My trip to Sicily in October was one of the most beautiful holidays I have ever had. I've already written a large blog post about my holiday in general which you can read here. Although it's several months later, I hadn't got around to writing in more depth about one of the attractions that I visited until now. The Villa Comunale Park is a short walk from the centre of Taormina, and was created by Florence Trevelyan: an English gardener and pioneering conservationist. After travelling around Europe during the late nineteenth century, Trevelyan eventually settled in Sicily, where she bought the Isola Bella (translated as: beautiful island) off the coast of Taormina (which I mentioned in my last blog post about Sicily). When she moved to Taormina, she married the mayor, acquired some land and began importing plants and designing what would eventually become the Villa Comunale.
The structures inside the park are definitely the main attraction. Inspired by oriental buildings and unusually eclectic in style, their makeup consists of a system of open terraces topped by turrets of all shapes and sizes. Designed by Trevelyan between 1890 and 1899, they are called 'beehives'. The buildings are so unusual in aesthetic that they almost look like they would fit quite nicely in a hollywood film set. Made up of stonework, brickwork and wood, the grid effect created by the patterns of alternating materials make these structures a fantastical and enchanting visual experience. The gardens of the Villa Comunale not only provide a private escape for those visiting or living in Taormina, but are also one of the most popular tourist destinations in Sicily. The park was given to Taormina after Trevelyan's death, and today stands as a reminder of the vast contribution that she made to the life and economy of Taormina and the conservation of local wildlife.
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About meHi there, my name is Nevada and I'm a twenty-six year old music teacher. The Little Green blog centres around wildlife, gardening and lifestyle photography. All photos are my own and represent the portfolio of an amateur photographer! Archives
August 2020
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