Piazza IX Aprile at sunset

Halfway along Corso Umberto, the main street suddenly opens on its seaward side into a paved terrace laid in a black-and-white chequerboard. Two churches face onto it, a medieval clock tower closes the western end, and the southern side is a parapet with nothing beyond it but the drop to Giardini Naxos and the bay.

The chequerboard is what makes the square photograph unlike anywhere else in Sicily: it gives a graphic floor that reads strongly from above and from a low angle alike. At the parapet, the light in the last hour comes from behind the town, so the bay glows while faces stay lit from the front. After dark the square is warmly lit and the terrace stays lively without becoming impassable.

It is public, free and level, with no steps between the corso and the parapet — the easiest good location in Taormina. The trade-off is that it is also the town's meeting point: cafe tables, a street musician and a steady flow of people cross it all evening. Early morning gives the same view empty, with the sun coming up over the sea directly in front of the parapet.