The ancient name of the city is Tauromènion (by the Monte Tauro).
About its foundation we haven't enough news, but Diodoro Siculo (an historian lived in I sec) the city was founded in 396 Before Christ.
Taormina is so beautifully located that it would not need great sights to attract visitors. The fact that it does have them, makes it an absolute must.
Perched on a rocky promonitory at the foot of the Mount Etna and looking out over the azure blue mediterranean the town has attracted visitors over the centuries. Main attraction are the remains of the greek city that was located at about the same spot as the present day town.
The most ancient and main monument (well kept) of Taormina is the theatre. It was built in a wonderful panoramic place from which you can see the Ionian Sea and Mount Etna. On some steps the name of Filistide is engraved, she was Ierone the second's wife the tyrant of Syracuse, who probably built the theatre in the third century before Christ. The theatre was restored in the Roman age and more exactly in the second century A.D.
For its dimensions the theatre of Taormina is the second of Sicily following the one of Syracuse.
The theatre is actually the place for cultural heppenings prizes of international scale concerts and dance shows that draw visitors from all over the world.
There is also another important monument: Naumachia. It is a great building, and it is formed by a wall of brick, long 122 metres and high 5 metres.
Naumachia means "sea battle", although the monument wasn't an aquatic circus, but a great nymphaeum.
