Taormina (UK: /ˌtɑːɔːrˈmiːnə/ TAH-or-MEE-nə, US: /-nɑː/ -nah, also /taʊərˈ-/, Italian: [ta.orˈmiːna]; Sicilian: Taurmina) is a comune (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Messina, on the east coast of the island of Sicily, Italy. Taormina has been a tourist destination since the 19th century. Its beaches on the Ionian Sea, including that of Isola Bella, are accessible via an aerial tramway built in 1992, and via highways from Messina in the north and Catania in the south.
>>>PUT SHARE BUTTONS HERE<<<
👉 Taormina in the context of First Servile War
The First Servile War of 135–132 BC (also known as the First Sicilian Slave War) was a slave rebellion against the Roman Republic, which took place in Sicily. The revolt started in 135 when Eunus, a slave from Syria who claimed to be a prophet, captured the city of Enna in the middle of the island with 400 fellow slaves. Soon after, Cleon, a Cilician slave, stormed the city of Agrigentum on the southern coast, slaughtered the population, and then joined Eunus' army and became his military commander. Eunus even proclaimed himself king, under the name of Antiochus, after the Seleucid emperors of his native Syria.
The former slaves then moved to the eastern coast and took control of Catana and Tauromenium. Their exploit triggered several minor revolts in Italy and as far as Delos in the Aegean Sea. Eunus and Cleon were able to repel several Roman attempts to quell the rebellion until an army commanded by consul Publius Rupilius arrived in Sicily in 134 and besieged the cities controlled by the slaves. The revolt ended in 132 with the fall of Enna and Tauromenium.
In this Dossier
Taormina in the context of Muslim conquest of Sicily
The Arab Muslim conquest of Sicily began in June 827 and lasted until 902, when the last major Byzantine stronghold on the island, Taormina, fell. Isolated fortresses remained in Byzantine hands until 965, but the island was henceforth under Arab Muslim rule until conquered in turn by the Normans in the 11th century.
Although Sicily had been raided by the Muslim Arabs since the mid-7th century, these raids did not threaten Byzantine control over the island, which remained a largely peaceful backwater. The opportunity for the Aghlabid emirs of Ifriqiya (present-day Tunisia) came in 827, when the commander of the island's fleet, Euphemius, rose in revolt against the Byzantine Emperor Michael II. Defeated by loyalist forces and driven from the island, Euphemius sought the aid of the Aghlabids, an Arab dynasty. The latter regarded this as an opportunity for expansion and for diverting the energies of their own fractious military establishment and alleviating the criticism of the Islamic scholars by championing jihad, and dispatched an army to aid him. Following the Arab landing on the island, Euphemius was quickly sidelined. An initial assault on the island's capital, Syracuse, failed, but the Muslims were able to weather the subsequent Byzantine counter-attack and hold on to a few fortresses. With the aid of reinforcements from Ifriqiya and Umayyad al-Andalus, in 831 they took Palermo, which became the capital of the new Arab-Muslim province.
Taormina in the context of Isola Bella (Sicily)
Isola Bella (Sicilian: Ìsula Bedda) is a small island near Taormina, Sicily, southern Italy. Also known as the Pearl of the Ionian Sea, it is located within a small bay on the Ionian Sea; it was a private property, for a time owned by Florence Trevelyan, until 1990, when it was bought by the Region of Sicily, being turned into a nature reserve, administered by the Italian branch of the World Wide Fund for Nature. There is a narrow path that often connects the island to the mainland beach. The island is surrounded by sea grottos and has a small and rather rocky beach which is a popular destination for sunbathers.
Taormina in the context of Castiglione di Sicilia
Castiglione di Sicilia (Sicilian: Castigghiuni di Sicilia) is a comune (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Catania in Sicily, southern Italy. It is one of I Borghi più belli d'Italia ("The most beautiful villages of Italy").
Castiglione di Sicilia lies about 160 kilometres (99 mi) east of Palermo and about 40 kilometres (25 mi) north of Catania. It borders the following municipalities: Adrano, Belpasso, Biancavilla, Bronte, Calatabiano, Francavilla di Sicilia, Gaggi, Graniti, Linguaglossa, Maletto, Malvagna, Mojo Alcantara, Motta Camastra, Nicolosi, Piedimonte Etneo, Randazzo, Roccella Valdemone, Sant'Alfio, Taormina, Zafferana Etnea.
Taormina in the context of Florence Trevelyan
Florence Trevelyan (1852–1907) of Taormina, Sicily, was an English gardener, builder of follies and pioneering wildlife conservationist.