Isola Bella ( Sicilian: ''Ìsula Bedda'') is a small island near

Taormina Taormina ( , , also , ; ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Messina, on the east coast of the island of Sicily, Italy. Taormina has been a tourist destination since the 19th century. Its beaches on the Ionian Sea, incl ...

Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...

, southern Italy. Also known as the Pearl of the Ionian Sea, it is located within a small bay on the

Ionian Sea The Ionian Sea (, ; or , ; , ) is an elongated bay of the Mediterranean Sea. It is connected to the Adriatic Sea to the north, and is bounded by Southern Italy, including Basilicata, Calabria, Sicily, and the Salento peninsula to the west, ...

; it was a private property, for a time owned by Florence Trevelyan, until 1990, when it was bought by the Region of Sicily, being turned into a

nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, funga, or features of geologic ...

, administered by the Italian branch of the

World Wide Fund for Nature The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) is a Swiss-based international non-governmental organization founded in 1961 that works in the field of wilderness preservation and the reduction of human impact on the environment. It was formerly named th ...

. There is a narrow path that often connects the island to the mainland beach. The island is surrounded by sea grottos and has a small and rather rocky beach which is a popular destination for sunbathers.

History

King

Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies Ferdinand I (Italian language, Italian: ''Ferdinando I''; 12 January 1751 – 4 January 1825) was Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, King of the Two Sicilies from 1816 until his death. Before that he had been, since 1759, King of Naples as Ferdinand I ...

gifted the island to the nearby town of Taormina in 1806. The island was in 1890 bought from the town by Trevelyan, who built a small house facing the sea and imported exotic plants, which thrived in the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

climate. Subsequent owners kept up the island, until the owner went bankrupt, and auctioned the island in 1990. The island had been noted by conservationists as early as 1983, and it was quickly obtained by the region and designated as a protected natural site. The island is home to several species of birds, and a few types of lizards. Panoramic View of Isola Bella

History

References

See also