The seaside part of Taormina
The seaside town of Letojanni is part of the tourist area of Taormina and is located in the center of a large bay between the promontories of S. Alessio (Forza d’Agrò) and S. Andrea (Taormina), 5 meters above sea level. , on the Ionian side of the Peloritani mountains, 43 km south-west from Messina and 50 north-east from Catania.
From Greek city to today
Today’s Letojanni could take the place of the Greek city of Lethaios (Ληθαῖος), which became Letum Ianum with the advent of the Romans who, to the toponym of Leto, added that of Jano to commemorate their patron, or rather, the divinity to whom they were devoted.
Letojanni from 17th Century
The “new” settlement of Letojanni arose around 1650, when Francesco Reitano, Marquis of Gallidoro, fixed his residence there, building a sumptuous palace. The same Marquis allowed the settlement of other families, so much so that in 1705 it had about 500 inhabitants and was equipped, among other things, with a church, as we read in a document drawn up on August 20 of that year, with the which the noble don Giulio Zati and Guicciardini requested the assignment of a chaplain curated for the already existing Church of the Glorioso Patriarca San Giuseppe, located in the maritime part of the Land of Galli Aurej (Gallodoro) called Letum Joannis (Letojanni), so that they could celebrate all SS. Sacraments.
Throughout the eighteenth century, the town of Letojanni was made up of a few houses, inhabited above all by families of fishermen, by a small church and by the ancient Torre Baglio, which was used, in the past, to spot possible enemy incursions.
With the abolition of feudalism (1812) and the constitution of the municipalities, which took place in 1816, Gallodoro became an independent municipality and Letojanni, being then a small fraction, was still subject, albeit in a different way, to the hilly center.
The development of the urban center of Letojanni was remarkable from 1820 and from 1866, with the passage respectively of the coastal road and the railway which, comfortably connecting Messina and Catania, favored their trade; in fact, many, mainly, from Gallodoro, Mongiuffi Melia, Taormina, Forza d’Agrò, Fiumedinisi and from other towns in the area, wanted to move to this locality. Thus, several sumptuous palaces were built which still today make a fine show of themselves. Letojanni, therefore, arose as a hamlet of Gallodoro and soon became larger and more important than the hilly center.
Monuments of Letojanni
Church of San Giuseppe
In the center of Letojanni, in Piazza Francesco Durante stands the Church of San Giuseppe, in neo-Gothic style. The original place of worship was built around 1700, that is when Letojanni rose from the ashes of the Roman city of Leto Jano and was located roughly where the current sacristy is today. The old structure was rendered unusable by the earthquake of 1908, therefore its complete reconstruction was necessary. The new church, partly built on the ruins of the Palazzo del Marquis Reitano, was inaugurated on 19 March 1931, on the occasion of the celebrations in honor of the patron saint. The interior, divided into three naves by four marble columns on each side, houses, among other things, The Pietà or Deposition of Christ (oil on canvas, from an unknown of the ‘700, The Agony of San Giuseppe, oil on canvas from 1878, by Salvatore Frangiamore and a silvery monstrance, finely chiseled, from the Messinese School of the ‘700. In the altar of San Giuseppe stands a fresco painted in 1990 by the Letojannese artist Filippo De Luca, depicting a glimpse of the town with Piazza Francesco Durante, the Church and the Letojanni valley dominated by Gallodoro; while, the simulacrum of the patron saint is an admirable work of the Messina sculptor Tore Edmondo Calabrò (1947), the same who in Messina executed the marble statue of Christ the King outside the homonymous sanctuary and the blessing Madonnina del porto. The frescoes adorning the roof are of exquisite workmanship. The marvelous mosaics, executed by the Florentine firm Heirs of Michele Mellini, represent in the central apse the risen Christ between Mary and Joseph ( 1981), the Seven Sacraments (1992) and Pentecost (1996). The facade consists of two smaller doors with a larger one in the center, surmounted by a rose window and on the right, there is the bell tower.
Monument to Francesco Durante
Born in Letojanni on 29 June 1844 and died there on 2 October 1934. Francesco Durante was a world-renowned surgeon, the first to successfully operate on brain tumors (in 1885), co-founder of the Policlinico Umberto I in Rome, elected Senator in life for scientific merits (in 1889). In the central square of Letojanni, named after him, stands the beautiful bronze monument that depicts him, the work of the Palermo sculptor Ettore Ximenes, inaugurated on May 13, 1923, during a solemn ceremony, which was also attended by some ministers of the national government. At first, the monument was facing the sea, as the scientist himself had chosen, “to scan the horizon”; except that, following the construction of the new church, its position was reversed as it was facing away from it.
Durante Palace
Durante Palace is a real castle, equipped with a characteristic battlements and a central turret, in which a beautiful mullioned window stands out. Built in 1902 by the well-known scientist with local materials and workers, as well as Messina specialists. Sold by the heirs of Prof. Francesco Durante to the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, who, in 1958, inaugurated the “House of the Child – San Giuseppe”. It extends along the seafront for 30 meters and on the square for 16, occupying an area of about 400 m²; it consists of two floors above ground and a basement. There is also a courtyard of about 300 m².
