Things To Do in Letojanni

The town centre's loaded with gift shops selling coal and lava-stone trinkets – emblems of the area’s volcanic credentials. If your tastes run more to designer labels, Taormina has a fashionable line-up of Prada, Gucci and Armani on its famous main street, Corso Umberto 1. There’s also an open-air market near the cathedral that covers local food and Sicilian crafts.

It’s all about laid-back nights in Letojanni. Try the streets leading off Piazza Durante for terraced bars where you can chill out with a cool drink. You’ll probably meet a few night owls who pop in from surrounding villages for the live music here. If you want things more lively, head for Taormina – you’ll find small clubs and discos on Corso Umberto 1.

Letojanni's surrounded by olive groves and vineyards, but you don’t have to wait for the goods to come to you. Some local farms do a pick-and-pay arrangement, so you can choose your own olives. And keep an eye out for signs saying Vino Padronele – it means you can buy wine straight from the producer’s barrel. If you’re feeling really hands-on, some places will even let you press the grapes yourself.

Hire a skippered boat, and you'll have someone to whisk you across to Mazzaro – where locals drape themselves along the pebbly beach. From here, it’s just a short hop to Isola Bella, a popular little island that overlooks a pair of curving bays in Taormina. You can even carry on to sandy Giardini Naxos, where you can swim to shore from your boat.

Letojanni’s annual month of festivities begins on the first Sunday in August, when a statue of the town’s patron saint, Giuseppe, is hoisted down to the water’s edge to be met by a musical flotilla. Later in the month, there’s the feast of fish and watermelon, with parades of traditional Sicilian carts and live music in the streets.

Food-wise, Letojanni sets the bar high. Ultra-fresh catches of swordfish, clams, squid and mussels come straight off the fishing boats, while the hillsides nearby provide sun-ripened fruit and vegetables. Pull up a chair at one of the seafront trattorias for a classic Italian antipasti of cheese, meat and olives, followed by a simple pizza or pasta washed down with wine from the local vineyards.