Set near the main Corso Umberto I in the heart of Taormina’s old town, this church dedicated to St. Catherine of Alexandria has a spartan exterior that gives way to lavish internal stucco work, restored in the 1970s. It was during this restoration that some of the ruins underneath the modern church were unearthed and can now be visited. Join a walking or Segway tour of Taormina’s historic center to best interpret the various architectural styles and archaeological remains, along with other town highlights like the Greek Theater and Duomo. Visit Taormina on a day trip or shore excursion from Syracuse, Messina, or Catania—along with the nearby town of Castelmola and Mount Etna.
The Santa Caterina church is located on Largo Caterina just off Corso Umberto I in Taormina’s historic center. Trains stop beneath the town along the coastline, and buses run between the station and the center above.
During the hottest midday hours in summer, Taormina can be unpleasant to tour. Visit first thing in the morning or in the late afternoon, and tuck into the town’s cool churches to beat the heat during the day.
The church is home to two important sculptural renderings of St. Catherine of Alexandria: one placed in an external niche above the church’s central portal by Paolo Greek in 1705; and a second inside the church dating from 1493 and previously displayed preserved in the ancient Church of St. Catherine outside the walls, later a Capuchin church.
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