Tourist places in Taormina
1) Church of San Francisco de Paola
The church of San Francesco di Paola was originally the cathedral of Taormina and was dedicated to the Virgin of the Assumption.
In 1617 the Minimi Friars of San Francesco di Paola converted it into the headquarters of their convent.
The church was restored between 1944 and 1947, returning the building to its former splendor.
The church is now deconsecrated and the building is used for exhibitions and private events.
2) Church of San Antonio Abate
The small church of Sant'Antonio Abate was built around the year 1330.
In 1943 it was almost completely destroyed, the citizens rebuilt it with the same stones recovered in situ among the rubble.
Since 1953 there has been a permanent nativity scene in the church, which was created by Mr. Dionisio Cacopardo.
In the nativity scene, many monuments of Taormina are reproduced to scale, in cork wood.
3) Old Church of Carmine
It takes its name from a medieval church, almost destroyed by the Anglo-American bombings of 1943, rebuilt after the war, but it is no longer a place of worship but rather the City Council uses it for exhibitions of painting and various art.
4) Palace of the Dukes of Santo Stefano
The Palazzo Duchi di Santo Stefano in Taormina, from the 14th century, is a masterpiece of Sicilian Gothic art with characteristic elements of Norman art.
Originally owned by the De Spuches family of Spanish origin, Dukes of Santo Stefano di Briga and Princes of Galati.
The building was acquired by the Taormina City Council in 1964 and used as the headquarters of the Mazzullo Foundation.
5) Catania Gate
Built around 1440, it was one of the entrances to the city fortified by high walls.
The other gate at the end of Corso Umberto I is called Porta Messina.
Porta Catania is also called Porta del Tocco because in Norman times, at Tocco time (1:00 p.m.), the bells were rung to attract the population and hold city assemblies.
The two gates, Porta Catania and Porta Messina, delimit the main street of Taormina. The beating heart, both tourist and economic, of the city: Corso Umerto I.
6) Giurati Palace
The palace built around 1700 currently houses the Town Hall.
7) Badia Vecchia
The Badia Vecchia palace was built in 1300 and was a tower to defend the walls of Taormina. The building is called Badia because, according to scholars, it should have housed an abbey where the mother abbess Eufemia, regent of the Kingdom of Sicily since 1355, lived.
La Badia now houses the Taormina Archaeological Museum.
8) Church of Saint Michael
The Church of San Michele Arcangelo is located outside the ancient city walls, a few meters from the Palace of the Dukes of Santo Stefano. Probably built around 1600, after being destroyed by bombing in 1943, it was rebuilt by recovering the remains of the rubble.
After being closed for a long time, since 2011 this church can be visited again.
9) Church of San Domenico
Attached to the convent of San Domenico which was built in the 14th century.
In 1886 the Convent was transformed into a hotel, today the church is used as a ballroom and conference room managed by the Hotel S. Domenico Palace.
10) Cathedral of San Nicolò
Built in the 13th century, it has undergone numerous works over the centuries.
11) Ciampoli Palace
The date of construction (1412) can be read on the diamond-shaped shield located at the top of the entrance door. The Spanish stylistic influence is clear.
Ciampoli was the name of the last owners. Acquired in recent years by the Region of Sicily, it became the property of the Taormina City Council, which wants to allocate part of it to a museum and another to reception rooms, for cultural and tourist meetings, congresses and international conferences.
12) Church of Varó
The Church of Varò or of the Visitation according to scholars is the oldest church in Taormina, in fact within the Church there is a crypt typical of the time in which Christians were forced to hide in order to profess their faith. Inside, the Church consists of a single nave, on the altar there is a paper mache statue of Our Lady of Sorrows.
One of the most heartfelt and characteristic processions starts from this church, that of Good Friday. In an unreal and unusual atmosphere, in a medieval environment, all dressed in black, the sisters of the Congregation of Our Lady of Sorrows take turns leading the boat of Our Lady of Sorrows on their shoulders. All the others, arranged on the sides of very long amnesties with candles, accompany the varetas throughout the historic center, illuminated by torches hanging on the walls.
13) Madonna delle Grazie Church
Near the entrance to Villa Comunale, a small road connects Taormina withat the train station. Along this road is a small chapel dedicated to the Madonna delle Grazie, built by a sailor who survived a storm while at sea on his ship. The chapel is very small and spartan, there is only an entrance hall and the magnificent great hall. n small altar with the image of the Virgin carved in stone on top. On July 2, the feast of the Madonna delle Grazie is celebrated.
14) Clock Tower
The tower is also called "Porta di Mezzo" because it separates the medieval town from the classical part.
Built in the 12th century on the remains of an ancient defensive wall, dating from the 4th century BC, it was razed by the invasion of the French troops of Louis XIV in 1676.
In 1679, at the request of the people of Taormina, the Tower was rebuilt and on that occasion the large clock that characterizes it today was also installed.
The bells of the Tower ring on the day of the mayor's election and on the occasion of the procession of the feast of the patron Saint Pancras that takes place on July 9.
15) Church of Saint Joseph
The Church of San Giuseppe, built between the end of the 17th century and the beginning of the 18th century, is located next to the Clock Tower in Piazza IX Aprile. A double flight of stairs leads to the entrance of the building.
16) Library
The former church and convent of the Hermits of S. Agostino has housed the Municipal Library of S. Agostino since 1933.
More than 22,000 volumes are preserved in the Library, some of which were published between 1600 and 1800, and more than 2,000 volumes in the section reserved for books about Sicily.
The artistic and cultural heritage of the Library also includes important paintings preserved in the Old Fund room, among them the altarpiece that represents the martyrdom of Saint Sebastian.
17) Virgin of the Rock
The church of the Madonna della Rocca, so called because it was built in the living rock.
Legend has it that a young shepherd found shelter there with his flock during a strong storm. Trembling with fear, he saw a lady dressed in blue appear, full of light and comforting him. When the storm ended, she told her parents and the villagers what had happened.
This was the reason why the small church was built inside the rock.
18) Saracen Castle
Taormina Castle is located on a rock on Monte Tauro, almost 400 meters above sea level.
From here you can control the Alcántara River valley.
The castle is reached via a staircase that starts from the charming little church of the Madonna della Rocca and which is unfortunately closed and cannot be visited at present.
19) Naumachias
The Naumachie are a long red brick façade from Roman times that came to light in 1943 after the Anglo-American bombings. They are 122 meters long and 5 meters high.
They probably contained a gymnasium.
They consist of 18 arched niches interspersed with smaller rectangular niches.
20) Public Gardens
The municipal town of Taormina was built in the mid-19th century. at the behest of Lady Florence Trevelyan, an English noblewoman raised at the court of Queen Victoria.
Lady Florence began her long travels through Europe and North Africa in 1879. Trevelyan subsequently settled in Taormina, where on July 13, 1890 she married the mayor Salvatore Cacciola, with whom she bought several lands and some old houses, which They were razed to create the current Public Garden.
At the top of Mount Venere is the tomb of the English noblewoman, who died in 1907, where she lived the last years of her life.
It is the green lung of the city with its 22,440 square meters of surface.
21) Odeon
The Odeon of Taormina is a true jewel of Roman architecture, probably built in the 2nd century AD. In an older Greek temple, it could seat up to 200 people and is believed to have had a roof.
In the Greco-Roman world, the Odeon was a small theater intended for musical and literary performances.
22) Church of Saint Catherine
The Church of Saint Catherine of Alexandria in Egypt stands on the remains of a Greek temple probably dedicated to Aphrodite.
The portal is made of pink Taormina marble, while all the openings in the façade are made of Syracuse stone.
23) Arch of the Capuchins
24) Porta Messina
Entrance gate to Corso Umberto from the "Messina side", dating from 1808.
25) Corvaja Palace
Its first construction took place in the Arab period (11th century), during which the first cubic tower of the palace was built. It was later expanded in the 14th and 15th centuries, acquiring its current appearance. Norman, Gothic and Catalan influences are clearly visible.
In 1411 the palace was the seat of the Sicilian Parliament that elected the king in the presence of Queen Blanche of Navarre, regent of the kingdom of Sicily.
The palace was then inhabited by the powerfulCorvaja family, from which it took its name, until the Second World War. On the façade you can admire various engravings that highlight the moral and religious choices of the lords who lived in the palace. They are located on the southeast and northeast sides of the building.
On the southwest side the entrance door opens onto a patio where there is a staircase leading to the first floor and then to a living room.
The room located on the first floor is illuminated by six windows and was formerly used for meetings. Here the Sicilian parliament elected the new king. At the end of the Second World War, the palace was in deplorable condition and had been occupied by some families who had settled there.
The first post-war mayor had the building expropriated and for three years the Neapolitan architect Armando Dillon carried out the complete restoration.
Today, Palazzo Corvaja houses the tourist information office and the Museum of Art and Popular Traditions of Sicily.
26) Palace of Congress
27) Roman baths
28) Church of S. Antonio and convent of the Minor Capuchin Friars
The church was built outside the walls, near the ancient church of S. Caterina d'Alessandria dating from the year 1400, next to it the Capuchin convent was built in 1551. The convent was sold to the Capuchin Fathers on April 27, 1610, at the price of 2,000 florins, the nobles and richest citizens promising to pay the aforementioned sum and another church dedicated to San Antonio.
On the main façade there is a beautiful pointed portal, whose jambs are made of Taormina stone and whose architrave with connecting brackets is made of red Taormina marble.
The portal of the Capuchin church is dominated by a rectangular window, above which a small rose window decorates the façade.
A sundial or sundial, which bears the date 1837, is still preserved in the church.
29) Church of San Pancrazio, patron saint of the city
The church of San Pancrazio, bishop and patron saint of Taormina, dating from the 18th century and in baroque style, stands on the ruins of a Greek temple dedicated to Jupiter Serapis, whose stone blocks from the base are still clearly visible outside of the church.
Saint Pancras was born in Antioch and was sent by Saint Peter to Sicily as bishop of Taormina. In Sicily he managed to convert several pagans, during a banquet his enemies wanted to force him to kiss a wooden idol, but the bishop shattered it with a sign of the cross. This gesture cost him his life, in fact he was tortured and murdered.
The patron saint of Taormina is celebrated on July 9, but only every four years does the solemn festival take place, during which both the Rod of San Pancrazio and that of San Pietro are carried in procession through the streets of the city.
30) Greco-Roman theater
Symbolic place of Taormina, it was built in a spectacular panoramic point overlooking the bay of Giardini Naxos and Mount Etna.
On some steps is engraved the name of Philistia, wife of Hiero II, the tyrant of Syracuse who probably in the 3rd century BC. built the theater of Taormina.
The building was rebuilt in Roman times and more precisely in the 2nd century AD.
The theater of Taormina, in terms of size, is the second in Sicily after that of Syracuse.
The scene has three large openings, flanked by niches and columns moved here in the 19th century by the architect Francesco Saverio Cavallari. For years, the Taormina theater has been a splendid setting for cultural events, pop and classical music and international awards.
31) Antique dealer
32) St. Peter's Church
The church is located outside the historic center and exactly on the provincial road, via L. Pirandello.
The church of S. Pietro is believed to be the oldest Christian church in Taormina. It was built in the middle of an Arab necropolis and on the ruins of a Greek temple.
33) Byzantine Necropolis
Scholars date the construction of the necropolis to the Byzantine period, between the 10th and 11th centuries. The necropolis has positions symmetrical to each other and is therefore defined as a columbarium method.
They are located on Via L. Pirandello, near the church of San Pietro Outside the Walls.
34) Convent of the Franciscan Missionary Sisters of Mary
The convent of the F.M.M Sisters is considered the oldest convent of Regulars in Taormina, that is, the Franciscan convent of the Friars Minor Observants, whose church is dedicated to Saint Mary of Jesus, in which Saint Anthony of Padua even stayed.