9/26/24: Eastern Sicily's Castelmola & Taormina!

Steven and I returned yesterday to the US after a delightful 10-day cruise from Barbados through the Caribbean. The small ship's poor wifi and our daily exploration of the islands meant this was the first opportunity to resume the blog about our fall trip to Sicily.

I last wrote about our experience in Savoca, the hilltop town on Sicily's east coast made famous by Francis Ford Coppola, who filmed scenes from The Godfather. From Savoca, Steven and I drove back to the coast and south toward Castelmola, another town floating 1,800 feet above sea level!

Castelmola's Castello Normano:

As in the past, I counted my lucky stars that Steven was responsible for driving the countless hairpin turns. I only had to navigate, which allowed me plenty of opportunities to take photos. Normally, the elevator whisks visitors from the parking lot below the village up to the center, but that was out of order, so after taking a few panoramic pictures, we huffed and puffed our way up a few more hills.

On the climb up to Castelmola, we took a breather to view a chapel. The Icon of the Madonna della Scala, the Madonna of the Staircase, once included a valuable oil painting carved in stone and resting in a rock near a footpath under the Castello Normano. When a new access road was built, faithful citizens engraved a cave into the castle's rock wall and placed the painting of the Madonna at the center of a modern marble altar.

Though it was already a long day, Steven and I didn't want to miss strolling along Castelmola's cobblestone streets within the ancient walls. The 360-degree panoramas of sea, mountain, and sky took the word "scenic" to a whole new level.

We figured we'd hiked this far from the town center that we might as well ascend a set of more stone staircases to reach the Castello. Little remained of what had been built by the Byzantines in the 9th century and later rebuilt by the Normans. 

In the distance was our first view of Mt. Etna and its cone.

Boats bobbing in the bay far below us: 

I captured a few panoramic pictures of Taormina, a more famous town by the sea, from the ruins of Castelmola Castle.

Taormina's Teatro Greco was built in the 3rd century BC and rebuilt by the Romans in the 2nd century AD. Its location signified the Greeks' importance of finding impressive locations to stage their dramas. When we tried to view it up close later, it was shut for an event. I read that its acoustics are still exceptional: a whisper from the stage could be heard in the last rows!

Before reaching Taormina, we stopped at the thousand-year-old stone Castello Saraceno, built on the site of earlier Greek and Roman fortifications. Although the castle gates had been locked for decades, a walk up the Via Crucis brought us another delight.

The Chiesa di Madonna della Rocca, founded in 1640 by Abbot Francesco Raineri, was also chiseled from a mammoth rock.

Looking back up at Castelmola:

We were lucky we only had to wait a few minutes to catch a free shuttle into Taormina rather than facing another long uphill walk into town.

Writers have extolled the city's charms almost since it was founded by Greeks from the nearby island of Naxos in the 6th century BC. Goethe and D. H. Lawrence count among its famous fans.

The most important square in town was Largo Santa Caterina, located on the famous Corso Umberto. It was also the site of the former Greek Agora, which became the Forum during Roman times. 

The interior of the Chiesa di Santa Caterina was an oasis of peace amid the craziness a few steps away. 

Beside the church was the former Palazzo Corvaja and ...

behind the church were the remains of a peristyle temple that likely dated to the mid-3rd century BC. Centuries later, the temple was flanked by a brick-faced odeon which was uncovered in 1892-93.

It was fun seeing more ceramic pinecones, which are heralded in Sicily as symbols of fortune, prosperity, and abundance. They normally adorn the entrances to aristocratic homes to welcome visitors.

Since arriving in Sicily, I was captivated by images of Trinacria, an ancient symbol showing the head of Medusa surrounded by three bent-running legs. I ended up buying one later in the trip which we hung in our kitchen. It always brings back fun memories of our trip to the island.

If it hadn't been so late and we'd not toured so much that day, Steven and I would have enjoyed touring Villa Communale, described as being one of Sicily's most beautiful public gardens. After Florence Trevelyn left England in 1889 under a cloud for her romance with the future Edward VII, she wed a local professor and spent the rest of her life filling the gardens with fountains, ornamental pavilions, and native Mediterranean and exotic plants.

I hope you have a wonderful time when you visit Taormina and the region next spring, Sarah. We didn't spend as much time as we'd have liked, so I look forward to discovering more of the city through your eyes and lens. You'll find plenty of your fellow countrymen there based on the accents we heard!

If you're a shopper, you'll also find many opportunities to purchase local textiles and ceramics. 

We capped our very full day in the nearby community of Giardini-Naxos over plates of delicious pasta, pizza, and vino in the lovely public square.

Next post: Exploring Mt. Etna up close & then other communities nearby.

Posted on December 23rd, 2024, from a casita we rented for five nights in Miami's Little Havana neighborhood following our cruise. Though we'll be far from family over the holidays, we look forward to connecting with them all over the US and in my native Ottawa and also hope each of you celebrates the season with loved ones.