Italy
Taormina
A Greek theatre where Etna smoulders behind the stage, the sea glittering far below.
The Greek Theatre opens onto a view that stops conversation — Mount Etna smoking against the sky in one direction, the Ionian Sea shimmering in the other, and the stage set between them like someone planned it. Bougainvillea drapes over balconies on the Corso Umberto. The scent of almond granita drifts from every doorway.
Taormina is a hilltop town on Sicily's eastern coast, Italy, perched 200 metres above the Ionian Sea. Its Teatro Antico, built by Greeks in the 3rd century BC and enlarged by Romans, seats 5,400 and still hosts performances against its improbable twin backdrop of Etna and the bay. Goethe, visiting in 1787, declared the view from the theatre the greatest spectacle in all of art and nature. The town became a fixture on the Grand Tour and later attracted D.H. Lawrence, who lived here from 1920 to 1923. Below the town, the Isola Bella — a rocky islet connected to the mainland by a narrow sand bar — sits in a cove sheltered enough for year-round swimming.
Couple
A front-row seat at the Greek Theatre at sunset, followed by pasta alla Norma on a terrace with the same view — Taormina stages romance against a backdrop no set designer could improve.
Friends
Morning at Isola Bella, afternoon exploring Etna's slopes, evening on the Corso Umberto — Taormina is the base camp for a Sicily trip that wants to pack in coast, volcano, and nightlife.
Family
Isola Bella's sheltered cove offers safe swimming with clear water, and the cable car down to the beach gives children a thrill. Granita and brioche for breakfast keeps everyone cooperative.
- The Teatro Greco hosts summer opera and classical concerts with Etna's cone — and the Ionian Sea — behind the performers.
- Isola Bella, the beach below the town, is a nature reserve on a tidal island connected to the mainland by a sand bar.
- The cable car from the town to the beach costs a few euros and runs until evening, bypassing the switchback road entirely.
- D.H. Lawrence, Goethe, and Oscar Wilde all wrote about Taormina — their stays are documented in the archives of the hotels that hosted them.
Granita di mandorla with a warm brioche for breakfast, the almond paste cold and sweet.
Arancini the size of a fist, cracked open to reveal saffron rice and molten ragù.
Pasta alla Norma with fried aubergine, ricotta salata, and basil from a terrace above the bay.
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