Isola Bella (Sicily)
| Isola Bella (Sicily) | ||
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| Waters | Ionian sea | |
| Geographical location | 37 ° 51 ′ N , 15 ° 18 ′ E | |
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The Isola Bella is a small island in the Ionian Sea off the east coast of Sicily . It belongs to the district of Mazzarò in the city of Taormina in the metropolitan city of Messina and is connected to the beach of Mazzarò by a sandbar.
King Ferdinand III. of Sicily donated the island to the municipality of Taormina in 1806. However, she had to sell this around 1900 due to financial difficulties. First the island came into the possession of Florence Trevelyan, a member of the Anglican community of Taormina, who grew exotic plants there, which she then planted in the city park of Taormina, which she founded. After several changes of ownership, the island was finally acquired in 1954 by the Bosurgi brothers, who built a large residential building there. The island was now also used as a venue for business and artist meetings.
When the Bosurgi brothers went bankrupt in 1990, the island was auctioned off and the Sicily region was able to acquire it. In 1998 it was declared a nature reserve by the WWF , as some rare protected animal and plant species can be found here, including some species of birds and lizards.
Currently (October 2015) the northern part of the island can be visited. The reduced admission costs 4 euros per person.
The name of the island goes back to Wilhelm von Gloeden , who came to Taormina at the end of the 19th century and made the place known worldwide through his photographs.
Web links
- Gate 2 Taormina - Subpage about Isola Bella (English) ( Memento from October 10, 2007 in the Internet Archive )