Taormina


Taormina is a comune in the Metropolitan City of Messina, on the east coast of the island of Sicily, Italy. Taormina has been a tourist destination since the 19th century. Its beaches on the Ionian Sea, including that of Isola Bella, are accessible via an aerial tramway built in 1992, and via highways from Messina in the north and Catania in the south.

History

Taormina's history dates to before Ancient Greece established its first colony on Sicily in 734 BCE in Magna Graecia. After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, Taormina remained one of the island's more important towns. Taormina followed the history of Sicily in being ruled by successive foreign monarchs. After Italian unification, Taormina began to attract well-off tourists from northern Europe, and it became known as a welcoming haven for gay men and artists. The municipality of fishermen, farmers, and wealthy bourgeoisie transformed into a town of merchants, hoteliers, and builders. During World War II, it was the headquarters of the German Wehrmacht command, and on July 9, 1943, the feast day of its patron saint, Bishop Pancras, Taormina suffered two devastating bombing raids by Allied aircraft, destroying part of its southern section and a wing of the San Domenico Hotel, where a meeting of the German High Command was taking place.

Main sights

The present town of Taormina occupies the ancient site, on a hill that forms the last projecting point of the mountain ridge that extends along the coast from Cape Pelorus to this point. The site of the old town is about above the sea, while a very steep and almost isolated rock, crowned by a Norman castle, rises about higher. This is the likely site of the ancient Arx or citadel, an inaccessible position mentioned by ancient writers. Portions of the ancient walls may be traced at intervals all round the brow of the hill, the whole of the summit of which was occupied by the ancient city. Numerous fragments of ancient buildings are scattered over its surface, including extensive reservoirs of water, sepulchres, tessellated pavements, and the remains of a spacious edifice, commonly called a Naumachia, the real purpose of which is difficult to determine.
Saracen Castle: Built by the Arabs about 400 meters high on the rock of Monte Tauro, the Castello Saraceno dominated Taormina and its bay, and controlled the valley of the river Alcantara.
Arab Necropolis: The necropolis was probably built between the ninth and eleventh century with symmetrical cells positioned one on the other. Located outside the city walls that defended the town of Taormina, the necropolis extended northeastward between the existing ruins and the Church of St. Pietro.
The ancient theatre of Taormina is built for the most part of brick, and is therefore probably from Roman times, though its plan and arrangement are in accordance with those of Greek theatres; it is speculated that the present structure was rebuilt upon the foundations of an older theatre of the Greek period. With a diameter of , this theatre is the second largest of its kind in Sicily ; it is frequently used for operatic and theatrical performances and concerts. Most of the original seats have disappeared, but the wall that surrounded the whole cavea is preserved, and the proscenium with the back wall of the scena and its appendages, of which only traces remain in most ancient theatres, are preserved in an uncommon state of integrity. From the fragments of architectural decorations still extant it has been determined that these were of the Corinthian order, and richly ornamented. Some portions of a temple are also visible, converted into the church of San Pancrazio, but the edifice is small.
Other sights include the 12th-14th century Palazzo Corvaja, the 13th-century cathedral, a 1635 Baroque fountain, the Palazzo Duchi di Santo Stefano in 14th-century Gothic style, the Church of San Domenico, the Anglican Church of Saint George, and the municipal gardens.

Demographic evolution


Colors=
id:lightgrey value:gray
id:darkgrey value:gray
id:sfondo value:rgb
id:barra value:rgb
ImageSize = width:555 height:403
PlotArea = left:50 bottom:50 top:30 right:30
DateFormat = x.y
Period = from:0 till:11500
TimeAxis = orientation:vertical
AlignBars = justify
ScaleMajor = gridcolor:darkgrey increment:500 start:0
ScaleMinor = gridcolor:lightgrey increment:100 start:0
BackgroundColors = canvas:sfondo
BarData=
bar:1861 text:1861
bar:1871 text:1871
bar:1881 text:1881
bar:1901 text:1901
bar:1911 text:1911
bar:1921 text:1921
bar:1931 text:1931
bar:1936 text:1936
bar:1951 text:1951
bar:1961 text:1961
bar:1971 text:1971
bar:1981 text:1981
bar:1991 text:1991
bar:2001 text:2001
bar:2011 text:2011
bar:2021 text:2021
PlotData=
color:barra width:20 align:left
bar:1861 from: 0 till:2926
bar:1871 from: 0 till:3023
bar:1881 from: 0 till:3189
bar:1901 from: 0 till:4110
bar:1911 from: 0 till:4941
bar:1921 from: 0 till:5181
bar:1931 from: 0 till:5829
bar:1936 from: 0 till:6214
bar:1951 from: 0 till:6690
bar:1961 from: 0 till:7722
bar:1971 from: 0 till:9106
bar:1981 from: 0 till:10209
bar:1991 from: 0 till:10120
bar:2001 from: 0 till:10780
bar:2011 from: 0 till:11084
bar:2021 from: 0 till:10473
PlotData=
bar:1861 at:2926 fontsize:XS text: 2926 shift:
bar:1871 at:3023 fontsize:XS text: 3023 shift:
bar:1881 at:3189 fontsize:XS text: 3189 shift:
bar:1901 at:4110 fontsize:XS text: 4110 shift:
bar:1911 at:4941 fontsize:XS text: 4941 shift:
bar:1921 at:5181 fontsize:XS text: 5181 shift:
bar:1931 at:5829 fontsize:XS text: 5829 shift:
bar:1936 at:6214 fontsize:XS text: 6214 shift:
bar:1951 at:6690 fontsize:XS text: 6690 shift:
bar:1961 at:7722 fontsize:XS text: 7722 shift:
bar:1971 at:9106 fontsize:XS text: 9106 shift:
bar:1981 at:10209 fontsize:XS text: 10209 shift:
bar:1991 at:10120 fontsize:XS text: 10120 shift:
bar:2001 at:10780 fontsize:XS text: 10780 shift:
bar:2011 at:11084 fontsize:XS text: 11084 shift:
bar:2021 at:10473 fontsize:XS text: 10473 shift:
TextData=
fontsize:S pos:
text:Data from ISTAT

Foreign ethnicities and minorities

As of December 31, 2023, foreign residents in the municipality were, i.e. % of the population. The largest groups were:
  1. Bangladesh
  2. Sri Lanka
  3. Romania
  4. Morocco
  5. Ukraine
  6. Russia

    Culture and tourism

Just south of Taormina is the Isola Bella, a nature reserve; and further south, beside a bay, is the popular seaside resort Giardini Naxos. Tours of the Capo Sant'Andrea grottos are available.
Taormina is on a cliff overlooking the Ionian Sea. Besides the ancient Greek theatre, it has many old churches, lively bars, fine restaurants and antique shops. The Santuario Madonna della Rocca is one such church. Located on the slope above the town, it commands an impressive view of the coast and Mount Etna to the south, and is accessible on foot via the staired path, Salita Castello. Taormina is approximately a 45-minute drive from Europe's largest active volcano, Mount Etna.
Taormina was visited by multiple famous celebrities, such as the Swedish actress Greta Garbo, German actress Marlene Dietrich and the English actress Elizabeth Taylor.

Image gallery

Cultural references

Taormina inspired the naming of 'Toormina', a suburb of Coffs Harbour, New South Wales, Australia.
A part of the film The Big Blue was set and filmed in Taormina, where the main characters take part in the no limits freediving World Championships.
The second season of the U.S. show The White Lotus primarily takes place in Taormina, and was filmed in various locations throughout the city.
Mark Knopfler's album Tracker has a song named "Lights of Taormina".
On 26–27 May 2017 Taormina hosted the 43rd G7 summit.

Events

Many exhibitions and events are organized during the summer in Taormina. The exceptional stage for pop and classical concerts, opera and important performances often recorded by television is the Ancient Theatre. Since 1983, the most important performances are realized by Taormina Arte, the cultural institution which organizes music, theatre and dance festivals.
Within the programme of Taormina Arte there is the Taormina Film Fest, the heir of the Cinema Festival of Messina and Taormina, dating from 1960, which for about twenty years has hosted the David of Donatello Awards. During the Taormina Film Fest the Silver Ribbons are awarded, a prize created by Italian Film Journalists.
Since 2005, in October, Taormina Arte has organized the Giuseppe Sinopoli Festival, a festival dedicated to its late artistic director.

People

Twin towns and sister cities