Sicily; Gastro Tour Part 1: Taormina and Savoca

In October 2012 I set off to do a 2 week "Gastro Tour" Of Sicily. My friend and I were very much looking forward to travelling around the entire Island in our hire car, sampling some of the marvellous food and soaking up all the culture and spectacular scenery that Sicily has to offer. Our starting point was the historic town of Taormina, and our end point was to be the busy Capital City of Palermo. In between we would visit many other coastal and inland towns and discover a real taste of Sicily. We had originally been inspired by the BBC TV Programme "Sicily Unpacked" where Art Critic and Jounalist Andrew Graham-Dixon and award winning Chef, Giorgio Locatelli went on a hugely enjoyable, and frequently humorous journey around the island, discovering hidden treasures, amazing food, artistic triumphs and natural wonders. We would be visiting many of the places mentioned in the programme.

Taormina - Cultural Background & History

Our adventure began in Taormina, which is a small town on the east coast of Sicily, midway between Messina and Catania. It gets extremely busy ( and very Hot) in July and August and then virtually shuts down between November and Easter. The best time to visit is either side of the high season, April to May or September to October, when we were there.

Taormina has been a very popular tourist destination since the 19th century. Famous artists, writers and composers who first visited Taormina included Alexander Dumas, Guy de Maupassant, Luigi Pirandello, Gustav Klimt, Oscar Wilde, Richard Wagner, Johannes Brahms Oscar Wilde, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Nietzsche, and Richard Wagner.

In the late 19th century Taormina gained further prominence as the place where Wilhelm von Gloeden worked most of his life as a photographer of predominantly male nudes. Also credited for making Taormina a popular destination was Artist Otto Geleng, best known in his hometown of Berlin for his fine paintings, which he composed and painted in Italy but exhibited in Germany. The artist arrived in Sicily at the age of 20 in search of new subjects for his paintings. On his way through Taormina he was so enamoured by the landscape that he decided to stop for part of the winter. Geleng began to paint everything that Taormina offered: ruins, sea, mountains, none of which were familiar to the rest of Europe. When his paintings were later exhibited in Berlin and Paris, many critics accused Geleng of having an ‘unbridled imagination’. At that, Geleng challenged them all to go to Taormina with him, promising that he would pay everyone's expenses if he were not telling the truth.

During the early 20th century the town became a colony of expatriate artists, writers, and intellectuals. D. H. Lawrence stayed here at the Fontana Vecchia from 1920 to 1922, and wrote a number of his poems, novels, short stories, and essays, and a travel book, Sea and Sardinia. Thirty years later, from April 1950 through September 1951, the same villa was home to Truman Capote, who wrote of his stay in the essay "Fontana Vecchia." Charles Webster Leadbeater, the theosophical author, found out that Taormina had the right magnetics fields for Jiddu Krishnamurti to develop his talents, so the young Krishnamurti dwelt here from time to time. Halldór Laxness, the Icelandic author and Nobel Prize winner, worked here on the first modern Icelandic novel, Vefarinn mikli frá Kasmír.

By this time Taormina had become "a polite synonym for Sodom" as Harold Acton described it. Later, however, after the Second World War Acton was visiting Taormina with Evelyn Waugh and, coming upon a board advertising “Ye Olde English Teas” he sighed and commented that Taormina 'was now quite as boring as Bournemouth'. Between 1948 and 1999 the English writer Daphne Phelps lived in the Casa Cuseni designed and built by Robert Hawthorn Kitson in 1905, and entertained various friends including Bertrand Russell, Roald Dahl, and Tennessee Williams. In more recent times movie, theatre and music celebrities such as Ingmar Bergmann, Francis Ford Coppola, Marlene Dietrich, Greta Garbo, Federico Fellini, Cary Grant, Tyrone Power, Gregory Peck, Marcello Mastroianni, Elisabeth Taylor, and Woody Allen have spent pleasant and memorable holidays in Taormina.

Things to do and see

The present town occupies the same site as the ancient one, on a lofty hill which forms the last projecting point of the mountain ridge that extends along the coast from Cape Pelorus to this point. By far the most remarkable monument remaining at Taormina is the Ancient theatre, which is one of the most celebrated ruins in Sicily, on account both of its remarkable preservation and its beautiful location.

Besides the ancient Greek theatre, Taormina has many old churches and antique shops. Visitors can experience relaxing walks through the old town pedestrian areas, and elegant shopping along the famous “Corso Umberto”. The town offers a wide choice of shops where you can purchase typical Sicilian products such as the renowned hand made ceramics or elegant antiquities. There are also many delicatessen stores with plenty of local wines and other gourmet items and artisan craft shops selling fine leather, wrought iron goods and locally made wooden products.

if you want to travel further afield for sighsseing, Taormina is approximately a forty-five minute drive away from Europe's largest active volcano, Mount Etna. Just south of Taormina is the Isola Bella, a nature reserve; and further south, situated beside a bay, is the popular seaside resort of Giardini Naxos. Tours of the Capo Sant' Andrea grottos are also available.

Eating out

For those looking for traditional Sicilian cuisine, the town offers a wide choice of restaurants, trattorias, pizzerias, pastry-shops, bars, and cafes, to suit all tastes and budgets. In Taormina, you will have the opportunity to experience the genuine, true flavours of authentic sicilian cuis

Sicilian cuisine is deeply cosmopolitan, drawing from the culinary culture of all its invaders. The Arabs introduced aubergines and rice as well as a sweet and spicy cuisine. The French and Spanish refined the raw ingredients and the end result is a sumptuous Mediterranean stew in which pasta, tomatoes, vegetables, sea food, lemons extra virgin olive oil and various herbs predominate.

Primarily, Sicilian food mixes Italian staples – pasta, tomato souce and fresh vegetables – with local specialities and products of the traditional island industries: red chillies, tuna, swordfish and sardines, olives, pine nuts and capers all figure heavily.

The mild winter climate and long summer mean that fruit and vegetables are less seasonal here than in northern Europe and are also much bigger and more impressive.

In Sicily you may discover the true “cucina povera”, the pillar of the famous Mediterranean diet: pasta (fresh and dried) dressed with pure, extra virgin olive oil and fresh vegetables, lightly grilled fish, lamb or goat seasoned with herbs. A healthy, peasant food, unspoilt by cloying sauces: you will discover how healthfully you can eat.

Casa Grugno - With a walled-in terrace surrounded by plants, Taormina's most fashionable Gourmet restaurant specialises in sublime modern Sicilian cuisine. Multilingual waiters describe the origins of each ultra-fresh local ingredient as they serve dishes such as red mullet fillets with grilled fennel, orange and saffron or risotto with green peas, candied ginger and marjoram.

Wunderbar Caffè - A Taormina landmark since the dolce vita 1960s, this glamorous and achingly expensive cafe has served them all – Tennessee Williams, who liked to watch 'the squares go by', Greta Garbo, Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor. With tables spread over the vibrant piazza and white-jacketed waiters taking the orders, it is still very much the quintessential Taormina watering hole.

La Giara - A meal on the rooftop terrace at La Giara is a Taormina classic. This is one of the best-looking restaurants in town, with a smooth art deco interior and a piano bar worthy of Bogart in Casablanca . The food is modern but grounded in island tradition, with dishes such as risotto with wild herbs, and squid served in a Marsala reduction. Bookings essential.

Al Duomo - This highly acclaimed restaurant with a romantic terrace overlooking the cathedral puts a modern spin on Sicilian classics like pesce alla messinese (fish fillets with tomatoes, capers and olives) and agnello n'grassatu (lamb stew with potatoes). For a splurge, indulge in the chef's six-course tasting menu for €60.

Al Griglia - The La Griglia Restaurant in Corso Umberto in the heart of Taormina, is one of the most pleasant places to eat in Taormina. The cuisine is sea food and regional, with dishes based on fresh fish caught daily, together with the main produce of the island. Bread from Castelmola, salami from Sant’Angelo, Ragusa cheeses, provole and ricotta infornata, blue fish and a selection of sardines and lobsters are all worth trying. The La Griglia restaurant also has an excellent selection of wines as well as grappas, dessert and sweet wines.

Accomodation

Accomodation in Taormina ranges from small family run guest houses to traditional, romantic B. & B. Hotels, Vacation Rentals and large modern expensive Hotels and Condominiums.

We stayed at the spectacular Hotel Monte Tauro which is situated very near to the town center and the Greek-Roman Theatre. The Monte Tauro Hotel is built into the rock on the side of the cliffs, and overlooks the sea with a view that spans from the Gulf of Naxos to Etna. Originally built in the 1970’s in a futuristic style, it still has a character of sophisticated modernity and refine

The Monte Tauro Hotel has a large panoramic swimming pool, a restaurant with a view of the Gulf of Naxos, and a grill bar. There are also shuttle boats to the most beautiful beaches in the area.

Our room was very spacious and comfortable, with a Jacuzzi bath and separate shower. The large balcony with a stunning view of the sea was furbished with teak table, chairs and a chaise longue, so we could relax and enjoy provate breakfast in the morning or a glass of wine late in the evening while enjoying the marvellous view over the Taormina bay.

Savoca & The Godfather Connection

There are many good reasons for making the journey by car, from Taormina to Savoca. Apart from the peaceful atmosphere and the stunning views over the sea from the piazza, the Godfather connection makes Savoca a tourist attraction which is off the beaten track.

The village of Savoca was chosen to stand in for the less-photogenic Corleone: also off-limits because the real Mafia were none to keen on Coppola's project being filmed there. When Michael Corlene (Al Pacino) and his two companions are walking in the hills, they see this picturesque village in the distance - whichis actually nearby Forza d' Agrò - and one them remarks "Corleone". But later, after Michael's wedding, they do walk down from the church in Savoca to Vitelli's Bar on the piazza for the reception. The table where Michael Corleone sat and asked the padrone for the hand of his delightful daughter Apollonia is still there, and you too can sit at it to sample the famous granita di limone.

The granita machine which takes up two thirds of the bar is a much coveted piece of equipment dating approximately from the 1930s; it is a fridge, sink and granita machine all rolled into one. When he was in Savoca to make The Godfather, Francis Ford Coppola tried to buy it but the owner refused to sell it. It is an essential a part of the Bar Vitelli as is the 1950s wireless, the old cane sofa with a rug flung over it and the groceries that have been lining the shelves since they were put there very nearly twenty years ago.'

The new pavement on the road up from the piazza past the church to the castle was a gift to the people of Savoca from the fim's production team, but the buildings it passes 'have been for years slipping down the hill among the wild flowers.' There are some framed faded sepia pictures from the Godfather era in the Bar Vitelli, one of Marlon Brando included, although he wasn't involved in any of the shooting in Sicily.

There is also a small folk musuem which gives you a fascinating glimpse into rural Sicillian life over the centuries and which also has a selection of memorabillia and camera equipment left behind from the filming of The Godfather. There is also a traditional bedroom, dressed up to look as if it is Apollonia's room on the morning of her wedding to Michael Corlene, with a similar white dress hanging in the wardrobe.

Whilst here, you must visit The Convent of the Frati Minori Cappuccini, which you will have passed on the road up to the town - or more precisely, the Catacomb which lies beneath. You pay a small sum to the custodian, and then pass through a trapdoor, down a rickety wooden ladder into the crypt. Unless you've seen the similar sight at the Cappuccini in Palermo, nothing can prepare you for what you are about to see. Around the wall in glass cases or coffins are the corpses of Savoca's worthies, dating from the 17th and 18th centuries. Most are in a standing posture, and still wearing the appropriate dress for their professions in life. Few horror films could compare with the grisly reality of sharing a crypt with 35 or so decayed corpses, some 300 years old. The fact that some have been daubed with green paint by vandals only adds to the effect. Having an ancestor here is a source of great local pride.

WATCH THE 1ST PART OF OUR VIDEO BLOG ON SICILY HERE - TAORMINA TO SAVOCA