Book review: Taormina chapter (A Year in the World)

I have to say that this chapter is lacking the depth and level of detail I saw even in Naples. Probably Frances Mayes is saving the majority of her notes for a different book. However, she does an excellent job at describing the appetizing cuisine of Southern Italy. In two consecutive letters written to her friend Steven, she goes into mouth-watering depictions of local cuisine, pasta, pastry, seafood, and wine. (Advice: do not read this chapter on an empty stomach).

We do find out that the sun is almighty in Sicily and it's probably influenced the locals throughout the history. There are signs of modernity, but everyone seems to be someone happy with being stuck in a distant past. She recommends Giuseppe di Lampedusa's The Leopard, a book that has also been made into an award-winning movie.

Bottom line: do not expect to plan your trip based on this chapter alone. It might be better for you to go to this Sicily page and plan your trip:

Naples - Taormina - Naples and Taormina in Sicily by train
Palermo - Taormina - Palermo and beautiful Taormina by train
Completely Sicilian - Palermo, Agrigento, Siracusa and Taormina by Rail
Rome - Naples - Taormina - Palermo - Rome, Naples, Taormina and Palermo by rail

Enjoy!