Cattedrale di Taormina, Taormina

Cattedrale di Taormina, Taormina

The Cathedral of Taormina, a minor basilica dedicated to St. Nicholas of Bari, was built in the 13th century on the ruins of a previous church.

The Cathedral of Taormina, a minor basilica dedicated to St. Nicholas of Bari, was built in the 13th century on the ruins of a previous church. Renovated in the 15th, 16th and 18th centuries, the imposing medieval edifice made from large stone blocks has a simple architecture resembling a Romanesque fort with battlements. The façade has a portal flanked by fluted Corinthian columns, and a Renaissance style rose window made from Siracusa stone. The belfry with 18th century bells is at the back. Laid out as a Latin cross with 3 naves and 3 apses, the interiors have a Gothic ceiling of wooden beams with Arab motifs. The central nave is lined with 6 monolithic pink marble columns, flanked by 6 side altars with paintings by artists such as Messina Giuffre and a polyptich by Antonello de Saliba.

The Piazza Duomo on which the Cathedral stands has an elegant Baroque marble fountain from 1635, topped by a coat-of-arms featuring a female centaur with a crown, holding a scepter in her right hand and an orb in the other.