Seeing Sicily: Taormina

View of the Mediterranean with mainland Italy at the far right.

     One of the features of life at Sigonella are occasional 96s, four-day weekends that many use as an opportunity for travel around Europe. There is a definite excitement in hearing others talk about plans for jetting off to Barcelona, hiking in the Alps or relaxing on a Mediterranean beach. Our first two 96s were used to take the ferry to Malta and during part of our Adriatic cruise. For the Veterans Day long weekend, we decided to stay a little closer to home and do some day trips in Sicily. The weather here has cooled down considerably in the past few weeks and the sunshine has been joined by breezes that have made being outdoors quite pleasant and perfect for exploring our immediate environs.

     Our first day we spent exploring Taormina on the northeast coast of the island. Taormina has a reputation as the glittering jewel of the Sicilian coast and resort destination of many of the literary and film jet set of the 20th century. Richard Burton allegedly wooed Elizabeth Taylor here (though which time I don't know ;)) and writers Tennessee Williams, Truman Capote and D.H. Lawrence all spent time writing and relaxing at villas and cafes on the mountaintop. One of the first books I read from the Sigonella library's Sicily section was the colorful autobiography of Daphne Phelps, a British writer that inherited and maintained the villa Casa Cuseni during World War II. 

     We were not disappointed. In a short word, Taormina is absolutely beautiful. The town is situated on a mountaintop with sweeping views of the brilliant blue ocean on one side and the surrounding mountains, including Etna, on the other. The streets are lined with outdoor cafe tables on the cobblestone and iron balconies laden with bright flowers and shuttered doors overhead. Although the streets are crowded with tourists in the summer months, we found we had the town almost to ourselves which was perfect for leisurely wandering down the Corso Umberto and through several piazzas.

      It might have just been the elevation, but the atmosphere felt light and lofty and it was easy to see why members of the cafe set found Taormina so pleasant. There was a serenity to the silence of the almost abandoned streets in the afternoon that one could see becoming equally as desirable, but no less relaxing, in the vibrancy and pulse of a more populated nightlife. Taormina is certainly unhurried and easy, a stark contrast to the rush and grit of Catania below. As we sat in a cafe taking in this ambience and the incredible vistas of mountain and sea, I could only think "I want to come here again!"

A gorgeous view of Mt. Etna

Ruins of the Greek Theater. Long before the advent of the Taormina Film Festival, theater goers were able attend plays by Sophocles, Aeschylus and Euripides.

Cafe Wunderbar. Situated in a wide piazza at the top of the Corso Umberto, this is where Christopher enjoyed his post-stroll "sketti and yalato" (spaghetti and gelato). When they were getting along, Tennessee Williams and Truman Capote used to grace the wicker chairs and yellow clothed tables.