Page 275 - The Rough Guide of Sicily

Norman monastery of Santi Pietro e Paolo, gloriously situated on a high bank above
the river. Built in the twelfth century, its battlemented facade and double domes are
visible from a distance through the lemon groves. Though considered Sicily’s best
example of Basilian architecture, the church betrays a strong Arabic influence,
particularly in the polychromatic patterns of the exterior. If it’s locked, there should be
someone around in one of the adjacent buildings with a key.

From the church, either head back up to the main road and wait for the return bus to

pass, or continue downhill for a longer walk, beyond the monastery to the River Agrò.
It’s about another hour’s tramp, alongside the wide (and mostly dry) river bed to Rina,
back towards the sea. The main (SS114) coastal road is signposted from Rina, and in
another twenty minutes, through a small tunnel, you’re back in Santa Teresa di Riva,
on the Messina–Catania bus route.

< Back to Messina, Taormina and the northeast

Forza d’Agrò

The nicest spot on the coast south of Messina is the Capo Sant’Alessio, where a
pinnacle cliff supports a sturdy castle; you can climb up to it, but you can’t get in. Four
kilometres inland of here, atop a corkscrew road, is FORZA D’AGRÒ. Like so many
Sicilian villages, it’s a breezy place defiantly crumbling all around its mostly elderly
inhabitants, and with little left of the Norman castello that crowns it. A memorable

clamber will take you up to the top: the streets become ever more perilous, and the
stone cottages increasingly neglected and held together by rotting spars of wood. The
lower parts of the village are better maintained, but not much – shops are tucked into
tiny cottage interiors, and a couple of churches are locked and decrepit.

Still, this is close enough to Taormina to attract the tour buses, which deposit their
passengers in the village square, where there are a couple of bars to help idle the time
away.

ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE: FORZA D’AGRÒ

By bus Four daily Interbus buses run to Forza d’Agrò from Taormina and Letojanni.

ACCOMMODATION AND EATING

O Dammuseddu Via Heros Cuzari 2 0942 98 030. The perfect hill-town restaurant.
Go for the abundant house antipasto, then follow with a wild mushroom dish, or some
herby grilled meat. Expect to spend around €20 for a meal without wine. Tues–Sun
lunch & dinner.

Villa Souvenir Viale delle Rimembranze 0942 721 078. If you’re tempted to