Taormina’s A-list era didn’t start with The White Lotus. In 1787, Goethe rhapsodized about the Teatro Antico di Taormina, built in the 3rd century by the Greeks. D. H. Lawrence decamped to a writer’s retreat at Villa Fontana Vecchia, drawing a bohemian set and establishing the town’s reputation as a cultured refuge. English royals slipped in with friends, trading fog for bougainvillea. It’s no mystery why artists have long flocked to the region. French author Guy de Maupassant said it best: Taormina offers a “landscape in which you can find all that seems to be created on earth to seduce the eyes, the mind and the imagination.” As true today as it was in the 19th century.
So Season 2 of HBO’s The White Lotus was riding on Taormina’s coat-tails, not the other way round. However, the hilltop town on the east coast of the Mediterranean’s largest island has indeed risen in prominence with wealthy travelers. In 2023, Sicily’s tourism numbers spiked, reporting a 424% jump in bookings year over year. Since that surge, Taormina has emerged as the marquee stop for high-end stays. Luxury hotels have logged extended sell-outs, and peak-summer rates have been pushed to an unprecedented $3,000 a night.
In the wake of that momentum, heavyweights in dining, fashion and real estate have quickly leaned in, says Felice Rizzotti, CEO and founder of Rizzotti Advisors in Sicily. “Taormina is no longer just the ‘Pearl of the Ionian,’ beloved only by cultured travelers. The town has now become a destination that concentrates some of the most powerful drivers of luxury tourism and real estate.”
Four Seasons, for one, has the receipts. The hospitality giant’s San Domenico Palace spent much of the last few years sold out, following a 2021 refit of the 15th-century convent with a cliff-top infinity pool, renewed sea-view suites and the Botanica Spa. The Belmond hotel group’s duo of stays—the aristocratic Grand Hotel Timeo by the Teatro Antico and beachfront Villa Sant’Andrea in the Bay of Mazzarò—also defines the town’s historic-meets-hedonistic mood. And the roster is expanding, with IHG’s 59-room boutique Kimpton framed by Mediterranean gardens set to make its Italy debut here in the second half of 2025.
The food scene here has also emerged as worthy of a close-up. For a town this size—just over 10,000 permanent residents—Taormina’s Michelin count is impressive. St. George by Heinz Beck has emerged as a two-star ticket, while Otto Geleng at the Timeo, Principe Cerami at San Domenico Palace, and Piero D’Agostino’s La Capinera carry stars of their own. Tasting menus here pull from the land. Etna’s mineral-driven wines, wild herbs, Sicilian citrus.
Fashion, too, has set a new normal. Louis Vuitton’s resort boutique and its sky-high Le Café signaled the maison’s intent to court the Taormina traveler in situ. Dior’s Jardin des Rêves spa and rooftop terrazza bar at the Timeo bring Parisian élan to wellness and aperitivo hour, while Dolce & Gabbana’s refit of the central Mocambo Bar wraps a local institution in Sicilian glamour. Along Corso Umberto, the pedestrian ribbon between Porta Messina and Porta Catania, storefronts by Zegna and Tom Ford transform the street into an open-air salon, cueing unhurried browsing between the beach and an aperitif.
That high-end living has found Taormina is hardly a surprise. Hung between sheer cliffs that drop to the Ionian and the ever-present silhouette of Mount Etna, Taormina was built to absorb a luxury lineup. What’s striking is the cohesion and the speed with which it arrived. Hospitality upgrades broadened the base, while a rising Michelin circuit turned up the cultural heat and the fashion maisons amplified the mise-en-scène, all in a matter of roughly a decade. Together, they pull the same global cohort from New York to London to Dubai.
ddOn the ground, the property market has moved in tandem. Sea-view perches, palazzi with pedigree and hillside houses framing Etna have felt the full weight of international attention. The top end is thin by definition, says Rizzotti. Historic fabric and steep terrain limit new supply, and scarcity is priced in. Trophy assets increasingly trade off-market. Wealthy buyers fold Taormina into Mediterranean portfolios that already include the Côte d’Azur or Lake Como.
Beyond newfound hype and hospitality, Rizzotti points to two forces driving demand. First, lifestyle. The ability to compress culture, cuisine and coastline into a single, walkable day. Second, heritage. Homes that carry narrative also carry a price. One of the town’s most expensive offerings, a €15 million (~$17.5 million) listing tied to the family of the famed Royal Navy officer, Admiral Horatio Nelson, demonstrates how provenance can move the market. Known as Villa Falconara, its story stretches beyond architecture. In 1925, King George V and Queen Mary visited as guests.
Which leads back to why people come to Taormina in the first place. The seaside town’s draw still springs from things that pre-date fashion cycles. The Teatro Antico stages concerts and festivals with the sea as a horizon. Medieval palazzos give the old streets their weight. The silhouette of Mount Etna, sometimes snow-topped, sometimes ash-hazed, looms as both view and narrative. These anchors are carefully preserved and actively used.
Recent cultural events lean into the setting, keeping the town’s heritage in daily circulation. The approach mirrors the best of the Mediterranean playbook. Keep scale small. Keep quality high. Preserve history, then layer contemporary hospitality on top without smothering it.
And the next chapter? “The city’s future will depend on its ability to balance development and sustainability,” says Rizzotti. “And on its ability to preserve its soul while welcoming the world’s most prestigious players in tourism, fashion and real estate.” Expect continued brand interest and a steadier, more international homeowner base, he adds.
Expect also a ceiling on volume as geography and preservation impose it. Taormina’s future advantage is not size, but instead in the way a day stacks ancient drama against a Dior-framed sunset, or a Michelin service against a moonlit passeggiata.
Rizzotti Advisors is a member of Forbes Global Properties, an invitation-only network of top-tier brokerages worldwide and the exclusive real estate partner of Forbes.