A protected area a few meters from the famous Taormina. The crystal clear sea and the Sicilian sun warm the soul and make the tourist entranced.

History of Isola Bella

Donated in 1806 by Ferdinando I of Borbone to Pancrazio Ciprioti mayor of Taormina, it was bought in 1890 by Florence Trevelyan who enhanced it by building a small house and planting rare precious essences. The island then inherited the lawyer. Cesare Acrosso, godson adopted by Salvatore Cacciola, husband of Florence Trevelyan.

During the XX century

In 1954 it was bought for 38,000 ₤ by the brothers Leone and Emilio Bosurgi, who built a village with 12 autonomous residences and a tiny swimming pool disguised among rocks and plantations, in order to cheer and host their friends, entrepreneurs and bankers.
The Bosurgi family owned Sanderson, a historic citrus processing company in Messina. The bankruptcy of this in 1982, opened the way for the sale of judicial assets of family assets which guaranteed the debts of the company with sureties. Among these assets there was also the Bella island with its villa. A first auction was therefore set for 17 October 1984 with a base of five and a half billion lire and a minimum raise of one hundred million, but it went deserted.

Nowdays

Meanwhile, the institutions moved to protect the islet. On 8 October 1984, the Sicilian Region, at the request of the Municipality of Taormina, the Regional Department of Cultural Heritage declared the Isola Bella a monument of particular historical and artistic interest as an “isolated example of unique naturalistic value, historical and cultural ”, subjecting it to protection constraints. The decree considered the island as a “natural monument”.
A new auction on 6 March 1985, despite the base having been lowered by 20%, saw no buyer present.

In 1990 the island was finally purchased by the Department of Cultural Heritage of the Sicilian Region. In 1998 a nature reserve was established, managed by the WWF, then by the Province of Messina and recently passed to CUTGANA, the environmental protection center of the University of Catania.

Now

With the establishment in 2010 of the Archaeological Parks, the management, use, protection and enhancement of the Isolabella are currently the responsibility of the Archaeological Park of Naxos.