MessinaCastelmola.
Founded by the Sicels in the 8th c. BC, it was destroyed, together with Taonnina, by Dionysius in 392 BC. Rebuilt in 350 BC and again destroyed by the Arabs in 902. In feudal times it belonged successively to the Marullo, Castello and Villadicane families.

The castle, or what remains of it, stands on a good strategic position, protecting the little town and the surrounding countryside; it was built in the Middle Ages and considerably al- tered in the 16th c. In the lower part of Caste1mola, in Piazza Sant' Antonio, is the 17th c. Chiesa di San Giorgio. On the road from Taormina to Castelmola it is interesting to visit the Badia Vecchia, a fortified squareplan building of Norman Age, much altered during the successive centuries. Climbing from Castelmola up the slopes of Monte Tauro, we come to the Sanctuary of the Madonna della Rocca, and higher still to the mediaeval Castle. Proceeding still further we reach colonnazzo di Mola, a rocky area where some 10th-8th c. BC rock-cut tombs have been discovered.