Palazzo Duchi di Santo Stefano stands just inside Porta Catania, where Taormina’s medieval edge is still easy to read. The palace mixes Sicilian Gothic bones with Arab-Norman details: dark lava-stone trim, pointed arches, mullioned windows, and a compact garden that gives the whole place a quieter rhythm than Corso Umberto.
It is not a large sight, but it is one of Taormina’s better architectural stops because it shows the town before it became a view-and-shopping machine. The interior is often used for exhibitions connected with the Fondazione Mazzullo, so you may get sculpture or local art along with the building itself.