Donald Trump, Emmanuel Macron and other G7 leaders meet in Taormina this week. How is the already tourist-choked town preparing – and can it cope?

Tucked away on a natural terrace between rocks and water in Sicily’s east coast, the historic town of Taormina is gaining international prestige as it prepares for an upcoming global event.



The small coastal town, which sits on a hill 206 metres above sea level overlooking Mount Etna, has always attracted visitors. It was once described by Ernest Hemingway as being so pretty “it hurts to look” at it. Celebrities such as Ava Gardner and celebrated writers like DH Lawrence were drawn to Taormina and its ancient ruins – the theatre overlooking the sea dates back to the third century BC. Now, it’s such a mass-market tourist destination that the town has almost lost its original charm.

But from 26-27 May Taormina will be welcoming a slightly different market. Sicily’s “pearl of the Ionian Sea” is hosting the 2017 G7 summit, bringing in world leaders including Donald Trump and the new French president Emmanuel Macron. Former Italian prime minister Matteo Renzi chose this town over the preferred Florence in order to relaunch Sicily, known for high unemployment rates and brain drain.

Taormina’s geographical position in the Mediterranean and Sicily’s crucial role in Italy’s approach to migrants is particularly symbolic as the refugee crisis will be one of the topics on this year’s G7 agenda. And indeed, its natural and archeological beauties make it the perfect scene to promote Italy’s image abroad.

Taormina in numbers …

10,960 residents in the town

392 BC – the date when people first settled in Taormina

6,000 lodgings for for tourists

12 five-star luxury hotels



1.1 million tourists overall in 2016

… and pictures

Local photographer Andrea Strazzeri was the first person to take a drone picture of Taormina’s ancient Greek theatre covered in snow last winter. “Through my pictures, I want people who’ve never visited Taormina feel the same emotions I feel whenever I look around my city,” Strazzeri says.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Andrea Strazzeri’s photograph of Taormina’s theatre using a drone. Photograph: Andrea Strazzeri

History in 100 words

Taormina was originally founded by the Sicels, before absorbing residents from the nearby Greek city of Naxos in the 4th century BC. As a Magna Graecia colony, the city lived a long period of prosperity before being conquered by the Romans. Briefly a Byzantine province, it was the last Sicilian fortress to fall under the Islamic empire. After the Arab conquest came the French, who restored Christianity. Following decades of turmoil during the Middle Ages and a slow economic decline under Spanish domination, Taormina was rediscovered as a Grand Tour destination for Romantic age writers in the 19th century.

Taormina in sound and vision

Taormina is famous for hosting multiple music and film festivals throughout the year. Many international artists have performed inside Taormina’s Greek theatre during the summer, from Elton John to Duran Duran.

Since 1983, Taormina Arte has been organising yearly arts events. Among those, the most famous is the Taormina Film Festival. For 20 years it also hosted the David di Donatello Award, the Italian version of the Academy Awards.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Santana’s 2011 concert in Taormina.

What’s everyone talking about?

Taormina’s urban inadequacy to host such a big event as the G7 has been a national concern since the beginning of the year. Its narrow and bendy alleys, typical of a southern Italian village, are driving security crazy – especially Donald Trump’s team – as the tight streets offer few escape options.

According to Italian newspaper La Repubblica, the American secret service has asked the city to widen the street from the heliport to the G7 meeting venue Hotel San Domenico, which is deemed too small for Trump’s motorcade. Local authorities are rushing to redo the street to satisfy their requirements, but it will be impossible to widen it enough.

Urban improvements ahead of the global meeting started far too late, according to Italian media and some locals. “They’ve been working day and night to improve streets for security, rushing toward the ending time and causing traffic and problems,” says Gerhard Schuler, owner of Villa Schuler, one of Taormina’s first hotels founded in 1905. He says many people agree that hosting G7 was a noble but risky idea, as Sicily’s local administration was not ready to embrace such a huge endeavour. Even the mayor, Eligio Giardina, was worried the G7 could turn into a global fiasco and give Taormina a bad image.

What’s next for the city?

Last March, Taormina’s city administration demanded €4.8m from the tourism proceeds of the Greek theatre – officially part of the bigger archeological park complex of Naxos – to the regional administration. The City of Taormina claims it hasn’t received that due amount, and intends to bring the case to court, or they’ll create their own independent archeological park once the G7 summit is over, the mayor announced.

“After the G7, Taormina will have time to breathe and work on providing clean and curated archeological sites for everyday tourists, and not just in emergency situations like the G7,” says Mariarita Sgarlata, adjunct professor of Christian and Medieval archeology at the University of Catania. “The next step will be starting the application process to become a Unesco World Heritage Site – a status that had been denied in 2016, but can still be reconsidered in case of reapplication – which could improve Taormina’s international prestige,” Sgarlata adds.

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With the regional elections scheduled for next November, and Taormina’s local elections in 2018, the archeological site’s management could become an important point for public policy debate.

Close zoom

Giulio Greco’s Instagram account helps both locals and foreigners discover the hidden beauties of this Mediterranean pearl. TaorminaToday, a local online newspaper, is the best source to learn about what’s happening in town. Otherwise, asking the group of retired men who sit on a bench in Taormina’s main square every morning, who know everything and everyone, is the best way to get to know the city.

Do you live in Taormina? What key facts, figures and cultural highlights have we missed? Share your favourite stories below

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