Postcards from Taormina, a Mediterranean jewel in the most sparkling Sicily, with its medieval streets and indelible panoramas. Thanks to its historical, archaeological and cultural heritage, its fairy landscapes, Taormina is one of the best known tourist destinations in the world. Over time, its sirens have bewitched artists and writers and celebrities. A trend that has been perpetuated since the time of the Grand Tour: when he passed it Goethewho then collected his impressions in his own I travel to italyhe wrote: “a strip of heaven on earth“. Words, still definitive today.
The Greco-Roman theater
Peter AdamsOne is instantly captivated by his Greco-Roman theaterthe second largest in Sicily after Syracuse, built on a promontory in the third century BC and then enlarged in Roman times, international events take place here and the magic of the background is irresistible.
Admire the congeries of architectural styles of Corvaja Palacein the center, today the seat of the autonomous company of stay and tourism and originally a cubic tower built by the Arabs between 902 and 1079. It is wonderful to walk through the crowded Corso Umberto, the central street, between boutiques, bars and restaurants. The main square, the real beating heart of Taormina’s worldliness, is Piazza IX Aprile, a panoramic terrace of the soul overlooking the gulf and Mount Etna. And then the fourteenth century Santo Stefano Palace, flagship of Gothic art; the Duomo, dedicated to San Nicola, with a stone facade, dating back to 1400 on the ashes of a church of 1200; the municipal villa, a classic English garden.
Finally theBeautiful island, which extends for about one kilometer, lush with Mediterranean scrub and connected to the mainland by a strip of sand sensitive to the tidal cycle, a nature reserve since 1998 and dotted with terraces, walkways and stairways. And in Taormina, it goes without saying, you eat exquisitely, primarily fish dishes and desserts, from cannoli to granitas. And being visited by hundreds of thousands of tourists, especially in summer, there is no shortage of accommodation offers for all budgets: about eighty hotels, hundreds of B & Bs and landlords.
The sea? We also experienced it in the hotel: four kilometers from the city center, between the earth and the sky, theAtlantis Bay is a five-star hotel facing the Baia delle Sirene with direct private access to the sea. An oasis of beauty. In all 76 rooms between suites, junior suites and superior, deluxe and french rooms but there is also the Atlantide mega-suite, with swimming pool, Jacuzzi, Hammam and two bathrooms, each with a view of the bay where the ancient port once stood. Aperitif at the Dionisio bar and dinner at Ippocampo restaurant. Choose any fish dish: you will not regret it. The sister hotel next door is the Mazzarò Sea Palace – part as the previous one of the family of VRetreats, the new hotel brand of VOIhotels and symbol of the great hotel industry in Taormina. The outdoor terrace of the Gattopardo restaurant it is a location with an extraordinary impact, where you can enjoy classic or international Sicilian cuisine and from where you can watch the sunsets very romantic.
Taormina. Voi Hotels
Alfio GarozzoAtlantis Bay Taormina – Voi Hotels 16.8.19
Alfio GarozzoAtlantis Bay Taormina – Voi Hotels 16.8.19
Alfio GarozzoFrom the hotels we start to discover this memorable Sicily: the concierge services organize trekking excursions, visits to historic wine cellars as well as itineraries on Mount Etna (which in the days of our stay has visibly snorted). The proverbial Ape Calessino it is the ideal way to enter the narrow streets of Taormina. But there is also the «donkey tour “an excursion on donkeys to discover the timeless magic of Savocathe town where key scenes of the first were shot The Godfather by Francis Ford Coppola, for many the best film ever. In his church of Santa Lucia, for example, the famous wedding scene between Michael Corleone and Apollonia was set.
Granite and artist’s places
Followed by a nice lemon granita al Bar Vitellialso set of The Grandfather: it seems to go back to the beginning of the seventies. And if you are not impressionable, take a trip to the catacombs, to the Capuchin convent, where there are the mummified remains of local abbots.
Visit not to be missed a Cuseni House, on the hill of Taormina, the first European hotel for artists in history: Ernest Hemingway (who wrote his first youthful story) and Anatole France, Tennessee Williams and Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dalì and Henry Faulkner, Ezra Pound and Greta Garbo stayed there, in no particular order. Here Bertrand Russell conceived the pacifist manifesto against dictatorships and wars and Danilo Dolci postulated his non-violent resistance. Casa Cuseni was built by Robert Hawthorn Kitson at the beginning of the twentieth century. Homosexual, he had fled his native England which had just tried and jailed Oscar Wilde. The villa enjoys one of the most important theosophical births of the Old Continent and an enchanted historic garden, designed by the flower of the artists of the early part of the twentieth century.
Source: Vanity Fair