Taormina Guide Italy

Churches and Museums

Churches and Museums

• Duomo-Cathedral (Church of San Nicola) – this was built around 1400 on the ruins of an ancient church. The Gothic style makes the Cathedral looks similar to a fortress. The structure is a Latin cross with a nave and two aisles. The ceiling has wooden beams that are carved in Arabic style.
• Church of San Pancrazio – This church stands on the ruins of a Greek temple. The Church of San Pancrazio (patron saint of Taormina) was built around the middle of the sixteenth century. The interior is filled with multi-colored marble and Taormina stone, and contains a fantastic fresco depicting the martyrdom of San Pancrazio. This beautiful church is often closed to the public.
  Museums
  

The most interesting museums to visit to learn about the cultural traditions that are linked to this area:

• Regional Archaeological Museum – this museum is housed in the Badia Vecchia, and contains some archaeological findings that were found extremely recently, between 1984 and 1998. The exhibition route is divided between two floors and includes objects such as sculptures, ceramics, artifacts from the Ancient Theater, earthenware, an alabaster urn and a Byzantine sword found on the sea bed near Isola Bella.
• Antiquarium – This is a small exhibition area kept in the house of the ancient theater’s custodian. There are not many archaeological findings kept in the Antiquarium as most of the objects found during the digs were transferred to museums in Naples, Syracuse and Messina. Some of the most notable objects are some marble statue bases with ancient inscriptions, carved pillars and a marble sarcophagus.
• Sicilian Museum of art and folk traditions – Housed in Palazzo Corvaja, this Museum exhibits some figurative art and some examples of Sicilian craftsmen’s art created in the period from the 16^th to the 20^th century. The exhibits included wooden sculptures, ceramics, Sicilian carts, and posters of puppet shows.

Go to directories of the Web Sites

• Art & Culture in Taormina