As the domain of Aeolus, god of the winds, the Lipari Islands are a volcanic archipelago visible from Sicily's northern coast. The principal islands are Lipari, Salina, Filicudi, Alicudi, Stromboli, Panarea and Vulcano. Geologically, thhis beautiful archipelago is quite rugged, with deep caverns, steep cliffs, and splendid views. The volcanoes of Stromboli and appropriately named Vulcano, erupt fairly frequently. Islands Filicudi, Alicudi and Salina are without volcanic activity in historical memory. The Aeolian Islands were inscripted into UNESCO World Heritage Sites List in 2000.
The published coordinates will send you onto pier of Porto di Levante on Vulcano Island, the best access points for visiting of interesting Vulcano island with magnificent Fossa crater and later for another parts of the Archipelago...
LIPARI is the largest island has an area of almost 37 km². It's almost 10 km in length and about 5 km wide. From a historical point of view, Lipari is the most interesting of the islands, though summer visitors come mostly for the beaches. The main locality, called Lipari, is a charming town that boasts a largely reconstructed Norman-era church and a fine archeological museum nearby. Once known as the Trade Centre of Obsidian and renowned today as the main Centre for Pumice stone. The island of Lipari is the most complex from the geological and volcanogical point of view.
SALINA is the second largest Aeolian island (26.8 km²) and 2 miles from Lipari. It was named after the little salted lake of Lingua lying at the south-eastern tip of Santa Marina where the inhabitants once used to gather the salt needed to preserve capers and fish. It is the only Aeolian island covered with blooming vegetation suitable for agriculture thanks to its many water sources. The highest peaks are derived from three volcanoes that originated it. One of which is partially covered by one of the most beautiful strawberry tree woods of the entire Mediterranean.
VULCANO island gas srea 21 km². For the Romans, the island of Vulcano was the habitation of the fire god Vulcan. Vulcano is famous for its hot springs and sulphur mud baths. They are located within easy walking distance from the harbor. You can also walk up to the crater where you will see many places where smoke comes out of the ground. The smell of sulfur is all around you. Around 700 people live on the island, mainly deriving their income from tourism.
PANAREA has surface area: 3.4 km². The most polished of the Aeolian Islands is the smallest: Panarea is the siren that attracts the tourists. Its rock formations are the most dramatic, its streets the tidiest and, during the brief high season, helicopter shuttles clutter its airspace. Panarea's summertime population can turn the island's narrow roads into congested throughways, it is still all rather tame compared with other Mediterranean destinations.
Panarea, the antique Eunonimo, is a most scenographic island; one of the most enchanting of the Archipelago.
STROMBOLI is together with Vulcano is probably the most famous of these islands. Far from the other islands, and dominated by a single large volcano, Stromboli itself is impressive from a distance. Its deep waters are a favorite of divers. It is one of the four active volcanos in Italy. It is in near-perpetual state of eruption and is one of the most spectacular in the world. The locals have a name for it: Iddu, or him. They address it like a living person, and visit it like they would a neighbour - at least they did before the enormous April 2003 explosion that forced the entire island to evacuate for several months.
ALICUDI is a tiny island only 2.5 km wide. Spring and autumn offer a host of wild flowers and migrating birds. Summer brings the heat of the Southern Mediterranean and sparkling seas. Alicudi is a fascinating volcanic rock in the middle of the sea, inhabited by about a hundred people. The island has no roads and no traffic. It can be travelled over only on foot, along century-old stepped paths. There is always a stretch of beach where you can find solitude and the quiet sound of the sea on the rocks. The water quality is fantastic, and marine life varied. Great for an hour or two of snorkelling or tanning. The mountain is rugged and grand. You can explore its wild beauty unfettered by fences and limits.
FILICUDI (surface area 9.5 km²), the ancient Phoenicusa, called thus owing to its fern vegetation which, especially in ancient times, was most abundant. The island oval shaped with an appendix to the South East composed of the small peninsula of Capo Graziano. The summit of Filicudi has the same name as that of Salina: Fossa delle Felci (774 m). The lower summits are called: the Montagnola (383 m) and the Terrion (278 m). AII three were once seats of volcanoes. The slopes of the island are, principally, steep and rocky...