wilde, Nicholas I of Russia, Nietzsche, and Wagner. A German painter made landscapes of Taormina famous in his paintings and stylish Europeans began to flock there as Taormina became a mandatory stop of the “Grand European Tour”. In the early 1900's it became known as a hip place for expatriates, writers and other intellectuals.

Today, the main town is built over the ancient site, it sits 800 feet (250 meters) above sea level but occupies steep and rocky terrain. An old Saracen castle sits on a nearby mountain peak. The ancient walls can still be seen and it boasts an ancient Greek, and later a Roman theater (teatro antico), which was built on top of the old Greek one. When we visited last summer, Andrea Bocelli was scheduled to do a concert on the night of our visit, in the ancient amphitheater, a very dramatic setting!

Taormina is a very scenic place, with a lovely main Piazza (town square), and historical buildings, around a shopping district with cozy bistros, and nice community gardens located around Corso Umberto. It still has a bit of a swanky vibe, and beach and coastal access is right down the mountainside. The community gardens boast a Victorian “folly”, and the Isola Bella, a tiny private island once part of a private estate, is now a nature preserve. Baroque and classically styled churches have been built on the sites of ancient Greek and Roman ruins, and they have become historical monuments themselves, part of the many layered history (literally and figuratively) of Taormina.

View of the Isola Bella (Holland America)

Another aerial view of scenic Taormina.