Samantha Simmonds Long before Sicily became the darling of design hotels and Netflix location scouts , Taormina was quietly holding court from its clifftop perch. An amphitheatre of elegance, all tiled piazzas, crumbling ruins, and winding alleys perfumed with lemon trees and espresso. Today, it's still every bit the fantasy – only now there's a Louis Vuitton café around the corner and a new generation of travellers swapping Capri for Corso Umberto.