Taormina Infiorata: Flower and Seed Carpets in Sicily's Hill Town, Plus the Rest of the Day
Most of Taormina's visitors come for the view: the Greek theatre on the cliff, Etna smoking behind it, the sea far below. Come on the right weekend in early summer and the best thing in town is on the pavement.
The Infiorata is an old Mediterranean tradition, carpets of images laid along the streets in flower petals, seeds, grains, leaves and coloured sawdust. In Taormina local artists and volunteers work them by hand over a day, kneeling on the stones, filling outlines one handful at a time. The finished carpets last a few hours. Then feet, wind or a procession ends them.
The photo below catches the work in progress. Three people crouch over a face of Christ made of pale grain and seed, a crown of green leaves and purple petals around it, buckets at hand, and a crowd already picking its way around the edges.
Seeing it
Dates move from year to year and are usually announced in spring; check the town's events calendar before you plan around it. Go the afternoon before or the morning of to watch the artists build. Go the evening of to see the finished carpets lit up. Don't step on them, and don't let your kids.
Bring patience for crowds. Taormina's main street is narrow and the carpets take up most of it.
The rest of a Taormina day
The Teatro Antico. The Greek theatre, rebuilt by the Romans, has drawn travellers since Goethe's day, its stage framed by the coast and Etna. As of 2026 it costs €12 (€6 reduced), open daily from 9:00. Go at opening, before the coach groups, or late afternoon for the light on the volcano.
The cable car down to the sea. The funivia runs from the top of town down to Mazzarò, about every 15 minutes, until late at night in summer and until 8pm in winter. Fares rose on 1 August 2026: €8 one way, €15 return, €20 for a day pass. It usually shuts for maintenance in January, with a replacement bus.
Isola Bella. The tiny island off the beach below town is a nature reserve, joined to the shore by a sandbar you can sometimes wade across. Entry to the island costs €5 (€2.50 reduced). The beach facing it is pebbles, not sand. Bring water shoes.
Corso Umberto and the side streets. The main street runs between two old city gates and fills by evening. Duck off it into the stepped alleys above and below for quieter views and better, cheaper bars.
Taormina sleeps late and runs late. Plan the sea in the morning, a long lunch, the theatre in late afternoon and the town after dark.
On the festival in full colour: A Vibrant Day at Taormina's Infiorata Festival on Travel Marketing. For the beaches below town: Taormina Beach Guide: Mazzarò, Isola Bella and What Nobody Tells You About the Pebbles.