Hotel Villa Sonia

Relaxing and Swimming at Castelmola

by peterdhduncan

Hotel Villa Sonia is in a a superb position with magnificent views over the Sicilian countryside to Mount Etna.

We discovered it's terrace 'by accident' when we missed the lunch-time bus down to Taormina, and noticed the entrance to it by the road junction at which the bus waits. We then found out that for 8 euros each we would be provided with a mattress for a sunbed and a large towel, be served with drinks at the sunbed and allowed to use the swimmming pool. We enjoyed it so much that we subsequently spent a full day there and had lunch at one of the tables by the pool.

It is definitely a place at which we would consider staying if we were to return to Sicily.

Castelmola

by peterdhduncan

Castelmola is an attractive village with its narrow alleyways and squares. It is perched way above Taormina, which is itself way above Giardini Naxos and the coast, and it was one place where we were able to escape from the incessant traffic of Sicily.

A further climb upwards from the main square of the village brought us to the remains of its castle, which affords magnificent views over the surrounding countryside and along the coast.

One highlight of our stay in Sicily was the time we spent relaxing on the terrace of the Hotel Villa Sonia.

Castel Mola

by anne77

"Castel Mola"

Castel Mola is located 5 km away from Taormina. It is a small village, quieter than Taormina, but it is also worth a visit.

The road to Castel Mola can be dangerous as it is very narrow and there are lots of curves...

Castelmola: a better view

by ICBT

"Paesino"

This by necissity is going to be a short page: Castelmola is not very big. Actually, Castelmola is tiny. However, it is also beautiful and easily accessible from incredibly popular (and in my humble opinion incredibly overrated) Taormina.

Mola usually just gets footnoted as an 'off the beaten path' from Mina, but I decided it deserved its own page. It's worth a couple of hours on a busy schedule, or a relaxing afternoon/evening if you're in Taormina longer.

Above is a picture of Mount Etna right after sunset from the Castelmola Duomo. It's taken during those precious few moments in between night and day. Hey, I'm no expert photographer, but even this dark smudgy thing is evocative of the general atmosphere from up there.

What you're looking at is Etna behind clouds on the middle right. The Med and Sicilian coastline heading south towards Catania is on the left. Actualy most of the little white dots are lights from houses and roads.

Sorry I don't have any other photos. My camera was broken that day. Somebody should go take some and post them!!!