Martin M. Miles' photos with the keyword: Santa Caterina

The area was inhabited by the Siculi even before the Greeks arrived on the Sicilian coast in 734 BC to found Naxos. After Dionysius I of Syracuse destroyed Naxos in 403 BC a new settlement got established on the nearby Mount Taurus which gradually grew up into the city of "Tauromenium" (= Taormina). It developed into a prospering city in Greek and later Roman times when it was only one of the three cities in Sicily which enjoyed the privileges of a "civitas foederata". After the fall of the Roman Empire, Taormina continued to rank as one of the important towns, and because of the strength of its position was one of the last places that was retained by the Byzantine emperors. It was finally taken by the Fatimids in 962 after a siege of 30 weeks. In 1078 it was captured by the Norman count Roger I of Sicily. In the end of the 18th century Northern European travellers started to visit (and write about) Taormina. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe visited in 1786, Henry Swinburne´s "Travels in the two Sicilies" was published in 1783. In the 19th century Taormina was part of the "Grand Tour" and international nobility and celebrity visited and often settled. The Church of Santa Caterina was built in the Baroque style in the first half of the 17th century on the ruins of the Odeon, a small Roman theater.

Sicily, the largest Mediterranean island, has a long history, that starts around 8000 BC, but later there were Phoenician, Carthaginian, Greek and Roman periods. After the Roman Empire had fallen apart the Vandals tried to take over the island but failed. Finally, the Ostrogoths took possession. Mid of the 6th century Sicily was conquered by troops of the Byzantine Empire. After the advent of Islam, Sicily got attacked by the Arab forces. Raids seeking loot continued until the mid-8th century. A Muslim army was sent to the island in 827 but met with much resistance. So it took a century to conquer it and even later revolts constantly occurred In 1038 the Byzantines invaded the island supported by Norman mercenaries, led by Roger. In 1072, after the siege of Palermo, most of Sicily was under Norman control. Roger´s son Roger II raised the status of the island to a kingdom in 1130. During this period, the Kingdom of Sicily was prosperous and powerful, The court of Roger II became melting out of culture from Europe and the Middle East. This attracted scholars, scientists, artists, and artisans. Muslims, Jews, Greeks, Lombards, and Normans cooperated and created some extraordinary buildings. In 1186 the last descendant of Roger, Constance of Sicily married Emperor Henry VI, the second son of Barbarossa. So the crown of Sicily was passed on to the Hohenstaufen Dynasty. Frederick II, the only son of Constance, was crowned King of Sicily at the age of four in 1198. He became "Stupor Mundi", one of the greatest and most cultured men of the Middle Ages. Palermo, founded in 734 BC by the Phoenicians, became a possession of Carthage and later was part of the Roman Empire. From 831 to 1072 the city was under Arab rule. Following the Norman conquest, Palermo became the capital of a new Kingdom of Sicily and the capital of the Holy Roman Empire under Emperor Frederick II and King Conrad IV. Once George of Antioch, Ammiratus (Admiral) of Rogers II of Sicily, who founded the Martorana, had his palace, where today Santa Caterina (here seen from the Martorana) is located between todays Piazza Bellini and Piazza Pretoria. In 1310 a nunnery under the direction of the Dominican Order had been founded, dedicated to Saint Catherine of Alexandria. The existing church was rebuilt 1566 - 1596 and finally consecrated in 1664. The church combines Sicilian Baroque, Rococo and Renaissance styles.