26/12/2021
Seven small inhabited Italian islands off the northern shore of Sicily.
In winter, the traveller going along the sinuous coast road that flanks the Tyrrhenian Sea, the Aeolian Islands (which be- came World Heritage in 2000) appear in the motionless and clear air like certain drawings by children, with the outlines of the islands floating between sea and turquoise sky. On warm days, instead, when haze settles on the horizon, the uncertain blue outlines of the islands look like those of an ancient: fleet that has run aground, hopefully awaiting rescue.
But in either season, they accompany the traveller for long stretches. and is is difficult to resist their call, as if new sirens intoned their bewitching songs from the coasts that seem so near. The Aeolians are almost magic islands, and fabulous ones: the ancient Greeks, fascinated by their changing appearance indeed, they appear and disappear according to the whim of the clouds and the winds, changing their colour and it would seem, even their positions - set more than one of their myths here.
It is not difficult to understand this even today, though our souls are now accustomed to every form of technology, from the moment when you reach Volcano, the first landing place of the sailor coming from the Sicilian coasts. With its dark look and the smell of sulphur floating around, it might seem indeed like the antechamber of hell... and in some respects it was hell, far the hosts of damned that, up to the end of the nineteenth century were forced in a space of inhuman imprisonment to extract sulphur and alum from the bowels of the earth.
Today of those poor wretches only the memory remains, and the island is instead a destination of tourists and volcanologists. The former come in search of the emotion of a bath in the heated by the volcano (which has therapeutic validity for the treatment of some skin diseases) and of an ascent to the volcano cloaked in dust and sulphur crystals; the latter are attracted by the possibility of observing and studying volcanic phenomena close up, to the only trace, at least for the time being. of eruptive activity that provoked huge cataclysms in The past, described by historians from the epoch of Pliny the Elder on with abundance of dreadful details.
It was really an eruption that detached Volcano from its neighbour Lipari, the pulsating heart of the archipelago, its capital since the most remote epochs, when the islands were at the centre of flourish trade in obsidian, the volcanic glass sought even in the most distant land in the Mediterranean for its properties: it was not only a very sharp stone, but it also had reputation to be for being thaumaturgic, magic. The village is all around two landing places and in it there is the Aeolian Archaeological Museum, one of the most important in Italy, set in the area of the castle, the fortified zone where the successive inhabitants of the island settled. In addition to finds testifying to the ancient history of the archipelago, the museum also has a vulcanological section in which the particular geology of the islands is illustrated.
After a visit to the museum you can visit the church dedicated to the patron saint Bartholomew, which has beautiful ceiling: you can also see the excavations that have brought to light residences from different epochs, some prehistoric, and look out from the belvedere near the tether, to enjoy a magnificent panorama of Marina Corta, the picturesque harbour that is one of the hearts of social life in Lipari. After you get back onto the sea a must is to sail round the island, which will allow sailors to admire caves, little bays and cliffs, before setting off for Salina, the next stage.
Dominated by the massive shape of two mountains, this island is known as "the green one" because of the quantity of vegetation that cover it, and in effect its two main products are linked to nature: capers and Malvasia, a sweet liquor known since antiquity. On Salina you can visit the village of Pollara, with a beach at the foot of a Cycloptic sheer part, and you can look for of Massimo Troisi, who here made Il Postino, his last movie. The archipelago can boast of a long cinema history: on Stromboli, for instance, Roberto Rossellini made his film Stromboli with Ingrid Bergman, giving the public black and bare images of the island. It is nothing but the peak of a huge submarine volcano. whose activity, documented since the remotest Times. never ceases, so much so that eruptions. at almost regular intervals of 15-20 minutes, even acted as a lighthouse for people who crossed the low Tyrrhenian. Today night time excursions are organized to see the eruptions redding against the black velvet of the sky.
Now we must speak of Panarea, a picturesque mix of sea, archaeology and social life.
This island for some years has been distinguished by exclusive tourism. being preferred by the best:-known members of cthe international jet set. Near Puma Milazzese there is one of the prehistoric villages that are most important for the history of the archipelago, but also the splendid Cala Junco, one of the most beautiful in the Aeolian Islands. And we must also speak of the two most secluded and solitary sisters, Alicudi and Filicudi. The former, more to the west, is not an island for everybody you need only know that there is not even one road but only paths up which you climb on foot or on a mule’s back. The houses are few and tiny, concentrated in the western part. and it is only for a few years that they have had electric energy.
Filicudi is also very distant from mass tourism. although less wild than its neighbour: A must is a bathe in the gigantic Sea Ox cave. as well as excursions to the Perciato and the Canna spit, a basaltic rock-stack that rises over seventy metres from the surface of the sea.
And as we are talking about islands and the sea, your luggage must include a mask and nozzle: in this way even less expert people can explore the magnificent sea beds, observing on the water's surface Gorgonia grasslands and the rapid flashes if every sort of fish.
Although there are various options for reaching the Aeolian Islands, and your choice may be determined by your starting location or flight availability, I'd recommend the Catania Airport-Milazzo route - described above - as being the most straightforward. Milazzo is the best port to aim for. When there are rough seas around Italy - which is fairly common in winter and not impossible even in the summer - connections to the islands can be cut, and the Milazzo services are the most frequent and the most likely to run at least a minimal service. Palermo airport is a good second choice as you may find bargain flights and be able to catch a hydrofoil from the town to Lipari - or failing that, take a 3-hour train ride to Milazzo.
Saturnalis can help you to sketch out your bespoke Aeolian experience for next Spring/Summer 2022. Email us at [email protected] for more information.
Daniele Balzarotti
Founder and Managing Director at Saturnalis Experiential Travel
Saturnalis Experiential Travel
