Letojanni

Along the Ionian coast, Letojanni is the ideal place for pleasant stay thanks to its pebbles beaches and clear sea.

HISTORY. Until the first half of the eighteenth century, Letojanni was only little fishing village on the Gulf of Ionio. It was the seaside of an immediate neighbour named Gallodoro. Only after the construction of the provincial road and of the railway, its development starts. In 1879, the municipal seat of Gallodoro was moved to Letojanni (the two villages will part in 1952).

PEOPLE OF INFLUENCE. The town became famous for being the birthplace of the surgeon and scientist Francesco Durante. Here he decided to build a clinic, now converted into a museum. In the center of the main square it was erected his statue of him (created by the sculptor Ettore Ximenes) and inaugurated in 1923.

TOURISM BEGINS. Only in the 1950s, thanks to the close Taormina, Letojanni became a tourist destination. The dietician Benjamin Gayelord Hauser contributed to the growth of tourists in Letojanni by building a villa where to host his guests. Included several Hollywood stars, such as Greta Garbo. It was the begin of the development of the city and of the building of hotels and restaurants that make Letojanni a great village where to spend pleasant time.