A Tomb with a View
A short walk from the historic Catania Gate in the centre of Taormina down Via Pirandello (the main road to the coast) will take you the Belvedere di Isola Bella. This is a public terrace offering breathtaking views of the Mediterranean Sea, the Italian mainland, pretty "Isola Bella" island and the massive bulk of Mt Etna, one of Europe's most active volcanoes. The view of sunrise over the Calabria mountains from this vantage is magical.
Some 50 m further down the road you will find a rarely visited but significant historical site - the Byzantine Tombs of Taormina. These exposed catacombs are part of an early Christian cemetery used from Roman times through the Byzantine period. The tombs visible today are only a small part of a larger cemetery area that extended northeast between the present remains and the Church of Saints Peter and Paul.
The site was rediscovered in the 1990s during road works, although parts had already been destroyed in the 1800s. Today you can still see more than thirty empty burial niches stacked like honeycomb in the wall.
The tombs offer visitors a unique glimpse into the ancient practices and customs of the time.
Traffic and Site Safety
The site is best reached on foot as parking is limited and expensive. Taormina is easily reached by bus from Giardini Naxos, the town on the coast below and the tombs are not far from the bus terminal.
The Byzantine Tombs are situated directly along Via Pirandello, a busy two-way street. Vsitors need to be cautious walking a short stretch with no pedestrian pavement to reach the site, but once reached the catacombs are set back off the road and the cache is near a well-paved section.
Please respect the ancient site. The cache can be reached without climbing on or into the tombs.