Taormina is a nice city and has many turistic attractions. The main street is "Corso Umberto I", enclosed by two big arches Porta Messina and Porta Catania, is provided with all kind of restaurants, coffee bars and many shops. 

Before reaching Porta Messina, you can visit the Chiesa di S. Pancrazio, a baroque church wich dates back to the 15th century. It was originally built on the ruins of a temple dedicated to Jupiter, whose ancient wall is partially still visible.

Great artistic value has the main portal built with the so called "Taormina Stone" and decorated with two ionic columns. 

The inside of the church sees an antique organ, the main altar of coloured marble, flanked by two columns recalling the ones on the external portal. 

Going from Porta Messina to Porta Catania, there is Piazza Vittorio Emanuele with Palazzo Corvaja on the right. It's the most important medieval site in town and takes its name from the Corvaja family, one of the most ancient and noble families in Taormina, who owned the building from 1538 to 1945. It was the first Sicilian Parliament headquarter. Because of the influence of different civilizations that have followed over time, it is a mixture of Arab, Gothic and Norman styles. Initially it was an Arab tower, built for military reason, then it was transformed in a convent and, at the end of 1300, a new building was added on the left side of the tower where the tourist office is currently located.
In front of Palazzo Corvaja there is the Chiesa of Santa Caterina, a church built on the ruins of a Hellenistic temple, part of which is still visible inside. Behind the church there is the Odeon, a small theatre, discovered during the excavating worksconducted in 1892. It was built in the Roman period on the base of a Greek temple dedicated to Venus or Aphrodite. Considering the small size of the location, the theatre was probably reserved to the authorities.

At the opposite site of the church there is the way to go the most important monument of city: the Greek Theatre. Built in the 3rd century BC, it was destroyed during the Roman domination. It is composed of three main parts: the scene, the orchestra and the auditorium. The scene is at the opposite of the cavea and it is where the actors used to perform. The orchestra of the theatre was the flat clearing in the centre which separated the scene from the cavea. This area was dedicated to the musicians, but the choruses and dancers also performed there. The cavea on the other hand is the series of steps, from the lowest to the highest ones at the top, where the spectators were seated. There is also a small archaeological museum called The Antiquarium.

The Naumachie are another monument built during Roman domination. They are composed by a big red wall, 122 metres long and 5 metres high, which has great recesses where statues of gods were placed. There are different assumptions about the usage of this location during the old times: a big gym, a race track or simply a place where to make water games.
At the centre of Corso Umberto, there is “Piazza IX Aprile”, the most beautiful square in Taormina with its coffee bars and artists who paint portraits and landscapes. There, you can admire a wonderful panorama from Etna to Naxos Bay until the Greek Theatre.
On the left there is the Chiesa di S. Agostino, a former church built in 1448 that now is the town library.
In front of the square you can see the Chiesa di San Giuseppe, an example of baroque style, and finally the Clock Tower.
Crossing the Clock Tower you can reach the Piazza Duomo, a square with the Town Hall, the big Duomo (S. Nicola di Bari) and the beautiful fountain built in Baroque Style.
Near Porta Catania, you can find the Palazzo Duchi di S. Stefano, a medieval building in gothic style.
On the top of city there is the Castello SaracenoTauro, a castle reconstructed in the 13thcentury by the Arabs.
We also recommendto visit the Villa Comunale, a very beautiful garden created with great love by Florence Trevelyan. Walking through the trees and flowers, you can admire a wonderful view of the bay.