Walk to Monte Tauro, Taormina
In the afternoon, I tried again to get to the church of the Madonna della Roca, thinking that in addition to the Way of the Cross (Via Crucis), there is a more comfortable road. The church was perfectly visible from the terrace of my room on Largo degli Eponimi, it was, as they say, a short walk away. After studying the map, I found out that there is a normal road to the church itself-the serpentine Via Leonardo da Vinci, and even a red Hop on - Hop off tourist bus stops very close to it.
By car from the city center to the church Via Leonardo da Vinci, winding along the mountainside, about three kilometers, but the navigator in my Nokia N9 in pedestrian mode drew a track of only 870 meters. It turns out that the serpentine sections connect the stairs. From the Port of Catania, take Via Sesto Pompeo and walk about a hundred meters to the end, where you will see the steps of the Salita de Castelmola.
These steps will take you up to Via Leonardo da Vinci, which is the main road used by the tourist bus. The staircase continues on the other side of the road, but the navigator advised me to go left until the first lane, there will be another staircase, the path along which is much shorter.
After a few turns, you will exit Via Leonardo da Vinci again. Here you can admire the green courtyards of the houses located below.
If you look in the other direction, you will see the final destination of your route, the church and the cross standing in front of it.
Then go to the other side of the street, where the stairs continue.
Here, the steps lead past villas hidden behind stone fences.
Via Leonardo again. On the right you will see a beautiful mansion with a tower, this is the Villa Sakiko hotel.
We cross the road and climb the steps again.
And again Via da Vinci. We can see the yellow building of the Sole Castello hotel, the fortress in the center, and the Church of the Madonna della Roca on the right.
The final section, it leads to everything on the same Via Leonardo da Vinci.
At the gate of the first villa, I was very aggressively barked by two small dogs.
But when I pointed the lens at them, they immediately calmed down. Apparently, the dogs are very fond of being photographed and were very offended when I tried to pass without paying attention to them.
A little higher up, I found an old cast-iron door in the stone wall, with a water tap sticking out of the wall below it. However, my attempt to drink some water was unsuccessful.
The final section to the top of Monte Tauro is Via Madonna, which starts at the Sole Castello Hotel. By the way, there is also a tourist shuttle stop here.
On the left side, you can enjoy a wonderful panorama of the slopes of Mount Castelmola.
At the top of the mountain is an amazing town with the same name. Unfortunately, I didn't have time to visit him.
You can also admire the sea coast of Letojani.
After walking a hundred meters along Via Madonna Roca, you will see Villa Almoesia.
It offers views of the southern part of Taormina.
On the horizon in a blue haze stands the bulk of Mount Etna.
Walking route.
