Build it and they will come

The German writer Goethe Pronounced this gorgeous hilltop town called Taormina: "a patch of paradise on earth" and hence the tourists, actors, writers, kings and even German emperors have flocked here.

This little Greek colony thrived under the Romans but fell to the Arabs in 902 and the Normans in 1078
This theater was built by the Greeks for their dramas and tragedies and later rebuilt by the Romans
They still have modern day performances in this Teatro Greco

the theater you can see the mountains of the Aspromonte on the Italian mainland

The Romans altered the stage to be able to stage gladiator fights

You can see gorgeous Mt Etna rising up through the clouds


It's no wonder that Rita Hayworth, Orson Welles, Cary Grant and Salvador Dali flocked here to see these views and to be inspired

Living here you become a "foodie" so we stopped at La Cisterna and tried the local fare...we weren't disappointed


With this view it took a while to eat...






Found a street like my maiden name Bastian--guess it means I have to live here
This main piazza is called IX Aprile, the day in 1860 where the Sicilians fought against the Bourbons for Sicily's unification to Italy. Pete captured this gorgeous photo as the sun was setting and our friend Ray is lounging on the bench against the San Giuseppe church.

This is another old Roman theater that held about 200 spectators

This is an old Roman gymnasium that was nearby for the athletes to prepare for competition
After all the cannoli we ate and the ice cream in brioche we needed a gymnasium as well.
Even as we headed back down the hill on the bus we found yet another old Roman cistern. Sigh, need to go back another time. I need three lifetimes to enjoy everything this gorgeous island and country have to offer.