Taormina Churches and Museums, Messina

The most charming churches in Taormina: Gothic style with Arabic influence:

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.

Church of San Pancrazio

The church dedicated to the 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.

The most interesting museums in Taormina to learn about the cultural traditions of 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 kept in the house of the ancient theater’s guardian. There are not many archaeological findings 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 16th to the 20th century. The exhibits included wooden sculptures, ceramics, Sicilian carts, and posters of puppet shows.