Taormina and its illustrious guests

Taormina (Taurmina or Taummina, in Sicilian) is an Italian town of 10,863 inhabitants located in the metropolitan city of Messina, Sicily.

It is one of the most important international tourist centers of the Sicilian region, known for its natural landscape, marine beauties and historical monuments and has been an important destination of the Grand Tour. Taormina has been one of the main tourist destinations since the 19th century in Europe.

During the 20th century the city became a colony of expatriate artists, writers, and intellectuals; for example Albert Stopford, with his famous Edwardian garden, and D.H. Lawrence. Thirty years later, from April 1950 to September 1951, the same villa was the home of Truman Capote, who wrote about his stay in the wise Old Fountain. In addition, Tennessee Williams, Jean Cocteau and Jean Marais visited the place. Charles Webster Leadbeater; Jiddu Krishnamurti came to live here, defining Taormina as an ideal place to develop his talents. Halldór Laxness, the Icelandic author and Nobel Prize winner, worked here on the first modern Icelandic novel, Vefarinn mikli frá Kasmír. Taormina inspired the name 'Toormina', a suburb of the Australian city of Coffs Harbour. The hundreds of wonderful shops, ice-cream parlours, cafes, people, absolutely unique! Stop, look, there are hundreds of wonders to buy... and admire... or envy... only the limits of your wallet will prevent you from taking away thousands of indescribable and wonderful things. The walk along Corso Umberto is one of the most popular experiences in the beautiful Taormina. Elegance and history go hand in hand here.