In Depth

The Case of the Bouncing Check -- The writer Truman Capote visited Taormina to finish his novel Answered Prayers. One drunken night at the San Domenico, he closed a deal to purchase the offshore island Isola Bella. It's actually a gloriously conical peninsula -- small, ringed with sand, and absolutely beautiful. The asking price from a local landowner was $10,000. Everyone was happy with this amazing deal until the check was returned from New York, marked "insufficient funds."