Arabian Necropolis in Taormina

The Church of Varò (Chiesa del Varò) is located at the end of a stairway that departs from Corso Umberto I, just after the Clock Tower. The church was built by Cav. Blasio Corvaja in the late eighteenth century, and the work was finished by his brother Sigismondo at the beginning of the nineteenth century. Most probably the building was built on a pre-existing built by the Romano family. A demonstration of this hypothesis in the church are located the tomb-mausoleum of Giovanni Romano Denti, wh…

The clock tower is situated half way down the Corso Umberto I next to IX April Square. Because of its location, the tower is also called Porta di Mezzo and it is the gateway into the medieval village and separates the Classical and Hellenistic parts of Taormina. Built in the twelfth century on ancient Greco-Roman foundations, the tower was destroyed by the invasion of the French troops of Louis XIV in 1676. It was last renovated in 1679 due to the strong wishes of the people of Taormina; it was…

The Madonna della Rocca church is located on the  mountain overlooking Taormina, a few steps from the Saracen castle. The church of Madonna della Rocca, so called because built on the rock, was founded by Abbot Francesco Raineri with the help of the Archbishop of Messina Geronimo Venero, around 1640. Next to the Sanctuary of S. Maria della Rocca, there was a small monastery (of the orderof the Basilian), now abandoned, in which religious retreated to pray and do penance as a hermit. The origin…