To park there are the appropriate blue striped stalls. Try to get as close as possible to Piazza Giovanni XXIII (1) from which you will start your tour. The square offers a unique panoramic viewpoint, setting Taormina together with Etna behind. On the square there is the church of S. Caterina or S. Francesco (2) a historic building built in a spartan manner according to the dictates of the Franciscan order. Inside there is the tabernacle, dating back to 600, where the statue of St. Catherine is located. After passing the wide Piano (3), where it is possible to park, you will arrive at the Duomo built in 1400 and renovated first in 1648 and then in 1693, undergoing the Baroque stylistic influences typical of those times. The transept and apse are those of the original plant of the fifteenth century. Leaving the church, we continue along the small streets of the town to reach one of the oldest quarters with a medieval layout, the Quartarello (5). You will see the small houses huddled together like a three-dimensional puzzle where time seems to have stopped the day they were abandoned.
Through the small alleys you will arrive in Via dei Normanni, a stone staircase that will lead you to the Norman Castle (6) an ancient fortress dating back to the 11th century built by the Great Count Ruggero. His plant had been built to defend the city, therefore housing for soldiers, warehouses and the Church of the Crucifix. Today only the ruins remain and the site is closed to the public. Going down towards the village we will pass by the Via Belvedere which offers a panoramic walk on the coast that goes from S. Alessio to Messina. At the end of Via Belvedere, we will enter the village again to reach the Triad stairway, continuing along via S. Agostino, to admire the Durazzesco arch which leads to a large square overlooking the Chiesa della SS. Trinity (7). With a single nave, it was built in 1576. The interior contains 4 wooden altars and some paintings on the walls. Before leaving, it is worth stopping outside the town at the Villa Comunale (8) where there are routes that will take you to the top of the park from which you can take beautiful panoramic photos immersed in nature.
