More Wandering and Tracing Jewish History in Taormina

We have now been in Taormina for one week as of Friday March 18 and we will be here until the morning of Tuesday March 22, when we leave for London.

We have a a routine of going for a walk down the Corso Umberto I from Porta Catania to Porta Messina in the late morning.  It is about 1 km from our apartment.  We usually stop for a coffee at Licchio's Bar.  On Friday, we went to the market to get some fish.  It has been fascinating to see a resort town come to life.  Everyday there are stores either reopening for the season or new stores having their interiors built and then stocked with merchandise.  Many hotels are just reopening this week or next.

We are also running into people we have met:  the New Yorker studying Italian who showed us the best cheese store in town; the man from the new Ortigia perfume shop that opened two days ago; the man from the beautiful paper store.  All say "Buongiorno" and stop to chat for a few minutes as they pass.  At Licchio's Bar, the bar guy knows our orders- one espresso normale and an espresso macchiato.  The woman at the cheese shop greets us warmly- today we were getting some home made breadsticks.  Yesterday we bought pecorino cheese with pistachios.

Friday looked promising, but it was cool (13C) and rained during the middle of the day.  When we went out for our afternoon walk at about 4:00 p.m. it had finally cleared, so we stayed out for a few hours.

It will be Palm Sunday this Sunday.  There were a number of people out selling palms at various locations along the Corso.

In the Duomo square

Near Piazza IX Aprile

In front of Santa Caterina

We got to the market at about noon.  There were still some fish left.  We got a white fish filleted for Saturday night's dinner.  We are eating out on Friday night.

Filleting our white fish

After the market, we headed to Licchio's Bar for our coffees.

Alonso at Licchio's Bar

Me and the bar guy who knows our order

We have been watching the progress of Wonderbar Caffe.  It is still closed, but over the last two days all the patio furniture has been placed in front of the Caffe and also out on the Piazza IX Aprile.  Prime location.  This is a favourite of visiting celebs and is supposed to be a bit pricey.  It is in the best location along the Corso.  Perhaps it may open on Saturday - we shall see.

In front of Wonderbar- new furniture 

Their patio on Piazza IX Aprile  overlooking the sea

We headed back to the apartment in the rain and rested up before we had a late lunch of prosciutto, cheese and olives.  At about 4:00 p.m. we headed out again.  The rain had stopped and there were patches of blue sky.  We decided to check out the ancient Jewish area of Taormina, which was in the small streets between Porta Catania and Piazza Duomo.  The Jewish population in Sicily at the time of the Decree of Explusion issued on March 31, 1492 was apparently around 100, 000.  One account said that in Taormina, the Jewish population was about 4% of the population of the city at that time.  All Jews had to either convert or leave.  Today, there are no Jewish families in Taormina and only two families in Giardini Naxos at the foot of the mountain.  However, there are street names and signs that Jews lived in the area.

Jewish Stars on the top of the large windows on the Palazzo Duchi di S. Stefano (where the sculpture garden is located)

Via Del Ghetto

View of Sea from Via Del Ghetto

Traversa Degli Ebrei

Vico Ebrei

Municipal Offices and Police Station with three stars of David

Salita Ibrahim

A fascinating bit of history.  Apparently Hannukah was celebrated in Taormina in December 2015 for the first time since the 1492 expulsion. A rabbi came from Siracusa and the families from Giardini Naxos attended.

In our wanderings, just outside Porta Catania we came across La Chiesa di S. Michele Arcangelo (Saint Michael the Archangel).  It had been almost destroyed in the July 1943 Allied bombings and was rebuilt in the 1950s.  The original church dated back to the 17th century.

Chiesa di S. Michele Arcangelo

The archangel

In the square near Porta Catania we saw a memorial to the civilians killed in the July 1943 bombings.

At one corner of the square was Cioccolato e Gelato a wonderful chocolate and gelato store. Apparently, the company started operations in Catania and opened the Taormina store in 2014.

Amazing looking chocolate cakes and pastries 

One cake was covered with pistachios

The light was wonderful at Piazza IX Aprile-- one could see the crosses at the top of Mount Tauro.

Further down the Corso near Porta Messina, we saw another plaque in the Taormina Culture map.  It was about Oscar Wilde, who came to Taormina in 1898 and stayed at the Hotel Victoria which still exists at 81 Corso Umberto I.

Hotel Victoria

We continued our walk to D'Amore, the wonderful pastry shop we had previously visited.  The shop was all decked out for Easter.  We bought some of their wonderful almond pastries.  Almonds and pistachios, which we both enjoy, are a key part of the cuisine in Sicily.

D'Amore pastry shop

A few hundred metres away from the entrance to the Greek Theatre was a sign leading us to an area that contained old Roman baths.  Another piece of history right in the middle of a residential neighbourhood.

Old baths

We finally got to Al Grappolo d'Uva, the wonderful neighbourhood wine bar in one of the small streets just behind the Corso Umberto.  This time we each had a glass of a red wine from Etna.  We heard that Etna wine's are excellent and the wine we had was no exception.  It had an earthy taste that opened up nicely.  We chatted with a couple from the Midlands in England.  They were doing a whirlwind 6-7 day tour of Sicily. The woman was a big fan of the Montalbano series, so they were going to Ragusa.

Outside of the wine bar

Pouring our Etna Rosso

Very nice place to relax

It was then back to the apartment for a rest before dinner.  We passed a new ceramic shop that had just opened up for the season.  It had lovely blue and white ceramics and many ceramic fruits.

Window of new ceramic shop

We went to dinner at a family run restaurant "Malvasia", which opened in 1972.  The chef is the mother of the owner.  It had been recommended by our apartment host and also had good reviews.   The restaurant is small, but every table was taken when we were there.  It was too cold to eat outside.

Alonso getting ready to eat

We were given an amuse-bouche of panelle, the chick-pea fritters we had last had in Palermo.

Panelle

We shared a piece of branzino in a lovely tomato, caper and olive sauce and a gorgeous pasta of homemade ravioli and seafood with pistachios on top (no cheese).  We also had a green salad and I had a glass of red wine and an espresso.  It was a very good meal, just about a five minute walk from our apartment.   At one point, the lights dimmed and the owner came out with a birthday treat with a candle for a man at a large table.  There were about 5-6 gorgeous looking cannoli piled on a plate.  The owner later divided them up for the people at the table.

Branzino in tomato, caper and olive sauce

Ravioli with seafood sauce and pistachios

We headed back to the apartment.  A lovely meal and a lovely family enterprise.  The chef and the owner said arrivederci when we left.