Taormina
In this page of our logbook, we want to talk about Taormina. We chose to go to the end of April taking advantage of the beautiful and fresh days of the spring season.
We left with the car, we took the ferry to Villa San Giovanni in Calabria and we headed to Sicily.
As soon as we landed, we went immediately to the B & B that we had booked. We were really happy, the B & B Floridia is a little gem, better than a 5-star hotel, a stone’s throw from the center. The owners very kind and helpful.
After settling down, we immediately started up and built our little itinerary.
First stop: Odeon Theater.
The Odeon theater is a small theater built under the Roman Empire. This theater was intended for literary and musical representations. You can visit for free.
Second Stage: Palazzo Corvaja.
The Corvaja palace is about 30 meters from the Odeon theater. It is one of the most ancient and important monuments of the city. The current name of the palace derives from the noble family of the Corvaja who lived there from 1538 to 1945. Now the building houses on the first floor the Sicilian museum of art and popular traditions and on the ground floor the tourist information office. We could only visit the courtyard.
Third Stage: Ancient Theater of Taormina.
The ancient theater or Greek theater is the most representative symbol of Taormina.
At the time of the Romans, the theater was transformed and expanded to make way for the games of gladiators and naval battles.
Today the theater is used for various forms of entertainment including concerts and plays. In 2017 the theater hosted the G7. It can be visited at the price of 10 euros.
Fourth stage: Taormina Municipal Villa.
At about 750 meters from the theater we find the municipal villa of Taormina. The villa was initially inhabited by Lady Florence Trevelyan who had it built like an English garden. In fact, the villa hosts many varieties of trees, plants, flowers and some particular buildings called “Victorian Follies”.
In the hottest hours you can find refreshment inside this villa, where you can enjoy a breathtaking view.
Fifth stage: Corso Umberto.
Corso Umberto is the main street of Taormina, here you can stroll undisturbed and do some shopping, eat an ice cream or a nice Sicilian granita. At the center of the course next to Piazza IX Aprile it is possible to admire the clock tower, instead at the end of Corso Umberto we find the arch of Porta Messina to the north and the arch of Porta Catania to the south.
Sixth and last stage: Isola bella.
As a last stop we went to Isola bella. To get down there are two possibilities, either on foot or by cable car. We have decided to try to walk the stretch of road to do on foot, we advise against doing it as it is isolated and not very clean. To get back on instead we took the cable car at a cost of 3 euros each way.
It is a small island that Lady Florence Trevelyan bought for about 14 thousand lire. Many tropical plants were planted by the Lady. During the years the island was sold and bought by several people. Despite this, for many years it remained abandoned and was stormed by the vandals who destroyed much of its beauty. Since 2011, the island has become a regional naturalistic museum of Isola bella and it is possible to visit it for 4 euros.
Returned on, after this long and full day, we had dinner based on typical Sicilian products and we went to rest, as our journey continues towards Catania.
