magic weekends

Stay at Villa la Terazza in Taormina. With it's  grand terraces and  panoramic views from Etna to Naxos Bay this hotel is a great base for your weekend of exploration. Taormina is a famous  chic resort town perched high over the sea with many coves with sandy beaches. We will explore the town on foot visiting  the breathtaking Piazza IX Aprile with it's tiled checkerboard square it overlooks the  Ionian sea with a panoramic view and is itself overlooked by cliffs. The piazza features many historic buildings including the baroque church of San Guiseppe and the Church of San Augustine with its crenelated bell tower.  Experience the 10th Century  Palazzo Corvaja, now used as a museum and art gallery, it was an  amazing medieval stone palace fortress. It has an internal courtyard with arches and Christian and Arabic features. A short walk away is the Porta Messina the symbolic door that marks the entrance to the Historic old town of  Taormina and leads to the  pedestrianised Corto Umberto the main shopping street. In the afternoon we will visit the spectacular ancient Greek Theatre which overlooks the sea and Mount Etna. It has been in use since Ancient Greek and Roman times and is still a venue today for the arts . On your second day we will visit Etna itself and you can climb to the summit or take the railroad. We will enjoy a light lunch and winetasting  at a local winery and then journey to Catania where will will visit the Piazza del Duomo. The Duomo is an impressive Norman and  Baroque Cathedral dedicated to Santa Agatha. Inside are many beautiful details , frescos , decorative artwork and paintings. The grey stone on the facade originates from lava. Many of the buildings in t he piazza feature this stone. The piazza has a unique fountain featuring an elephant statue balancing an n Egyptian obelisk in it's back . Another example of wonderful architecture not to miss is the Benedictine Monastery with its highly decorative exterior.