History of Taormina
Taormina dates to around 396 BC after
After the fall of the
Ancient Tauromenion
The area around Taormina was inhabited by the Sicels even before the Greeks arrived on the Sicilian coast in 734 BC to found Naxos in Magna Graecia. After the destruction of nearby Naxos in 403 BC and the foundation of a new settlement on Mount Taurus, in 358 BC Andromachus collected the Naxian exiles together again from all parts of the island and established them at Tauromenium which became the successor of the ancient Naxos.[2]
The new settlement seems to have risen rapidly to prosperity, and was apparently already a considerable town at the time of
Little is recorded about Tauromenium for some time after this. It is probable that it passed under the authority of
Tauromenium continued to form a part of the kingdom of Syracuse until the death of Hieron, and that it only passed under the government of Rome when the whole island of Sicily was reduced to a Roman province.
During the Second Punic War it would appear from a hint in Appian[9] that it submitted to Marcellus on favourable terms and it is probable that it then obtained the peculiarly favoured position it enjoyed under the Roman dominion. Tauromenium was one of the three cities in Sicily which enjoyed the privileges of a civitas foederata or allied city, thus retaining a nominal independence, and was not even subject, like Messina, to the obligation of furnishing ships of war when called upon.[10] The city, however, suffered severe calamities during the Servile War in Sicily (134–132 BC), having fallen into the hands of the insurgent slaves, who, on account of the great strength of its position, made it one of their chief posts and were able for a long time to defy the arms of the consul Publius Rupilius. They held out until they were reduced to the most fearful extremities by famine, when the citadel was at length betrayed into the hands of the consul by one of their leaders named Sarapion, and the whole of the survivors put to the sword.[11]
Tauromenium again played a conspicuous part during the Sicilian wars of
Middle Ages
After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, Taormina continued to rank as one of the more important towns of Sicily, and because of the strength of its position was one of the last places that was retained by the
After the fall of the Normans and of their German (imperial) heirs, the
In 1675 it was besieged by the French, who had occupied Messina. The troops sacked the town destroying the top part of the Middle Tower that divides Taormina between the ancient Greco-Roman section and the later medieval southern zone.
Modern age
Beginnings of tourism
Under the
Travellers, usually well-off northern European men on a sort of Grand Tour, brought Taormina, and especially the ruins of the Ancient Greek theatre, to international attention. One of the first was Patrick Brydone, who wrote A Tour through Sicily and Malta, in a Series of Letters to William Beckford, Esq., of Somerly in Suffolk, published in 1773. Soon afterwards Henry Swinburne visited; his Travels in the two Sicilies. 1777-1780 was published in 1783. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe visited in 1786, but did not publish Italian Journey until 1816.
Following the
Gay heyday
It was in 1878 that Geleng's countryman
Many European wanderers appreciated the charms of the town. Richard Wagner and his wife Cosima spent the 1881-1882 winter and early spring in Sicily, and on a day trip to Taormina, the composer expressed the wish that "we should have fled there in 1858 and spared ourselves many torments. The children could have lived on prickly pears!"[24]
The wealthy and well connected Florence Trevelyan settled at Taormina in 1884, staying first at the famous Hotel Timeo.[25][26] She loved birds (and dogs, but was not fond of cats) and purchased Isola Bella, now a nature reserve, to protect the sea bird habitat. In 1890 she married Salvatore Cacciola, a doctor and for many years mayor of Taormina.[27] She built as her marital residence a substantial villa on Via Teatro Greco,[28] now known as Palazzo Acrosso-Papale.[29] She bought hillside land and created an urban pleasure garden, with shade and views,[30] which after her death became a public municipal park.[31][32]
In December 1897, after leaving prison and leaving England forever, Oscar Wilde was planning to winter in Naples with his lover Lord Alfred Douglas; the couple made a short visit to Capri, but their presence proved too scandalous for even that liberal island, so "Bosie" headed back to England and Wilde made his way to Taormina. He spent much of his time at the studio of von Gloeden.[33] A few years before, the first edition of The Studio: An Illustrated Magazine of Fine and Applied Art had featured the nudes of von Gloeden next to Aubrey Beardsley's treatment of Wilde's Salome:[34] "there was nothing undeliberate or coincidental about Wilde's choice of Taormina as his destination."[33]
In 1905, the English artist
The Polish composer Karol Szymanowski was deeply affected by his time in Taormina before the war. Arthur Rubinstein reported the difference in Syzmanowski: "Karol had changed; I had already begun to be aware of it before the war when a wealthy friend and admirer of his invited him twice to visit Sicily. After his return he raved about Sicily, especially Taormina. 'There,' he said, 'I saw a few young men bathing who could be models for Antinous. I couldn't take my eyes off them.' Now he was a confirmed homosexual. He told me all this with burning eyes."[41] Syzmanowski completed the manuscript of a two-volume novel, Efebos, which took homosexuality as its subject.[42][43] ("Efebos" or ephebos means the Greek term for a male adolescent.)
Edwardian resort
Just after the turn of the century,
During the early 20th century, the town became a colony of expatriate artists, writers and intellectuals. Charles Webster Leadbeater, the theosophical author, found out that Taormina had the right magnetic fields for Jiddu Krishnamurti to develop his talents, so the young Krishnamurti spent part of 1912 in the city.[45]
After World War I
Taormina became "high on the list of places to be visited by homosexual northerners", according to Gregory Woods, Chair in Gay and Lesbian Studies. Capri had a similar reputation, as tolerant of gay men and artists. Jacques d'Adelswärd-Fersen, who settled in Capri and built Villa Lysis, visited Gloeden in 1923, bringing with him his schoolboy lover/secretary.[46]
By this time Taormina had become "a polite synonym for Sodom", as Harold Acton described it.
World War II
Taormina was the headquarters of the German Wehrmacht Command in Sicily during World War II. On 9 July 1943, the feast of the patron saint Pancrazio, two separate Allied bombardments killed over 100 civilians and caused considerable destruction in parts of the southern end around Porta Catania. The German High Command was holding a meeting in the San Domenico hotel and although it was hit by bombs and sustained damage, only Saint Agnes's church within the hotel was completely destroyed. The villa of Wilhelm Von Gloeden which fronted the hotel was razed to the ground.
A plaque memorial to the people who lost their lives in the raids is located in the square outside Porta Catania.
The city was liberated by British troops of 50th Northumbrian division on 15 August 1943.
Post war
After the war, Acton was visiting Taormina with
Kitson's elaborately decorated house, Casa Cuseni, and its extensive gardens, were inherited by his niece
From April 1950 through September 1951, the Fontana Vecchia was home to Truman Capote, who wrote of his stay in the essay of that name. Jean Cocteau and Jean Marais visited the place.[50] Sex researchers Alfred Kinsey and his wife Clara McMillen were taken by Kenneth Anger to interview one of Gloeden's models, now an old man, in 1955.[21] Even when Taormina was thoroughly discovered, Carlo Levi judged it "one of the most renowned places on earth, and none of the trappings of its fame are sufficient to ruin it".[21]
The 43rd G7 summit was held in the town on 26–27 May 2017.
References
- ^ Diodoros xiv.58, 59
- ^ Diodorus xvi.7
- ^ Diod. xvi. 68; Plut. Timol. 10.
- ^ Diod. l. c.; Plut. l. c.
- ^ Marcellin. Vit. Thucyd. § 27.
- ^ Diod. xxii. Exc. H. p. 495.
- ^ Diod. l. c. pp. 495, 496.
- ^ Diod. xxiii. p. 502.
- ^ Sic. 5
- ^ Cic. Verr. ii. 6. 6, iii. 6, v. 19.
- ^ Diod. xxxiv. Exc. Phot. p. 528; Oros. v. 9.
- Dion Cass.xlix. 5.
- ^ Diod, xvi. 7.
- ^ Strab. vi. pp. 267, 268.
- ^ Plin. iii. 8. s. 14; Ptol. iii. 4. § 9
- ^ Plin. xiv. 6. s. 8
- ^ Athen. v. p. 207.
- ^ Juv. v. 93.
- ISBN 978-0-521-25551-6.
At the end of the twelfth century ... While in Apulia Greeks were in a majority – and indeed present in any numbers at all – only in the Salento peninsula in the extreme south, at the time of the conquest they had an overwhelming preponderance in Lucaina and central and southern Calabria, as well as comprising anything up to a third of the population of Sicily, concentrated especially in the north-east of the island, the Val Demone.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-19-964649-4. Retrieved 11 July 2021.
- ^ ISBN 978-0300218039.)
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link - ^ ISBN 9780714644745.
- ISBN 978-0300218039.)
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link - ^ Skramstad, Per-Erik. "Richard Wagner in Sicily 1881–1882". Wagneropera.net.
2 April 1882
- ^ Boswell, David M. (1994). The Kitsons and the Arts: A Leading Family in Sicily and the West Riding (PDF) (Thesis). The University of York. p. 107. Retrieved July 13, 2021.
- ^ "An English Lady and her Garden...in Taormina". Italian Notebook. April 2, 2014. Archived from the original on April 7, 2014. Retrieved July 13, 2021.
- ^ Newcastle Courant newspaper, August 2, 1890
- ^ National Probate Index, Probate Registry, https://probatesearch.service.gov.uk. CACCIOLA Salvatore of 27 and 29 Via Teatro Greco Taormina Sicily Italy died 17 November 1926 at Taormina Probate (limited to settled land) London 12 July [1927] to Charles Philips Trevelyan M.P. and John James Withers solicitor. Effects £6683. (quoted in [1])
- ^ Sara Mostaccio; The house of "Doctor Papale, Medical Surgeon", is today no.41, as marked by a marble sign; now apparently the home of Dino Papale, lawyer, prominent citizen and supporter of Donald Trump [2][3]
- ^ "Florence Trevelyan". Sicily Art Experience. Retrieved July 13, 2021.
- ^ Esproprio di pubblica utilità. Gazzetta Ufficiale del regno d'Italia del 23 marzo 1923
- ^ The Colonna Park and Municipal Gardens; additional land was given to the town by Dr. Cacciola
- ^ ISBN 978-0674737945.)
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link - ISBN 3823803654.)
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link - ^ Bradford, Eveleigh. "Robert Hawthorn Kitson (1873-1947) Artist, Patron, Exile". The Historical Society for Leeds and District. Retrieved 6 October 2017.
- ^ Boswell, David M (28 January 2006). "Obituary: Daphne Phelps". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 October 2017.
- ^ RIBA archive drawings
- ^ MacCarthy, Fiona. The Simple Life: C.R. Ashbee in the Cotswolds. University of California Press, 1981. Most of chapter 7, "The death of Conradin"
- ^ MacCarthy, Fiona. The Simple Life: C.R. Ashbee in the Cotswolds. University of California Press, 1981. p 161
- ^ Under the Volcano: Revolution in a Sicilian Town By Lucy Riall, p.169
- ^ Arthur Rubinstein, My Many Years (London, 1980), 103
- ^ Stephen Downes, "Eros and Paneuropeanism", in Harry White and Michael Murphy, eds., Musical Constructions of Nationalism: Essays on the History and Ideology of European Musical Cultute, 1800-1945 (Cork University Press, 2001), 51-71, esp. 52, 66-7
- ^ The manuscript was lost in a fire in September 1939 during the siege of Warsaw. The only part that survives is the central chapter, "The Symposium", which Szymanowski translated into Russian and gave as a gift to Boris Kochno, who became his love interest when they met in the spring of 1919. Szymanowski wrote that his novel depicts "the history of a gradual liberation from various types of traditional, inherited slavery by an increasingly clear mirage of true freedom of the soul".
- ^ "History". Hotel Villa Schuler. Retrieved 11 July 2021.
- ^ Ross, Joseph E. Krishnamurti The Taormina Seclusion 1912.
- ^ ISBN 978-0300218039.)
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link - ^ Kress, Helga. "Laxness, Halldór (Halldór Guðjónsson) (23 April 1902 - 8 February 1998) | Encyclopedia.com". www.encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 11 July 2021.
- ISBN 9781862273269.
- ISBN 1860496482.
- ISBN 978-1-317-97367-6.