An Afternoon in Taormina, Sicily

I had promised to share photos from each place I visited on my trip to Europe earlier this summer. It’s taken me a while to get to the next set of photos, as the past few months have been busy, hot, and full of vegetables! (Photos on that soon, I hope.)

In the meantime, here are snapshots from a day in early June in Taormina, the cute hilltop town on the east coast of Sicily.

The Piazza IX Aprile, the main square of Taormina with cafes and churches.
The former church of Sant-Agostino on Piazza IX Aprile. I love the tiles on the plaza.
A side alley off Corso Umberto, the main pedestrian avenue.
A street that runs between Corso Umberto and Teatro Antico di Taormina (the ancient theater).
The view through a doorway in the Teatro Antico di Taormina.
A fountain just outside the Teatro Antico di Taormina.
A panoramic view from the Teatro Antico di Taormina.
Facades along Via Teatro Greco.
The first (and only) cannolis we tried in Italy, at cannoleria I dolci di Nonna Rosa, just steps outside the Porta Messina gate.

Published by Cheri Lucas Rowlands

Senior editor at Longreads / Automattic

22 thoughts on “An Afternoon in Taormina, Sicily

  1. Love the cannoli shot ~ I’ve never had one, but have heard about them forever 🙂 The great Italian life ~ you bring it out perfectly here. There is such history and life in your photos, which is what I love about Italy (and the Italians). With the food being a reason never to leave.

  2. Great pics, absolutely love them! I would love to visit Taormina, it looks like a magic town where the time slows down and a perfect place to relax! Thanks for sharing xxx

  3. I shared Andrew’s (just above) thought. Although I wasn’t sure if you saved your appetite for later or didn’t like cannolis enough to eat more 🙂
    I’m never able to resist them. Away from Italy where I ate my first, this is in Boston that I enjoyed cannolis most when I used to live there.
    The Piazza IX Aprile reminds me of a mini Montmartre. With gorgeous tiles.
    The natural beauty is also close to what we have in southern France. Truth is the distance is quite small between these countries in this part of Europe. They share so much history in common. And yet remain distinct enough so you feel abroad each time.
    I’m looking forward to your French photos!

  4. You know Taormina is one of those places that sticks in your mind for many years after visiting. Something so…I don’t know…visceral about the place, and ancient (and stunning after the tour buses depart). One of the shots I remember taking was Mt Etna through one of those stone doorways, but it was so long ago, it’s in a 35mm slide.

    1. While quite crowded, especially as we walked the main avenue, it was still rather lovely, and I understand what you mean. There’s something about the place that sticks. More so than a place like Santorini, which we had visited just days before, which was so picturesque and photo-perfect that it felt sterile, even eerie. Even with all the tourists like me stomping along, Taormina felt *lived in* and lively with residents, and that’s what I liked about it.

  5. This is so great! Is there anyway you could post some pictures of the market? I loved the second picture so much! I love to experience local makets of a particular place!

  6. I thought I might comment on your first photo…then saw the second, then the third. The all are beautiful photos and invoke the need to travel once more. Just taking them all in!

    1. No, totally not self-control. It was more “we’ll have another opportunity in Italy to eat these.” Before I knew it, we’d sailed to France 🙂 (But at least there were tasty pastries there.)

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