Taormina is a resort town, primarily, with the added (Italian) benefit of having evidence of a rich history. It’s a really beautiful place: the panoramic views from Piazza Aprile IX of the Bay of Naxos and smoking Mt. Etna are truly breathtaking and inspiring. The best view in Taormina, and definitely one of the most impressive on the island, is of the same vista from the Teatro Greco.
Il Teatro Greco was constructed by the Greeks in the 3rd century BCE and renovated by the Romans in the 1st and 2nd centuries ACE. The plan, then, is Greek but the style is Roman. It’s impossible to tell from the photo, but the amphitheatre is carved into the side of a hill in Taormina, impressive in itself, and would have risen above the plateau a couple of stories. Any seat in the house offers an incredible view and the site demands a high quality of performance, given the competition from a looming Etna and the endless water below.
Il Teatro Greco
The site is important not just for its beauty but also because of its historical context. The best Greek plays were preformed here, to educate the public, and Plato developed his theory of forms which would be later found in his Timaeus, a work titled after the Sicilian historian of the same name.
When I told Derek about Plato being so inspired, he mentioned that the information really put things in perspective. I think that the real significance in a site like Il Teatro Greco in Taormina is in its context: historical and contemporary. Today’s tourists can see almost the same sight (given less real estate development) that inspired Plato. Whether one agrees with, appreciates, follows Plato or not, his influence and pervasiveness in Western culture is undeniable. His actively philosophical presence, and the subject of his inspiration, in Sicily does add weight and perspective to Taormina and to the island. In linking Sicily with one of the world’s most canonized thinkers we can better understand the power of the island in its time, and the necessity to appreciate it as a muse and real contributor to history and Western thought.
After some time at the amphitheatre we made our way to lunch and decided to rent a car to see the Valley of the Temples in Agrigento.
Miranda
