Archaeological Sites in Taormina
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1) Madonna della Rocca
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 heavy 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 villagers what had happened.
This was the reason why the little church was built inside the rock.
2) Church of San Giuseppe
The Church of San Giuseppe, built between the end of the 1600s and the beginning of the 1700s, is located next to the Clock Tower on Piazza IX Aprile. A double flight of stairs leads to the entrance of the building.
3) Santa Caterina Church
The Church of Saint Catherine of Alexandria in Egypt stands on the remains of a Greek temple probably dedicated to Aphrodite.
The portal is in pink Taormina marble, while all the openings of the facade are made of Syracuse stone.
4) Church of San Pancrazio, patron saint of the city
The church of San Pancrazio, bishop and patron saint of Taormina, dating back to the 18th century in Baroque style, stands on the ruins of a Greek temple dedicated to Jupiter Serapis, whose stone blocks of the base are still clearly visible outside 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, his enemies during a banquet 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 killed.
The patron saint of Taormina is celebrated on 9 July, but only every four years does the solemn festival take place, during which both the Vara of San Pancrazio and that of San Pietro are carried in procession through the streets of the town.
5) Church of Varò
The Church of the Varò or of the Visitation according to scholars is the oldest church in Taormina, in fact inside 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 papier-mâché statue of Our Lady of Sorrows.
One of the most heartfelt and characteristic processions, that of Good Friday, begins from this church. In an unreal, unusual atmosphere, in a medieval setting, all dressed in black, the sisters of the Congregation of Our Lady of Sorrows take turns leading the launch of Our Lady of Sorrows on their shoulders. All the others arranged on the sides of very long amnesties with candles accompany the varettes along the historic center, illuminated by torches hanging on the walls.
6) Church of San Francesco di 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 made it the seat of their convent.
The church was restored between 1944 and 1947, bringing the building back to its former glory.
The church is now deconsecrated and the building is used for particular exhibitions and events.
7) Church of San Antonio Abate
The small church of Sant'Antonio Abate was built around 1330.
In 1943 it was almost completely destroyed, the citizens rebuilt it with the same stones recovered on site 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 in scale, in cork wood.
8) Former Church of Carmine
It takes its name from a medieval church, almost destroyed by the Anglo-American bombings of 1943, rebuilt after the war, however it is no longer a place of worship but rather intended by the Municipality for exhibitions of painting and various art.
9) Palace of the Dukes of Santo Stefano
The fourteenth-century Palazzo Duchi di Santo Stefano in Taormina 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 Municipality of Taormina in 1964 and used as the headquarters of the Mazzullo Foundation.
10) Porta Catania
Built around 1440, it was one of the entrances to the city fortified by high walls.
The other door at the end of Corso Umberto I is called Porta Messina.
Porta Catania is also called Porta del Tocco because in Norman times, at the time of Tocco (1.00 pm) 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 town: Corso Umerto I.
11) Palazzo dei Giurati
Palace built around 1700 is now home to the Town Hall.
12) Badia Vecchia
The Badia Vecchia palace was built in 1300 and was a defense towerof the walls of Taormina. The building is called Badia because, according to scholars, it should have housed an Abbey where Mother Abbess Eufemia, regent of the Kingdom of Sicily from 1355, lived.
The Badia is now home to the Archaeological Museum of Taormina.
13) San Michele Church
The Church of San Michele Arcangelo is located just 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 the bombings of 1943, it was rebuilt by recovering the remains from the rubble.
After being closed for a long time, since 2011 it has been possible to visit this church again.
14) San Domenico Church
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 S. Domenico Palace Hotel.
15) Cathedral of San Nicolò
Built in the 13th century, it has undergone many works over the centuries.
16) Palazzo Ciampoli
The date of construction (1412) can be read on the rhombus-shaped coat of arms placed at the top of the entrance door. The Spanish stylistic influence is clear.
Ciampoli was the name of the last owners. Purchased in recent years by the Sicilian Region, it passed into the ownership of the Municipality of Taormina, which would like to allocate part to a museum and part to reception halls, for cultural and tourist meetings, congresses and international conferences.
17) Madonna delle Grazie Church
Near the entrance to the Villa Comunale, a small road connects Taormina to the train station. Along this road there is a small chapel dedicated to the Madonna delle Grazie, built by a sailor who survived a storm while he was offshore on his boat. The chapel is very small and spartan, there is only a small altar with the image of the Madonna carved in stone above it. The feast of the Madonna delle Grazie is celebrated on 2 July.
18) Clock tower
The tower is also called "Porta di Mezzo" because it separates the medieval village from the classical part.
Built in the 12th century on the remains of an older defensive wall construction, dating back to the 4th century BC, it was razed to the ground by the invasion of Louis XIV's French troops in 1676.
In 1679, at the behest of the people of Taormina, the Tower was rebuilt and on that occasion the large clock that characterizes it today was also placed.
the bells of the Tower are rung on the day of the mayor's election and on the occasion of the procession on the feast day of the patron saint San Pancrazio which occurs on 9 July.
19) Library
The former church and convent of the Hermits of S. Agostino has housed the S. Agostino Municipal Library since 1933.
Over 22,000 volumes are preserved in the Library, some of which were published between 1600 and 1800, with more than 2,000 volumes in the section reserved for books on Sicily.
The artistic and cultural heritage of the Library also includes important paintings kept in the Ancient Fund room, including the altarpiece depicting the martyrdom of St. Sebastian.
20) Saracen Castle
The castle of Taormina is located on a rock of Monte Tauro, at almost 400 meters above sea level.
From here you could control the valley of the Alcantara river.
The castle is reached via a staircase which starts from the charming little church of the Madonna della Rocca and is unfortunately closed and cannot be visited today.
21) Naumachie
The Naumachie are a long façade of red bricks from the Roman era brought 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.
22) Public Gardens
The municipal villa 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. Subsequently, Trevelyan settled in Taormina, where on 13 July 1890, she married the mayor Salvatore Cacciola, with whom she purchased several plots of land and some old houses, which she razed to the ground, to create the current Public Garden.
The tomb of the English noblewoman, who died in 1907, is located at the top of Monte Venere, 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 area.
23) Odeon
The Odeon of Taormina is an authentic jewel of Roman architecture probably built in the 2nd century AD. on an older Greek temple, it held at most 200 people and is thought to have had a roof.
In the Greco-Roman world, the Odeon was a small theater intended for musical and literary performances.
24) Greco-Roman theatre
A symbolic place of Taormina, it was built in a panoramic pointor spectacular with views of the bay of Giardini Naxos and Mount Etna.
On some steps the name of Philistide is engraved, the wife of Hieron II, the tyrant of Syracuse who most likely in the 3rd century BC. he built the Taormina theater.
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 relocated here in the 19th century by the architect Francesco Saverio Cavallari. For years now, the Taormina theater has been the splendid setting for cultural events, pop and classical music and international awards.
25) Porta Messina
Entrance door on Corso Umberto from the "Messina side", dating back to 1808.
26) Palazzo Corvaja
Its first construction took place in the Arab era (11th century), during which the first cube-shaped tower of the palace was built.
This was then enlarged in the 14th and 15th centuries, assuming its current appearance. The Norman, Gothic and Catalan influences are clearly visible.
In 1411 the palace was the seat of the Sicilian Parliament which elected the King in the presence of the White Queen of Navarre, regent of the kingdom of Sicily.
The palace was then inhabited by the powerful Corvaja family, from whom it took its name, until the Second World War. On the facade 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 south-east and north-east sides of the building.
On the south-west side the entrance door opens which leads into a courtyard where there is a staircase that leads to the first floor and then to a small entrance room and the magnificent large hall.
The hall located on the first floor is lit by six windows and was once used for meetings. It is here that the Sicilian parliament elected the new King. At the end of the Second World War, the palace was in pitiful conditions 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 complete restoration was carried out by the Neapolitan architect Armando Dillon.
Today Palazzo Corvaja houses the tourist information office and the Sicilian Museum of Popular Art and Traditions.
27) Church of S. Antonio and convent of the Capuchin Friars Minor
The church was built outside the walls, near the ancient church of S. Caterina d'Alessandria dating back to 1400, next to it the Capuchin convent was built in 1551. The convent was sold to the Capuchin Fathers on 27 April 1610, at the price of 2,000 florins. The nobles and wealthiest citizens promised to pay the aforementioned sum and another church dedicated to St. Anthony.
In the main facade there is a beautiful ogive portal, whose jambs are in Taormina stone, and whose architrave with connecting brackets is in red Taormina marble.
The portal of the Capuchin church is dominated by a rectangular window, above which a small rose window decorates the facade.
In the church there is still a sundial or sundial, which bears the date 1837.
28) Antiquarium
29) Byzantine Necropolis
Scholars date the construction of the necropolis back to the Byzantine period, between the 10th and 11th centuries. The necropolis has symmetrical positions on 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.
30) 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 Observant Minor Friars, whose Church is dedicated to St. Mary of Jesus. Even St. Anthony of Padua stayed there.
31) Congress Palace
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