Welcome To Taormina Sicily!
It is one of the most picturesque towns in Sicily, and home to a classic Greek ruin too! Here’s a special panorama from the town square, with Alex doing a double shot!
The town of Taormina is located high above the Ionian Sea on the east coast of Sicily, one of Italy’s islands!
Depending on what part of Sicily you are visiting, you might swim in the Ionian, Tyrrhenian, or Mediterranean Sea.
The history of Taormina dates back to before Ancient Greece established its first colony on Sicily in 734 BC. After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, Taormina continued to rank as one of the more important towns of the island.
As you can see, the town is packed with visitors every single day but since most of the streets are “car free”, there’s plenty of room to shop and eat!
And here’s something so cool – I happened upon some pigeons who literally were “climbing” up one of the classic building…check this out!
We loved wandering the streets of Taormina, where you can find quiet side streets as well – but no matter where you roam, all roads lead here:
Welcome To The Second Largest Theater In Sicily!
This is the Greek Theatre of Taormina, built in 301 A.D.!
It was built to accommodate dramatic performances or musicals, but was transformed during the Roman times for games and gladiatorial battles!
As I showed you earlier, the town is perched high above the Ionian Sea….and here’s just how close the theater is to the edge of town!
As you can see, it’s an impressive structure, with many additions throughout the years. One involved the expansion of the orchestra, which in Greek times was designed for the musical needs of that time – since then it has been adapted to more modern times.
The construction of the amphitheater starts probably by the Greeks around the third century BC.
The construction involved removing more than 100,000 cubic meters of rock – manually!
Sitting In The Cavea!
Don’t you love the open look out to the Sicilian coastline?
The seating area inside is call the “Cavea” – carved into the rock and holding up to 5,400 spectators!
As much as the theater is fun to explore, it’s also still being used for live performances!
The town of Taormina itself is a mix of classic architecture with some modern touches…
The end of the day in Taormina leaves us wandering among the crowds until we found the famous “Bam Bar!”
The “Bam Bar” is known for the best granita in town, and we couldn’t wait to try some – well, we waited almost a half hour because it’s packed day and night – but well worth it!
Alex had lemon topped with mango, while I had lemon topped with strawberry – it’s a great way to try multiple flavors!
As I said, the greek theater is still used today, so we looked back at this spectacular view of the theater lit up at night:
Sicily is filled with amazing sights to tour, like the original locations used for “The Godfather!”
One of the locations was up a steep road, so we took a small motorized cart and what a ride!
Check it out:
There were so many other cool locations, including us sitting in the exact same spot as Al Pacino!
See our tour by clicking here:
Also, check out this shot we took from he greek theater – see what’s right behind Alex?
Yes, that’s Mt. Etna!
It’s the most active volcano in Europe!
As some of you may remember, Alex and I got to hike to the top!
Check out this clip:
If you want to see what it takes to climb an active volcano, just click on my story here for more!
While we were near the top of Sicily, we also walked along the shoreline, where we discovered a “part time” island!
You see, it’s an island when the tide is high, but not when it’s low!
Clcik here to find out more about the magical “Isola Bella!”
By the way, Sicily is the largest island in Italy… and Sardinia is the second-largest – and we went there too!
Our hotel was unique – because it was also the set of a James Bond film!
Click here to see which one!
The food of Italy is incredible, so I had to try and make some back at home after our trip!
This “Cassatedde” went well with lava wine – click for the recipe!
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Categories: Art, Exotic Travel, Italy, Memoirs, nature, Pop Culture, Real Estate, Travel, Travel Adventures, Travel Memoir
johnrieber 
Hi John, what a fabulous visit. It all looks so vivid and colourful.
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Thanks Robbie!
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I loved this post, John. Thank you for all the photos and history.
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That’s pretty much the ideal setting for an outdoor theater. Thanks for sharing it with us.
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Thank you for the comment – appreciated!
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What a lovely town
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What a cool trip! I’d love to get to Italy and Sicily someday but if not, I’m enjoy your posts and videos! Mt. Aetna looks amazing, and it reminds me of our visit to Haleakala on Maui, only we drove up!
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That looks like a great little town, John. And the open-air theatre is very impressive!
Best wishes, Pete.
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Pete, we loved Sicily…so many different things to see and do – town is very crowded but worth a day trip…
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