The Teatro Antico di Taormina is a Greek theatre rebuilt by the Romans, cut into the hillside with an opening behind the stage that frames Etna and the Ionian sea. Films have been screened there since 1955, and the festival's identity is almost entirely that of the venue: a premiere at dusk with the volcano visible is a different experience from a multiplex, and the programme is built to suit it.
No attendance figure is recorded here in this pass.
The theatre holds roughly 4,500 and is also used for concerts across the summer, so festival dates compete with the concert calendar.
Taormina in June is an expensive resort at the start of its season. Giardini Naxos below is the cheaper base, with a cable car and a bus up to the town, which is closed to cars.
PlanningA June window in a resort already at summer prices; the ancient theatre seats about 4,500.