Taormina
Taormina is located on a hill standing at about 206 m.a.s.l, tucked in the Mount Tauro plateau. It is 27 kilometres from Linguaglossa and it’s one of the most important and internationally known tourist centres in Sicily, notable for its history and monuments as well as landscapes, seaside and tourist reception.
The town was founded by greek colonists settling in the lands that were already inhabited by the Siculi (the island’s former inhabitants) in 403 b.c., in order to escape from Dionysius, the tyrant of Syracuse. Historical record of the settlement of Tauromenion have been available ever since. Taormina was among Rome’s allies before being conquered by Ottaviano, and it became the capital of Byzantine Sicily after the fall of the Roman Empire in the 5h century AD. It was destroyed when the Arabs arrived in the 10th century AD and then quickly rebuilt, ending up conquered by the Norman Count Ruggero d’Altavilla. In the following centuries it fell under the Spanish, French and Borbonic rule before Italy’s unification.
Such layered history makes Taormina an awesome location, where thousands of years of cultures are visible all-around walking through the narrow alleys of its historical center, where unique glimpses and breathtaking views can be found
