Taormina.... and all of my senses on overdrive

By John Hendry (Published by Reuters in Summer, 2001)

Sicily is beautiful, historic and singular; but the reasons for visiting Taormina, the island's most fashionable resort, are far more prosaic.

Perched on Monte Tauro, a rocky peninsula high above the sparkling blue water of the Mediterranean, it is one of the most hedonistic places you can ever visit.

Although Sicily is rightly regarded a land apart from the rest of Italy, in Taormina you will find the very essence of the small Italian town – lofty position with wonderful views, simple buildings, and an insouciant ability to lead a contemporary life in an age-old setting.

The main street, Corso Umberto, runs the length of the town, from the Porta Messina in the north to the Porta Catania in the south. Simply by walking slowly along this street, you will come to terms with a great deal of what Taormina offers. I'm not sure if the Corso has actually been pedestrianised, but I've only ever seen a police car and a couple of Vespas rolling slowly through the strolling crowds.

On the inland side, alleys run off uphill revealing glimpses of the steep hillside and the ruined castle. On the other side, the sea and the coastline open up magnificently as you reach the broad spacious rectangular terrace of the Piazza 9 Aprile. As you emerge from the shadows of the narrow Corso, the light is dazzling and the water far below sparkles; the blue of sea and sky are complemented by the blue in the paving on the square.

A coffee outside the Wunderbar here costs about twice as much as anywhere else, but the chance to sit down underneath an umbrella and take time to enjoy the view easily justifies the cost of the notional second cup.

When you leave the square and continue on down the Corso, you pass beneath the town's clocktower and the street becomes narrower still. Further down, it opens into a smaller square, which hosts the simple, modest cathedral. With no views here, the atmosphere is quieter and charming. A fountain gurgles with water in the centre and large trees provide shade at the lower end.

From start to finish, the street is lined with small shops on each side. There are good clothes shops, as you'd expect, and prices for well known names are often reasonable. There are too many shops that sell t-shirts and clutter, but this is a minor impediment.

Whatever you buy will be gift-wrapped. Not just the local produce or the clutter, but practical items, too. The little box of ointment you buy at the chemist will be wrapped in monotint scenes of Taormina just as lovingly as the t-shirt you bought for your niece.

Taormina's biggest single draw is the Greek Theatre. At the top of a hill at the north end of the town, its semicircular bowl looks down onto the remains of the old stage and beyond, with stunning panorama of the sea, the coastline and the elegant upward curves of the smoking Mount Etna. It's a visual symphony of rich colours and open space.

If you stand at the back of the arena, you can peer out over the sea on the other side of the rocky peninsula on which the whole town sits. It's a view that hardly anybody bothers to take in, because the panorama out over Etna pretty well overloads the senses.

Within the theatre itself, the simplicity and effectiveness of the original Greek design is wonderful. The oldest parts of the building date from the third century BC, but much of what you see is the result of rebuilding by the Romans. As you wander behind the rising tiers of seating and beside the stage, columns and parts of columns lie casually on the ground, as if they had only been dismantled last week.

Crowds will be with you as you explore the theatre and the Corso. As well as locally-based tourists, others are bussed in from miles around. But don't be afraid to turn into the side streets, where things are immediately calmer. Taormina is only a small town, so you won't get lost, but it won't be long before you find a café or restaurant that will offer you refreshment.

You should certainly take time to wander round the town's public gardens. Large trees and lavish shrubs provide shade as you stroll along the paths, with their imaginative terracotta paving and sidewalls. And then at the edge, you encounter the sea again; you can spend ages looking down the steep mountainside out to the pure blues of the sea and sky. Even the trains clanking along the gentle curve out of the station far below are part of the charm, like a model railway in an ideal setting.

As with the theatre or the main piazza, it's not just the view that's in front of you that casts the spell; the viewpoint itself is a vital part of the magic. Here, the beauty of the garden and the simple urns on the perimeter wall add perspective to the beauty of the view. There is even a small café with a terrace tucked away in one corner, so you can sit under an umbrella and sip a cool drink while you take it all in.

Amazingly, few tourists make the short detour to do this. Even in the height of summer, we encountered no more than a handful of mothers with their children.

Traveller’s tips

Taormina is on Sicily's east coast, just north of Mount Etna and only a short drive from the city of Catania and Sicily's main airport.

The heat

Sicily is hot and sunny, particularly in July and August – no surprises there. This will not trouble you if you remember two rules: carry the bare minimum of baggage, and never try to get anywhere on foot in a hurry.
The walk up to the old castle from the centre of Taormina, for example, is strictly for fit people. You do not need to do this sort of thing on your holiday. A bus or taxi ride to the nearby town of Castelmola is a better way of reaching one of the local mountain-tops.

The Odeon

Not content to have just one classical theatre, Taormina has two. The Odeon is a smaller theatre built by the Romans. You can find it behind the tourist office at the north end of the Corose Umberto. The church of Santa Caterina is built half on top of it, but you can see parts of the original theatre from inside the church as well.

Beaches

There are small beaches below Taormina either side of the peninsula, and you can stay at hotels there rather than up in the town. A cable car connects the two points.
As an alternative, you could stay at Giardini Naxos, which curls itself around the bay to the south. Giardini has none of the charm of Taormina, but a stay at the Hotel Arathena Rocks in Naxos offers something close to the best of both worlds.

Hotels

Think luxury here, and all that implies in terms of quality and cost. The apogee of this is the San Domenico Palace, which enjoys world-wide renown. It was once a convent, and it has dignity grained into its stones. The Gran Hotel Timeo, right by the Greek Theatre, has a cool atmosphere of restrained wealth. Both these hotels have stunning views, but then you'd be hard pushed to find one that doesn't in this town.
For value, it's worth keeping an eye open for the direct-booking offers in the broadsheet newspapers. These offer comfortable hotels, such as the Ariston, at remarkably low prices.

Eating

Granduca, Corso Umberto 172 (0942 24983)
Eating out on the terrace garden here is a fulfilment of all those Mediterranean dreams. You step down through luxuriant shrubbery to a long paved area bounded by iron railings. All tables give you wonderful views out to sea, but those at the edge enable you to take in the rocky coastline that tumbles down to the water below. The cicadas make an exotic din in the bushes, the occasional Vespa buzzes past on the road just below, and the lights on the terrace twinkle as daylight slowly fades away. Food is straightforward and tasty, fresh pasta and pizzas with well-dressed salads (there's a more cosmopolitan selection if you want to dine in the restaurant itself). Local wines offer similar qualities. Service is not so much service as instinctive hospitality. Come back the next day and you'll be treated like an old friend.