Taormina Events, Messina

All the artistic and cultural events in Taormina take place in the summer, when the city is at its best and there are crowds of tourists. For this reason, if you a planning a trip to this area between June and September, we strongly advise you to book your hotel in Taormina well in advance.

Taormina Arte – June/July/August

It is one of the most famous events in Sicily. A Festival dedicated to music, from symphonies to rock, dance and theater during which famous artists from all over the world come to perform in the wonderful, beautiful setting of the Ancient Theater. One section of the Festival over the years has become so popular that it has become an event in itself: the Taormina Film Festival.

Taormina Film Festival – June

After the International Film Festival in Venice, this is the oldest film festival in Italy. World-famous guests, film directors, script-writers, composers from Hollywood and independent ones too all come to the festival, whether they are busy or not. The setting is the amazing Ancient Theater of Taormina. At the end of the Festival, that usually lasts a week, there is the awards ceremony, during which the Nastri d’Argento for Italian cinema are handed out, a prestigious award that is much sought after by our national artists. In addition to the competitions, there are also retrospective sessions and side-sections with a specific theme.

Madonna della Rocca – September

The statue of the Madonna della Rocca is housed in a sanctuary between Taormina and Castelmola. In the second weekend of September, a religious procession carries the statue from the sanctuary to the town where a large banquet is organized, to eat “carne infornata”: lamb cooked with spices and herbs in a wood-fire oven.

Other festivals and fairs that are regular events in Taormina are the Sagra del Costume e del Carretto Siciliani – Traditional Costume and Sicilian Cart Fair (May), the Festa Patronale di San Pancrazio – San Pancrazio Patron Saint Festival (once every four years in July) and Carnival (February).