Taormina - the town where White Lotus was filmed

I have never seen so many restaurants in one town as I did in Taormina. They are on the streets, along the alleys, on the steps and in hidden courtyards. The pasta dishes they serve are caressed with sauces and ingredients we don’t see in other parts of Italy – tagliolini with red mullet ragout, wild fennel, raisins and pine nuts was notable and so too was linguini with pistachio and lemon. But it was the Sicilian-style carbonara that brought me the most joy – diced tuna tartare instead of guanciale means that it’s not forbidden for we Jews.

Magnificent views from Castelmola, Sicily

For Sicily was once home to a sizeable Jewish community, before they were forced to leave in 1493 when the Spanish Inquisition reached the island. Very few returned but in 1987 a mikveh was discovered in Syracuse and this sparked renewed interest in the island’s Jewish heritage. Rabbi Stefano Di Mauro, who was born in Sicily but emigrated to the US, discovered as his mother was dying that his family was Jewish. He converted and returned to the island in 2007 to re-establish Jewish life. He is the first orthodox rabbi in the region for more than 500 years.

Following this the Italian Institute of Jewish Studies and other associations began to organise festivities, research and conferences in the capital, Palermo. The mayor replaced the street signs with ones featuring the names of the streets in Hebrew and Arabic letters as well as Latin, to pay homage to the island’s multicultural past. Since 2013 Palermo has hosted a public menorah lighting in the Palazzo Steri, the former headquarters of the Inquisition, where many Jews were detained, tortured and killed. The walls are still covered with the prisoners’ graffiti — among which are many Jewish names and some Hebrew inscriptions.

In 2018, the Archdiocese of Palermo donated a building to the Jewish community to build a synagogue in Vicolo Meschita, the old Jewish quarter. Archbishop Corrado Lorefice was honoured with the Wallenberg Medal for having enabled the rebirth of the Jewish community of Palermo with this donation, as well as for his promotion of interreligious dialogue.

Taormina is full of pretty streets

Documents dating as far back as 1415 show that Taormina, too, had a very small Jewish community but the Dominican friars were hugely intolerant of them, twice forcing them to displace the synagogue and the cemetery saying they were disturbed by their loud prayers. The street names Vico Ebrei and Via Giudecca are pretty much the only indication that there were once Jews in the town.

There may be very little Jewish interest in Taormina, arguably Italy’s prettiest town, but there is plenty else of interest to anyone who loves breathtaking views, exceptional food, fabulous shops and gorgeous hotels, and with warm sunshine right through to November it’s ideal for an autumn trip. With majestic Mount Etna as a backdrop and the ancient Greek amphitheatre as its neighbour, Grand Hotel Timeo, a Belmond hotel, occupies an unparalleled position. Despite being in the centre of this small hilltop metropolis, it has six acres of gardens, a large pool area and a panoramic terrace that is very much the beating heart of the resort. Those who prefer to be by the sea can use the facilities or indeed stay at sister hotel Villa Sant’Andrea, which sits at the water’s edge in the secluded Bay of Mazzarò. There’s a shuttle to ferry you between the two.

Bedroom at Grand Hotel Timeo, a Belmond Hotel

Timeo is a beautiful, elegant, opulent hotel – the sort that one travels to Italy for. It has mod cons, of course (including a Dyson hairdryer in the bedrooms), but this is a Grand Dame hotel, unaffected by today’s ‘less is more’ approach to decor. The main areas are filled with tapestries, oil paintings, chandeliers, antiques and polished parquet floors. The 70 bedrooms, most of which have a jaw- dropping view past the hotel’s manicured gardens down to the ancient town and the rugged coastline, are unapologetically luxurious with sumptuous, delightfully traditional furnishings, and open on to marble bathrooms with own-blend Acqua di Parma toiletries. Turndown service includes herbal tea being left on the bedside table in a delicate china cup.

The story goes that Prussian baron Otto Geleng travelled to Taormina in 1863 and rented a room from Don Francesco La Floresta at his home, Timeo. He depicted the captivating views in a series of watercolours, which gained a reputation (one is still in the hotel). More artists came, after which the house was developed into a smart hotel and Taormina became a stop on the Grand Tour undertaken by wealthy young men and women. In 1920, DH Lawrence famously penned Lady Chatterley’s Lover at the hotel, and over the next couple of decades much of Hollywood’s glamorous elite came to stay – Cary Grant, Elizabeth Taylor, Audrey Hepburn and Sophia Loren among them. In July 2022 I checked it out.

The terrace at Grand Hotel Timeo, a Belmond Hotel

Dinner on the terrace at Timeo Restaurant is up there with the most memorable dining experiences I have ever had. The stunning view, the attentive service and the wonderful ambience are matched in splendour by the food. The same can be said for dinner down at Villa Sant’ Andrea, where there is also the opportunity to have a table set up right by the sea for the ultimate romantic date. The tasting menu takes you through many of Sicily’s typical dishes, many of which are fish or vegetarian. The appropriately-named Otto Geleng restaurant is a 16-seater Michelin star offering while the Pool Grill restaurant is informal for lunch or you can order dishes to your thick-cushioned deckbed. At breakfast there is a light buffet and hot dishes to order on the amazing terrace, but the bigger treat is having it delivered to your room to enjoy on your balcony.

Art installation at the Timeo

There are lots of activities available at the hotel including a ‘Colouring the World’ art installation (until December) – a coloured path through the gardens, and Totem Cristal – various glass structures that represent the unity of different cultures around the world. If you can tear yourself away from the glorious hotel and the town with its cacophony of little boutiques, take a 10-minute taxi ride to medieval hilltop village Castelmola to see the magnificent views from even higher up. Once there we climbed up to the ruins of the castle, which was built as a lookout to prevent Taormina from attacks. The 5k walk back down is a popular activity but being north London Jews, we took another taxi down. Back at base wander through the crumbling Victorian follies in ‘The Villa’ public gardens, once owned by Scottish noblewoman called Lady Florence Trevelyan. When in Rome, sorry Taormina, a visit to the opera is a must and we enjoyed a medley of arias. The ancient Greek amphitheatre is reminiscent of the Colosseum in Rome in size and majesty but with a much more picturesque backdrop, and is regularly used to stage concerts (Simple Minds were on while we were there).

On our last day at Grand Hotel Timeo there was a wedding – not a Jewish one, although this is entirely possible here. I can see only one negative to getting married in such a uniquely special place. Nothing and nowhere will ever match up to it. It’s all downhill from here.