Villa Comunale Gardens
Villa Comunale Gardens is one of the narrated stops on the self-guided Taormina audio walking tour in Gingerguide. Plan about ~45 min here. Press play at the spot for its two to three minute story, or ask the AI guide anything about it.
- Type garden
- Suggested visit ~45 min
- Taormina Taormina guide
About Villa Comunale Gardens
Extraordinary cliff-edge public gardens created by an eccentric English noblewoman, featuring exotic plants, gazebos, and the most dramatic sea views in Taormina.
The Villa Comunale (also known as the Parco Duca di Cesarò) is the public garden of Taormina, perched on the edge of the cliff above the Ionian Sea and offering some of the most dramatic views in the town. It was created in the 1880s by Florence Trevelyan Cacciola, an English noblewoman who had been exiled from England under mysterious circumstances (some sources suggest she was sent away from court after a romantic entanglement with the Prince of Wales) and settled in Taormina, where she married a local doctor and spent the rest of her life creating this extraordinary terraced garden. She filled it with exotic plants from around the world, built elaborate Victorian gazebos and folly-like structures, and created a garden that has a quality of refined eccentricity unlike any other public garden in Sicily.
Did you know? Florence Trevelyan is said to have been exiled from Queen Victoria's court after a romance with the future King Edward VII, she spent the rest of her life in Taormina creating this garden as her testament.
How long should you spend at Villa Comunale Gardens?
Plan about ~45 min at Villa Comunale Gardens. That is enough to take it in and hear its narrated story; stay longer if it grabs you. The tour is self-guided, so there is no rush.
Is Villa Comunale Gardens worth visiting?
Villa Comunale Gardens is one of the 15 sights the Gingerguide team researched and narrated in Taormina, so it earns a place on a self-guided walk. Its story explains why it matters, and you can ask the AI guide anything the story leaves open.
Nearby stops in Taormina
Hear the story of Villa Comunale Gardens
Preview the Taormina tour free in the Gingerguide app.