San Domenico Palace, Taormina, A Four Seasons Hotel

Twenty-three metres above the Ionian Sea, San Domenico Palace occupies a 15th-century Dominican monastery on Taormina's eastern cliff edge. The Four Seasons conversion preserved the original cloister garden and carved stone corridors while adding a clifftop infinity pool that aligns with the silhouette of Etna to the southwest.

Rooms split between the old convent wing — vaulted ceilings, thicker walls, cooler by day — and the newer garden wing with direct terrace access. The hotel's position on Piazza San Domenico places guests three minutes from Corso Umberto, Taormina's main pedestrian spine.

The Greek Theatre sits a seven-minute walk uphill; the cable car to Mazzarò beach descends from a station four hundred metres along Via Luigi Pirandello.