santuario della Madonna della Rocca

It stands halfway up the climb between Taormina and Castelmola, just below the Saracen castle: walk up from the town and you pass right by it; drive up and it appears out of the rock on a bend.

The church is built inside a cave, and much of the ceiling is the mountain itself. Outside there is the terrace, and that is why people stop even without going in: from there you see Taormina from above, the ancient theatre, the bay of Naxos and Etna, all in one look.

It is a place of worship, not a fitted-out viewpoint: you go up quietly and dress accordingly.