Taormina ... The G7 Summit

"Taormina is a landscape in which you can find all that seems to be created on earth to seduce the eyes, mind and fantasy" .... Guy de Maupassant in 1885

This week on 26th and 27th May Taormina will be propelled into the spotlight as the destination for the 43rd G7 Summit. Whilst it will bring disruption to daily local life and tourism it is a chance for Taormina and Sicily to showcase its beauty and culture to the world.

The town will play host to the delegates from United Kingdom, United States of America, Italy, Canada, Germany, France and Japan.

As Sicily's first resort, Taormina has welcomed visitors for centuries. The town, draped with bougainvillea offers stunning views, an ancient Greek theatre, and cafes and terraces overlooking the Sea.

Located on Monte Tauro with views of a rocky coastline, the sparkling Ionian Sea and the breath taking Mount Etna and the Bay of Naxos, Taormina was founded in 304BC and was then known as Tauromenium. The town endured a typical Sicilian history, falling first to the Romans, then to the Arabs, the Normans and the Spanish. During the 1800's it became an obligatory stop on the Grand Tour and life changed forever. Taormina has been host to foreign visitors ever since and is very much equipped to cater for them. The choice of hotels, restaurants and shops, as well as beaches and manicured gardens make it Sicily's most popular holiday destination.

The town boasts many historical buildings all which reflect in their architecture its heritage. For this reason Taormina was the choice for the G7 Summit  made by the Ex-Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi.

Sicily is where Europe ends and Africa begins. It began its history as part of Ancient Greece and soon became part of the Roman Empire. Thereafter the island was invaded by the Byzantines, Arabs, Normans, French, Spanish and Bourbons before unifying with Italy. Each conquest left its mark on the island. The Allied invasion of Sicily, codenamed Operation Husky was a major campaign of World War II in which the allies took the island from Axis powers. It was one of the largest amphibious and air born operations followed by a six week campaign.

Most recently Sicily has played an integral part in the migrant situation as many make the perilous voyage from North Africa across the Mediterranean Sea to seek refuge, many of which are rescued from drowning by the Sicilian coastguards.

The Immigration problem will be discussed at the summit along with the global issues such as climate change, foreign policy, sustainable development, world health and investment.

The G7 first met as a G6 (France, US, UK, West Germany, Japan and Italy) in November 1975 in response to a range of pressing economic issues. The agenda soon expanded beyond economics to include political, security and social issues. Membership also expanded with Canada joining in 1976 and the EU being given a seat at the summit table the following year. During the 1990s, Russia was included to form a G8 but has been excluded since 2014 in response to the crisis in Ukraine.

So who are this years participants? From the UK our Prime Minister Theresa May, the US President Donald Trump, the Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, the new French President Emmanuel Macron, the Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni, the Chancellor of Germany Angela Merkel and the Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

From 22nd May parts of Taormina will be inaccessible within a red zone and only officially approved residents, government officials, approved journalists, police and military will be able to access this zone. For the first ladies here will be an afternoon tea in the public gardens. Hotels and restaurants will be closed, but boutiques will remain open for the first ladies to shop Sicilian style.

Demonstrations are expected to be held and will be restricted to our town of Giardini Naxos.

The Guardia di Finanza will be patrolling the coastline from the area of Recanati south of Taormina to Sant' Alessia north of Taormina and therefore no leisure activity is allowed in the waters except bathing.

The summit is expected to be held in the San Domenico Palace Hotel in Taormina and a concert by the Milan La Scala orchestra is playing a special performance for the delegates at the Ancient Greek Theatre of Taormina with a fly past by the French air force.

As I sit here writing there are numerous helicopters passing over our roof terrace.

The summit will bring disruption to the town's tourism industry but some are making the most of it with one Gelateria creating a special ice cream flavour called "The Trump Cup" and as an island used to invasions we are ready to show the world its beauty.

So what will we be doing during the summit?

We have to decided to escape for two nights and head to the stunning Sicilian countryside and mountains of the Alcantara Valley to stay in a Agriturismo located in an area abundant with nature, an ancient gorge, extinct volcanic craters, medieval hilltop towns and vineyards boasting delicious Mount Etna wines. We will be eating wonderful traditional homemade Sicilian cuisine, enjoying wild life, paying a visit to a golf course and going donkey trekking.

Keep posted for our Alcantara Adventure.


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