Isola Bella (Sicily)

Isola Bella (Sicilian: Ìsula Bedda) is a small island near Taormina, Sicily, southern Italy.

Also known as The Pearl of the Ionian Sea, it is located within a small bay on the Ionian Sea; 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, administered by the Italian branch of the World Wide Fund for Nature.

The island is surrounded by sea grottos and has a small and rather rocky beach which is a popular destination for sunbathers.

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 climate.

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.