The Greeks chose the spot in the third century BC, the Romans rebuilt it in brick, but the true architect is the landscape: the stage of Taormina's Ancient Theatre frames smoking Etna and the bay of Naxos in a single glance no painted backdrop has ever matched. It is eastern Sicily's emblem and the island's second-largest ancient theatre after Syracuse.
What to see
The cavea carved into the hillside, the stage ruins with brick niches framing the volcano, the upper walkways where the view runs from Calabria down the Ionian coast. In summer the theatre lives its second life: concerts, opera and festivals under the stars, as two thousand years ago.
Visiting
An hour serves the monument; book online in the hot months, when entrance queues stretch. First-morning light is cleanest on Etna, which tends to veil itself in thermal haze as the day advances.
Getting there
The theatre crowns Corso Umberto, five minutes' walk from Porta Messina. Taormina is reached by bus or taxi from Taormina-Giardini station, or by cable car from Mazzarò for those climbing from the sea.
Our editors' tip
If anything is on the summer bill, buy the ticket without hesitating: Etna glowing red behind the stage as evening falls beats any programme. Otherwise, be at the gates at opening: for twenty minutes the theatre is nearly yours, and the crowd-free photograph exists only at that hour.