Sicily Taormina

Taormina is one of the most popular tourist resorts on the east coast of Sicily with the remains of a magnificent Greek theatre.

Some background
Taormina is built half way up Monte Tauro, 200m above the sea. There are views south down the coast to Giardini Naxos and the snow covered Mount Etna.

To the north is Messina, with the mainland of Italy as a blur on the horizon.

At the base of the cliffs and reached by a cable car, is the delightful small islet of Isola Bella, connected by a narrow strip of land at low tide. It is now a nature reserve.

Towering another 150m above the town is the Sanctuary of the Madonna of the Rock and the remains of a Saracen Castle.

The town has been settled since the C7th BC and the Greeks, Romans, Arabs and Normans have all left their mark. The town was discovered in the C18th by Europeans on the Grand Tour who were attracted by the scenery, mild climate and the archaeological remains. Famous artists and writers settled here and Taormina developed into a tourist resort of the elite. Lady Florence Trevelyan, the grand daughter of a first cousin of Queen Victoria, arrived here after a romantic liaison with the Prince of Wales and fell in love with the town. She bought Isola Bella building a house there and creating a beautiful garden. She married Salvatore Cacciola, a wealthy philanthropist, mayor of Taormina and a friend of the Duke of Kent. She funded artists such as Oscar Wilde and supported the village’s emerging gay community.

She was responsible for creating the Villa Communale Gardens, a series formal gardens and follies which fall down the hillside. With their low evergreen hedges, olives, palms and evergreen trees, along with flowering shrubs and bird song, they are a popular place to drop out in the sunshine.

Mass tourism arrived at the end of the 1960s and Taormina is still one of the most expensive places to stay in Sicily.

The old town is quite small and was originally surrounded by a wall. The main street, Corso Umberto, is built on the line of the original road, Via Valeria, which crossed the city. It is the main street through the centre of the old town with shops, the Cathedral and old palaces and is always busy.

The roads contour round the side of the hill. Traffic and parked cars are always a problem.

These are linked by narrow alleyways with steps.

Along Corso Umberto

Corso Umberto is the main street that runs through the centre of the old town, and is lined with buildings from the Arabic to the Norman and from the Gothic to the Baroque. It is now pedestrianised.

The street links Porta Catania at the north end with Porta Messina at the south end. These are the remains of the old gateways through the walls that once surrounded the old town.

Half way along, past the Cathedral is Piazza 9 Aprile, entered under the C12th clock tower gateway. This is a pleasant open space surrounded by upmarket cafes which spill out over the square, and has views down to the Ionian Sea.

The C17th Church of San Guiseppe dominates one side of the square.

The small C15th Church of San Agostina is now the public library.

Palazzo Corvaja dates from the C10th and still reflects its Arabic influence. It was the site of the Sicilian Parliament in the early C15th and now houses Tourist Information.

The Palazzo Duchi di Santo Stephano was built on the line of the medieval wall next to Porta Catania in the C13th and again is a mix of Arabic and Norman architecture. Concerts are held in the Great Hall and there are two rooms displaying works by C20th sculptor, Giuseppe Mazzullo.

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[Eleanor]

Greek and Roman Remains

The Greeks left their mark with an impressive theatre which was used for dramatic or musical performances. This became an amphitheatre for gladiatorial contests under the Romans. Set above the town, this has spectacular views across Taormina to Mount Etna

The semi circular structure dates from the C3rd BC and over 100,000 cubic meters of rock had to be removed when building it. The brickwork is Roman from when the theatre was rebuilt as an amphitheatre in the C2nd AD. It was divided into the Scena, Orchestra, Cavea and Portico.

An archway leads into the Scena.

The Scena was the stage where the actors performed. It had three large arched opening, six niches and two rows of pillars. During the Middle Ages, most of the columns were removed and used for building the cathedral and palazzios.

The Orchestra was the area for the musicians but the chorus and dancers can also perform there. This area was enlarged by the Romans and some of the lower rows of seats were removed. A deep trench was dug to house the animals when it was used as an amphitheatre.

The Cavea or auditorium could house up to 5.400 spectators with stone seats, reached by rows of steps.

Running round the top of the Cavea are two brick porticos. In Roman times, these supported a terrace with additional seating.

There is the remains of a small Roman Odeon tucked away behind St Catherine’s Church, which was used for musical performances. This is free to visit and,unlike the Greek Theatre, gets few visitors.

The remains of the stage area can be seen exposed in the nave floor of the church.

The Naumachie is a long wall running below Corso Umberto which dates from Roman times and is thought to be the supporting wall for a huge cistern that was part of a gymnasium. This runs alongside a narrow passageway with a small garden in front of it. It isn’t the easiest place to find and is always quiet with few visitors.

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[Eleanor]

Cathedral of St Nicholas

The Cathedral is on a small piazza on Corso Umberto with the splendid Baroque Centaur fountain in front of it.

The building dates from the C13th and is built on the site of an earlier church, using recycled stone from the Greek Theatre. It was rebuilt in the C15/16th and restored in the C18th.

With its battlements it looks more like a fortress than a church, especially the north facade.

The Baroque west door was added in the 1636 under instructions from the local administrators, as recorded in the marble slab above the door. On either side are two columns and a frieze carved with figures of the four evangelists with their symbols, apostles and bishops. At the top of the door is Jesus as the Good Shepherd. Below on the two doors are images of St Nicholas, the titular saint of the church and Saint Pancras, Taormina’s Patron Saint.

The door on the north wall is earlier and has vines carved on either side, along with a hind drinking from a stream.

The cathedral is a traditional Norman church with nave, side aisles and three apses. Even on a bright day, the inside always feels dark as there is little natural light from the small windows high on the nave walls. The six pink marble columns in the nave are thought to have come from the Greek theatre.

The main altar in the central apse has a crucifix and very tall candlesticks. In front of it is a smaller altar with a carving of the last supper on the front.

On either side are two chapels, reached through round archways. That on the left is the Chapel of the Holy Sacrament which was rebuilt in the Baroque style at the end of the C18th. It has an elaborate marble altar and reredos.

On the right is the Chapel of Our Lady of Graces, with another Baroque marble altar with a painting above. The baptismal font is in front of the chapel.

Down the walls of the aisles are large marble altars, added in C17th.

Above the altar at the back of the right aisle near the door is a painting from 1463 showing the Visitation of the Virgin Mary with Saints Joseph and Zechariah.

The second altar has a beautiful painted 1504 polyptych. The lower panel depicts the Madonna and Child with Saints Jerome and Sebastian on either side. Above is the Deposition of Christ with Saints Lucy and Agatha. The panel below depicts the Last Supper.

The third altar has a beautiful Eastern-Orthodox-style painted icon on wood which is covered with silver incrusted with semi-precious stones.

At the back of the left aisle above the altar is a C16th painting of the Enthroned Virgin and Child between John the Baptist and the Prophet Elia. Above is God the father with the crucified Christ.

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[Eleanor]

Taormina Churches

Churches inside the city walls.

The Church of st Catherine of Alexandria is set back off Corso Umberto near the Palazzo Corvaja. This was built in the C17th on the ruins of the Roman theatre, which can be seen behind the church. The church was restored in the 1970s when part of the Roman theatre was exposed beneath the floor.

The simple exterior is built from pink Taormina marble and has a small bell tower in one corner. In a niche above the portico is a statue of St Catherine.

The church is best visited between 9 to 9.30 in the morning when the sunlight streams through the west door lighting up the main altar.

The single nave is white plaster with Baroque spiral pillars decorated with vine leaves and cherubs. Chandeliers hang from the ceiling.

The painting above the main altar depicts St Catherine surrounded by saints. At the top is God the father.

There are large side altars set between Baroque pillars along the sides of the nave.

Also in the church is a marble statue of St Catherine dated 1493. This came from the original church of St Catherine which was outside the city wall and taken over by the Capuchins in 1559. In her left hand she is holding a book. In her right hand she is holding a sword used to kill a devil at her feet.

The Church of Varo also knoiwn as the Church of the Visitation, is not the easiest of the Taormina churches to find. It is best approached up the steps just before the clock tower and Piazza 9 Aprile. These lead to a small square with the church on the top side. The outside of the church just looks like plain stone building constructed of Taormina stone. The only indication that is is a church is a red brick cross on the top of the steps.

The church dates back to C15th, although the crypt at the back of the church dates from the early years of Christianity. The word Varo is Spanish for Visitation. The frescoes are C17th and the church was restored and enlarged in the late C18th/C19th. Originally the church used by the important noble families, hence the elaborate decoration. By the end of the C19th, the congregation had dwindled and church was closed. It has recently been restored and reopened

It is worth finding as it is a wonderful example of Baroque work with walls and ceiling covered with decorative plaster.

Even the pulpit is plaster.

The only light comes through small windows set in the ceiling.

There are elaborate side aisles with statues, pillars and cherubs.

The main altar has a huge gilt and silver host box surrounded by big retable with more plaster pillars with cherubs and a half canopy at top. In a glass fronted niche is a statue of Our Lady of Sorrows, which is carried in procession round the town every Easter. Above is a crucifix with paintings of the Virgin Mary and Mary Magdalene.

The fresco above the altar dates from1699 and represents the Triumph of the Cross with Archangel Michael wielding a cross and surrounded by angels.

The impressive tomb to the right of the main altar is the tomb of the Count Giovanni Romano Denti who died 1699. The Romano family are thought to have been responsible for funding the original church.

The Church of St Dominica is very different. Set in the middle of Via Giovanni Di Giovanni below Corso Umbert, it is surrounded by housing and shops.

It is a very simple church dating from around 1600, with no fancy Baroque work It was restored in 1958 when the roof was raised and the walls made taller.

The inside is equally as plain, with simple plaster walls with paintings and niches containing statues. At the back, a spiral staircase leads to a gallery above the door.

The very tall chancel arch, set on marble jambs, looks out of proportion

The statues to the right are St Cosma and St Damiano, two brothers, who were martyred in Asia Minor in 303 AD at the time St Dominica was also martyred. To the left is To the left is a statue of St. Rita da Cascia, a C15th Augustinian nun who was canonised in 1900 by Pope Leo XIII.

The painted mosaic of St Michael on vestry door actually looks real until you take a closer look.

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[Eleanor]

Taormina Churches cont...

Churches to the south of the city walls

The Church of St Anthony Abate (St Anthony the Great) is a small rough stone church just outside Porta Catania and was originally built around 1330. It was almost destroyed by Allied bombing in 1943 and was rebuilt from the rubble.

It is now decommissioned and now has a large model of the nativity across the end of the church. This is based on Taormina and there are the remains of the Greek theatre, streets with stepped alleyways off them and shops. The butcher’s shop even has meat hanging up outside it.

Set in a niche with a bank of candles in front is a statue of the Virgin Mary.

The Church of St Michael is another small, simple stone church built below the town on Via Roma. This was built around 1600 but again was destroyed by Allied bombing in 1943 and has been rebuilt. It was reopened for worship in 2011.

Inside it is a simple and unspoilt church with whitewashed plaster walls. The only light is through two small windows high in the walls and another above the door. Above the altar is St Michael killing the dragon, representing the devil.

On the right wall is a statue of the Virgin and Child with a kneeling figure.

Some of the carved corbels supporting the roof have been recycled and support the beams of the roof.

There is also an old grave slab in the floor. An open grille covers the steps down to the crypt.

The Convent of St Domenico was claimed by the state in 1896 and is now an up market hotel. The church was destroyed by bombing in 1943 and has been rebuilt as a conference centre.

Churches to the north of the city walls

Church of St Pancras

St Pancras or Pancrazio was a close associate of St Peter and became the first bishop of Taormina in around 40AD. He was stoned to death and is now the patron saint of the city. The church is below Porta Messina to the north of the city. It is C17th and was built over the ruins of a C3rdBC Greek temple dedicated to the god Jupiter. It is set in an arcaded courtyard.

Built of Taormina stone the outside is plain apart from the west door with its marble columns and statues of St Pancras and Saint Procopius.

The inside of the church is quite light considering the only light is through the door and small windows at the base of the ceiling. The decoration is Baroque with decorative plasterwork and pillars.

The organ is in the gallery above the west door. Round the top of the walls is a shelf with paintings and small urns.

There are marble altars along the walls with large paintings above. Between them are smaller paintings which have silver scones on the shelf.

There are elaborate marble memorials set in the nave floor.

There is a splendid Baroque marble altar. At the centre is a seated statue of St Pancras Above, in a small roundel is the Virgin Mary with the Christ Child surrounded by putti. At the top is God the Father.

On the left of the altar is a large painting showing St Pancras arriving in Naxos.

There seems to be some confusion about the picture to the right of the altar with the suggestion it is the martyrdom of St Pancras during a banquet.

The Church of the Capucins is near the Church of St Pancras. This was originally thechurch of St Catherine of Alexander had was built here around 1400. The church was sold to the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin who arrived in Taormina in the mid C16th, and established a convent here.

The convent was suppressed and the property confiscated in 1866. Part of it was used as a prison. The Antonine nuns took possession of the ex convent in 1902 and ran a kindergarten and middle school for girls living in their orphanage.

The tall bell tower built in 1932 replacing smaller bell tower.

The interior of the church has preserved the simple style of Capuchin building with a wall pulpit reached by stairs in the wall. Above the west door is a balcony reached by a spiral staircase. In front of the door is a painted wood screen.

The east end is dominated by a wooden altar with massive wood reredos above it. This has a large painting of the Virgin and Child with her parents St Anne and St Joseph, on either side. Below are other saints including St Pancras, St Catherine, St Dominica and Francis of Assisi. .
The framed paintings on either side are of St Anthony of Padua and Saint Clare of Assisi, a follower of St Francis, who founded the Order of St Clare.

There are small altars dedicated to the Virgin and St Anthony of Padua set in recesses on the right wall.

There are three small chapels set off the left wall. The first has a marble altar with massive wood reredos with the crucified Christ. On either side are The Virgin and St John.