Giardini Naxos is one of the most famous places in Sicily. There are about forty hotels in modern structures, luxury restaurants, pizzerias, bars, sophisticated discos, elegant and typical meeting places that preserve traditional elements of Sicilian culture. The often sharp contrasts that have characterized the social and economic life of Sicily are clearly represented in Giardini Naxos by the presence of monumental “turn of the century” architecture alongside poor buildings but rich in colors and ornamental elements that cannot be connected to a background “official” cultural, but they are a spontaneous decorative expression of a typical fishing village in the Mediterranean. There are elegant villas, once used as residences by the wealthier classes and remnants of the past such as the Spanish bastion of the 8th century, surprising and perfectly integrated into the surrounding environment, albeit a typically military building.
The museum and the archaeological park are famous and contain important remains from the prehistoric age up to the Greek, Roman and Byzantine age. There are also two kilns belonging to the same period and which were probably used for cooking votive objects or large terracotta pots and architectural elements. Archaeological excavations have brought to light a second urban system dating back to the 5th century. In the so-called “block C4”, it is possible to distinguish quadrangular cubes that present the characteristic features of local architecture. Giardini Naxos is also home to an important artistic craft business; here the typical handicraft products are manufactured and sold: embroideries, refined fabrics and carpets, ceramics and terracotta objects. Wrought iron objects are the most important local handicrafts and reveal the art and virtuosity of local artisans.