a Coronation Mass for King Charles in Taormina
Taormina has always been renowned as a destination for British visitors ever since the 18th Century with many leaving a legacy of history and romance giving the town a quintessential British touch. From the Grand Tour to poets, writers, movie stars and pop idols you can find evidence of the British Isles everywhere.
On Via Luigi Pirandello, near Taormina’s bus terminal, you will find the Anglican Church of St George. Prior to the completion of this beautiful church in 1922 the church services for the English speaking community of Taormina would be held in their private houses. Welsh ship owner Sir Edward Stock Hill offered a private chapel which was located in their house but it eventually became too small for the growing community, so Sir Edward decided to purchase some land and build a church on it. English speaking services are still held there today and at Christmas time the carol service is not to be missed.
In 1920 DH Lawrence sent home to England samples of embroidery made by the women of Taormina. Miss Mabel Hill, the daughter of Sir Edward Hill, arrived in Taormina at the end of the eighteen hundreds and fell in love with their beautiful creations and started an embroidery school in Taormina known as ‘Miss Hill’s School of Lace”.
The Hill Family lived in the old Franciscan Covent of Santa Maria di Gesù which was built in 1221 and Miss Mabel Hill owned a house in Taormina now called Villa Guarnaschelli where it is rumoured King Edward VII the eldest son of Queen Victoria once stayed. I have had the pleasure of visiting this private residence and it was fascinating to see where a past King of England had slept and been entertained by the Hill Family.
One of St George’s Church’s most renowned devotees was an English lady named Daphne Phelps and some of my older English friends here in Sicily remember seeing Daphne attending mass each Sunday.
Daphne’s home, Casa Cuseni, is an enchanting villa which was designed and built for the painter Robert Hawthorn Kitson in 1905. His Taorminese house and its lush gardens are designed in an art nouveau way mixed with Sicilian style. After his death Robert Kitson's niece Daphne inherited Casa Cuseni and in order to sustain the enormous cost of the house she started to rent out a few of the rooms to illustrious guests who came to write and paint. The house became the favourite place for DH Lawrence and his wife to have their afternoon tea. In later life Daphne wrote a book 'A House in Sicily'. Today Casa Cuseni is a guest house and museum where you can see stunning frescoes in the dining room.
This past weekend in London was the Coronation of King Charles III and so a festival Eucharist mass was held at St George’s to celebrate the Coronation.
St George’s is a gem of English architecture in Taormina and offers a warm welcome to its Sunday mass and the church oozes quintessentially English history. It has a terrace with stunning views across the Straits of Messina towards mainland Italy. The church suffered slight damage to windows during the allied invasion of Sicily in 1943 and has a beautiful rose window with plain glass.
The wonderful stained glass window behind the altar which was relocated from the private chapel of Sir Edward. This window whilst slightly damaged is one of the only three in the church to have survived the World War II Allied bombardment of Taormina. The window depicts our lord of the cross, St George the patron saint of England and Saint Catherine of Alexandria who is the patron saint of needlework, handicrafts and young girls.
The coronation mass was conducted by Chaplain Father Shawn Denny and after the service we enjoyed a lovely little royal party in the church garden.
It was wonderful to sit in such a beautiful church in the footsteps of previous worshippers The Hill Family, Daphne Phelp’s and her uncle Robert Kitson, Lady Florence Trevelyan, who created the public gardens in Taormina and owned Isola Bella, and DH Lawrence amongst many others including the lovely community of English ladies who go there now in modern times still creating that quintessential English feel. The church really does feel quaint set in a tranquil position surrounded by flowers and birdsong. I felt honoured to be part of the English history in Taormina.
After the service we enjoyed refreshments including an amazing cake made by Pasticceria D’Amore in Taormina.
After devouring our delicious cake we joined in with some patriotic songs with Shawn like Land of Hope and Glory, Rule Britannia and I Vow to Thee My Country.
We enjoyed the wonderful music and accompaniment with thanks to Alistair Storley at the keyboard and soprano soloist Elisa Moschella.
A visit to see St George’s Church is highly recommended to experience British history in Taormina.
A big thank you to Shawn and his wife Marianne, also to Susan Vinciguerra and Norma Mazza and my lovely friend Teresa who invited me.
I look forward to my next visit.
GOD SAVE THE KING !!!!!
If you enjoyed this Blog post then you might enjoy these ones from my archive
Taormina … A British Legacy http://whitealmond-privatesicily.blogspot.com/2017/09/taormina-british-legacy.html
Casa Cuseni … a House in Sicily http://whitealmond-privatesicily.blogspot.com/2016/08/casa-cuseni-house-in-sicily.html
Taormina … Victorian Follies http://whitealmond-privatesicily.blogspot.com/2015/01/taormina-victorian-follies.html
Nelson’s Castle http://whitealmond-privatesicily.blogspot.com/2017/09/nelsons-castle.html
Taormina … 21 Places the Muses Made Their Home http://whitealmond-privatesicily.blogspot.com/2015/08/taormina-cult-21-places-muses-made.html
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An Exhibition in honour of Miss Mabel Hill and her School of Embroidery is being held at Sala “Giovanni di Giovanni” in Piazza IX Aprile, Taormina from 22nd April to 30th July 2023
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