Piazza Sant'Antonio

S. Antonio Square was built in 1954, with a mosaic floor in white stone and lava. The Square, natural balcony over Taormina, offers a picturesque and romantic view, from Etna to the Calabrian coast. On the Square there is the Church of the same name and, placed on a stone staircase, stands the ancient arch of entrance to the village; in front, there is the St. George Cafe, founded in 1700 by monks who used it as a tavern. Don Vincenzo Blandano has transformed the cafe in a major local (visited by famous people, which collects autographs and thoughts), famous for the invention of the typical "almond wine", the Blandarino. This place was the scene of the events that inspired the famous novel by D.H. Lawrence, "Lady Chatterley's Lover" (1928): the German baroness, Frieda Von Richthofen, the wife of the English writer, during their stay in Taormina had as lover young mule Peppino D'Allura, whose task was to accompany her to her friend, Mrs. Betty, which told of their erotic games along the mule tracks of Mount Venus.