Often referred to as the “Pearl of the Ionian,” Taormina has long occupied a distinctive place in the imagination of international travellers. Since the nineteenth century, when it became an essential stop on the Grand Tour, the town has attracted writers, artists, and European aristocracy in search of beauty, inspiration, and refined leisure. Figures such as Oscar Wilde, D. H. Lawrence, and later Elizabeth Taylor and Greta Garbo, found in Taormina a discreet retreat overlooking the Ionian Sea, suspended between Mount Etna and the Mediterranean.
