Arabian Necropolis in Taormina

The Palazzo of the Dukes of Santo Stefano is situated right next to the gate Porta Catania, on the Via De Spuches Built between the late 1200s and the early 1300s, the palace was part of the medieval walls of Taormina. The Palace of the Dukes of Santo Stefano is a masterpiece of Sicilian Romaneque and Gotic style, fitted with Arabic-Norman elements. The building has a beautiful garden in front of its main facades, where there is still a well for the collection of rain-water which was the wate…

A few hundred meters from Corso Umberto, along the Via Pirandello, there is the Arabian necropolis. It alleged to have been built during the Byzantine period, between the tenth and eleventh centuries. The necropolis is defined in the columbarium method, because it consists of symmetrical cells on top of each other put. Now, you can only see the remains of a larger building that stretched toward the northeast, placing itself among the current remains and the St. Peter's Church. Related artic…

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…