Taormina is a very special part of Sicily, situated on the coastline between Catania and Messina. With its 10,000 population this cosmopolitan town is set on a cliff with breathtaking views of the Ionian sea, coastline and Mount Etna. Taormina offers various characteristic places such as The Greek Theatre, Museums, Cathedrals and Historic public botanical gardens. You can spend hours wandering around the many hidden narrow streets discovering more piazza’s, churches, fountains and hidden treasures. A traditional walk as a newly married couple down the Corso Umberto is a very unique experience.
For weddings in Taormina choose from one of the many stunning churches, the unique 16th century stone carved church Madonna della Rocca, the Palazzo Duchi Santo Stefano or one of the fabulous beach hotels.
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Forza D’Agro is most famous for the Sicilian location shot in the Godfather films. This beautiful medieval town is full of churches, piazza’s and everything that makes the Sicilian culture. Watch the men out in the cobbled streets playing cards, kids playing innocently in the piazza’s, visit the castle ruins or just take in the breathtaking views from all around this old town. Located high up on the rocky hilltop between Taormina and Messina this really is a venue fit for a film!
For your wedding ceremony in Forza D’Agro the SS Trinita Church is truly stunning or the Cathedral of S.Peter and Paul that featured in the Godfather trilogy.
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Savoca is situated on the low southern slopes of the Peloritan mountains. It was founded in the first half of the 12th century and was first mentioned in 1415 when it already belonged to the archibishops of Messina. The economy is agricultural and based mainly on the cultivation of citrus fruits. Only ruins remain those of the norman castle. The church of San Michele, 15th century in origin, has two lovely gothic doors and houses a coeval painting of San Michele. The main Church, erected in the 16th century, has a lovely Renaissance door, two smaller gothic doors and a rose window; alongside it is a 15th C. bell tower. The town, together with Forza d’Agrò, was the location for the scenes set in Corleone of Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather. The place is also famous for the Capuchin monastery where mummified bodies of prestigious town residents of 18th and 19th centuries are on display.
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Castelmola is without doubt the most romantic location in Sicily. Set high above Taormina this beautiful medieval town provides a venue fit for a film set. Walk the cobbled streets, find the hidden piazza’s and discover the many treasures that create the beautiful Sicilian culture. The views from all around Castelmola are truly breathtaking, you can take in the coastline of Italy, the Ionian sea, Mount Etna, the Greek theatre and look down on Taormina.
For weddings in the medieval town of Castelmola choose from the church in Piazza Duomo, the Auditorium in piazza Sant Agostino or at the highest point up at the historic Castle ruins for your perfect outdoor ceremony.
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This Dominican monastery, now the San Domenico Hotel, was the third monastery in Taormina. Its origins and history are related to Damiano Rosso, a Dominican friar who was a descendant of the Altavilla family and Prince of Cerami; after becoming a friar he donated all he owned to the Dominican order in 1430. His antique mansion was therefore turned into Taormina’s Dominican monastery. The “San Domenico” was the first or perhaps the only castle existing in Taormina during the middle ages. Some centuries later the estate was given back to Damiano Rosso’s heirs who turned it into a hotel. The only part of the former monastery to remain open to worship was the chapel which, however, was destroyed by bombings on July 9, 1943. The congress hall of the hotel was built on the ruins of the chapel, conserving the remains of the minor altars. The bombings did not damage the rest of the hotel nor the 50 cells which were later turned into luxurious hotel-rooms. The beautiful cloister and magnificent park, which overlook the sea and have a view of Mount Etna, are the most charming parts of the hotel. A second wing, added to the hotel in the 1930s, harmoniously reflects the architectural style of the rest of the building with many authentic art treasures as well as sacred vestments and vessels and paintings by well-known artists.
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Taormina’s emblem. This Barocco style fountain, built in 1635, is in Taormina marble with three concentric steps at its base. On each of the fountain’s four sides there are some small columns supporting basins; mythological ponies overlook the basins and fountain water flows out of their mouths. The eastern base of this large fountain contains a fourth basin, larger than the others but no longer used since it was a watering-place for animals. There is a smaller octagonal basin in the middle of the fountain base with four putti resting on it; on the east side, two of these putti hold two smaller putti each, forming the base of an octagonal basin decorated with three seals showing their heads and tails. Three mythological characters resembling Tritons stands in the middle of this latter basin with their arms crossed over their heads so as to support another basin decorated in low-relief; a round base inside this basin holds a basket of fruit on the top of which stands Taormina’s coat-of-arms. The town’s coat-of-arms normally pictures a male centaur but in this case it was turned into a female centaur and a two-footed one at that.
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The fortress Duomo, which is what Taormina’s main cathedral is considered, was built around the year 1400 on the ruins of a small mediaeval church. The Duomo has a Latin-cross plan with three aisles; there are six minor altars in the two side aisles. The nave is held up by six monolithic columns, three on each side, in pink Taormina marble and their capitals have a foil and fish-scale decoration. The ceiling of the nave has wooden beams supported by carved corbels reproducing Arabian scenes with a Gothic air. The very interesting main portal was rebuilt in 1636 and has a large Renaissance-inspired rosette sculpted on it.
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The exact construction date of this church, consecrated to St. Catherine of Alexandria in Egypt and located in the centre of the town opposite Palazzo Corvaja, is not known. It is thought to date back to 1663, the year engraved on the tablet of the ossuary found outside the church and now located in the wall beside the staircase which leads to the crypt. The entrance door to the sacresty is on the left of the portal; the sacresty is thought to have been built before the Church, i.e. during the 16th century. The facade of the sacresty is decorated with two small windows ornated with sea shells, the same decoration used on the architrave of its door. As it was built on the ruins of the Odeon, the remains of which can be seen behind the church, part of the orchestra and scene were destroyed. The scene of the Odeon is believed to have been created using the colonnade of a pre-existent Greek temple dedicated to Aphrodite.
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St. George’s Anglican Church was built in the early 1920s on the iniziative of a small group of English people who used to spend most of the year in Taormina. The church was designed by Sir Harry Triggs, an English architect and the son-in-law of Sir Edward Hill, who owned the land and was a real promoter of Taormina’s wonders. There are two aisles inside the church, which is divided by three round arches in Siracusa stone with two central columns as their base. The most beautiful part of the church is its large polichrome window behind the main altar picturing Jesus on the cross with St. Catherine on the left and St. George in his mediaeval armour on the right.
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The Church of St. Augustine, nowadays known as the town library, was built towards the end of the 15th century by the people of Taormina and is said to have been originally devoted to St. Sebastian who had worked a miracle and saved the town by keeping the plague away. The Augustinian fathers later arrived in Taormina, took over and enlarged the church, turning it into a monastery; it then lost its St. Sebastian title and was named after St. Augustine. The church, with its tie-beam cieling, has four niches on each side decorated with false Corinthian arches and columns. Originally decorated in late Sicilian Gothic style, the church was radically transformed around the year 1700 when the large ogival arch of the main portal was replaced by an architrave in Taormina stone. All that remains of the original facade is a small rosette and the top of the ogival arch of the old portal.
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Situated on the top of Mount Tauro, the Santuario Madonna della Rocca has perhaps one of the most beautiful and suggestive panoramas in Taormina. The shrine was built in 1640, taking advantage of the rock structure which forms a grotto there, and is still today one of the tourists’ favourite sight-seeing attractions.
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The church consecrated to the Patron of Taormina, St. Pancras, Bishop and martyr, was built on the ruins of a Greek temple dedicated to Jupiter Serapis. Parts of the temple’s cell can still be seen in the southern wall of the church. This church is in Barocco style and dates back to the second part of the 16th century. Its main portal is very interesting with jambs and architraves in Taormina stone; two Ionian columns decorate each side of the portal. Inside the church the intermediate floor with the organ can be seen above this portal. Two interesting oil paintings on canvas hang above the two minor altars on the right of the church, one picturing the torture of St. Nicone and the other the consecration of St. Maximus who was St. Pancras’ successor. Between the other two minor altars on the left of the church there is a fresco picturing Teofano Cerameo, Taormina’s last Bishop during the 11th century. A low railing in wrought iron separates the rest of the church from the main altar which is lavishly decorated with polichrome marble slabs and an Ionian column on each side, like those on the external portal. There are eight angels on the altar, four on each side, and a bust of God giving his blessing. A fresco picturing the torture of St. Pancras can be seen on the right of the main altar.
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We simply cannot say enough positive things about our wonderful wedding planners, and friends, Karen and Diego. Friendly, courteous and professional from start to finish we know that we could not have achieved the wedding of our dreams without their help...
by far the most amazing day of our lives with thanks to Karen and Diego. We first met Karen and Diego in July 2013 and have been dealing with them from Ireland on a regular basis throughout the whole year via emails, texts, phone calls, viber, skype etc. and even then no matter what we needed to know or any questions we had they came back with answers almost immediately...
Karen was instrumental in pulling together all the local vendors and she worked closely with our venue to help make our destination wedding absolutely spectacular. Karen organized a pre-wedding welcome dinner that really wowed our out-of-town guests. For our wedding the next day, Karen worked closely with Villa Sant'Andrea to coordinate all aspects of the day. Our wedding was an event all of our guests will remember for a long time, and we can't thank Karen enough for everything she did.
In June 2013 we enlisted Karen and Diego to help plan our wedding in Taormina. It was one of the best decisions we made as they are a fantastic team and nothing was ever too much trouble! During this time we stayed at the Lemon Tree Apartments and Karen spent a couple of days showing us around the many beautiful venues around Taormina. Karen really took the time to genuinely understand what was (and was not) important to us and provided us with expert advice. Over the next year she managed all of the suppliers and paperwork seamlessly.