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Goethe called Taormina "the greatest work of art and nature!" It is difficult to challenge hyperbole that comes so close to truth. Lying on a short terrace of the coast against a mountain, Taormina is set on a cliff. As if it were not enough to be poised so dramatically on Mount Taurus overlooking a beautiful bay on the Mediterranean, the still-smoking magnificent Mount Etna is its next-door neighbor. Add a Greek Theater (3C BC) with the most magnificent view of any amphitheater in the world, toss in some beautiful beaches, old churches, a fortress and a monastery high above everything, ruins of an imperial Roman bath right in town, 50 or so tourist's shops, a couple of dozen restaurants with views that make you forget the Italian cuisine, 3-4 gelaterie, and several dozen hotels, each vying for the best views for their terraced and balconied rooms and dining areas-don't forget blue Mediterranean skies-and you have one of the great small resorts on the Mediterranean, vying with many spots on the Riviera.