🏰 Lipari
The island is usually used as a base for “emigrating” to the others in the archipelago. It is beautiful above and below the sea, with its beaches of very fine pumice, granite rocks, inlets, sea stacks and caves. The town of Lipari fans out around the rock where the old castle stands, and right at its foot, on both sides of the promontory, are two of the island’s three small harbors. To the left of the Castle promontory, the coast forms a small inlet with the harbor of Marina Corta, where the charming Church of the Souls in Purgatory separates the two small basins.
One of the first things to do as soon as you arrive in Lipari, perhaps before boarding, is a tour of the island. Starting from the town of Lipari, you follow the seafront to Marina Lunga, pass Pignataro marina and head toward Canneto, in an inlet bounded to the southeast by Monte Pilato. From Canneto, taking the road to the little church of Pirrera, you reach Forgia Vecchia, the Rocche Rosse and Campo Bianco, quarries of obsidian and pumice. Continuing on to Porticello, overlooked by deposits of white rock, and past the headland of Punta Castagna, where you can admire the unusual sight of pumice “sciare” sliding down into the sea, you come to the village of Acquacalda, with its long beach and a splendid view of Salina.
From here the road climbs up the mountain to the village of Quattropani, and if you keep going you reach Pianoconte. A few minutes away are the Terme di San Calogero, built in 1867 around the “stufa,” a Roman sweating cave dating back about 3,500 years, and the Mycenaean “Tholos.” Continuing around the island you come to the Quattrocchi viewpoint. From here you can admire the picturesque inlets and steep cliffs plunging into the sea, the enchanting view of the Faraglioni sea stacks and Vulcano in the background. Then you head back toward Lipari along the main road, but it is worth one last detour to discover the International Geophysical Observatory on top of Monte Guardia. Back in town you will have plenty of time to admire the Civita, with the Castle park, the Cathedral, the archaeological reconstructions of the sites and the Archaeological Museum, one of the most important in Europe, which definitely deserves a visit of its own.
But Lipari is without doubt at its best from the sea. After a pleasant evening in Lipari on boarding day, in the morning we will set off for the Pumice Quarries for a lovely swim in the crystal-clear water at the foot of the old pumice quarries, which give the sandy seabed a Caribbean look. We will relax here over lunch before leaving in the afternoon for Panarea. Sailing along a sheer coastline full of colors and striking shades, you pass from “Cala Fico” to the massive, distinctive bulk of the “Pietra del Bagno,” facing the reddish rocks of the coast farther down. The southern side of the island faces Vulcano, separated from it by a narrow stretch of sea called “Le Bocche di Vulcano,” which we will cross on the last day of the cruise on our way back to Lipari. It is fronted by the soaring, unmistakable shapes of the two great sea stacks of Pietra Lunga and Pietra Menalda. Sailing around the sea stacks and stopping at anchor for a pleasant swim at sunset will be the perfect end to the week.
🍸 Panarea
A spectacular island, one of the most enchanting in the archipelago! It is the most exclusive of the Aeolians, where the days go by diving over rainbow-colored seabeds and enjoying the ritual of good wine on a terrace. With a view of Stromboli’s glow… true, but that’s not all! The smallest, the most fashionable, overrun by young people having fun, listening to music and hanging out together, spending the afternoon on boats at anchor off Cala Zimmari or in the lee of Dattilo, dancing on the foredeck to the music and having water-balloon fights from the dinghies. It is fun to mix with the young people passing through Panarea, and fun to bring ten boats and ten crews together in a flotilla to celebrate the summer sun and sea! All this before meeting up at sunset for an aperitif on the terrace of the Bridge Sushi Bar, for nights full of VIPs at the Raya nightclub, and for a freshly baked croissant at Panea.
But Panarea is not just the island of VIP candlelit dinners, wild, exclusive parties and romantic walks through the dark lanes of Drauto. If you look closely and let go of the fanciful idea everyone has of Panarea, you discover a welcoming, almost homey atmosphere, nature not yet ruined by illegal building and an enchanting sea with a thousand shades, from the emerald green of the bays to the white of hazy, windless days, to the deepest blue when the westerly wind blows hard. Deserted inlets and islets you can reach by dinghy straight from the boat, spectacular seabeds to explore free diving or with scuba tanks. Don’t miss the turquoise, almost always sheltered water of Cala Junco, perhaps the most photographed spot in the Aeolians, especially from the headland of Capo Milazzese, site of a Bronze Age village where Mycenaean artifacts were also found (now kept in the Archaeological Museum in Lipari). The whole coast, too, sheer above the sea and visited only by gulls and Eleonora’s falcons, all the way to the La Nave rock, is perfect for snorkeling and spearfishing. Although the white bream, saddled bream and mullet will drive you crazy, darting among the countless holes in the rockfall.
Panarea’s real jewels are the islets in front of it, a sort of archipelago within the archipelago! Whether as large as Basiluzzo or simple rocks like the Panarelli and the Formiche, they rise from the same underwater base, known for curious eruptive phenomena that make the water bubble. As you approach and sail around it, Basiluzzo turns out to be an imposing, uninhabited rock of volcanic origin, what remains of the ancient eruptive vents of the Panarea volcanic system. Its rock walls are extremely steep, and there is only a small natural landing at its easternmost tip, where an old path leads up to a clearing. Among the rugged rocks grow rosemary, capers, cliff carnations, dwarf palms and the Aeolian lemon. The flat part, divided by dry stone walls and once used to grow grain, is now overgrown with heather, mastic and wild onion. Visiting Basiluzzo means stepping into a unique atmosphere where the absolute silence is broken only by the sea breaking on the shore and the rustle of the wind. From the top you can enjoy a wonderful view of the other rocks and of Panarea. Basiluzzo keeps giving thrills along its shore, so on our tour the boats will sail all the way around it to admire the extraordinary, rugged coastline, with small caves, high walls where the lava layers are clearly visible and bizarre rock formations rising from the sea like monuments.
Swimming in the short channel between Lisca Bianca and Lisca Nera, enjoying the sight of sulfur vents bubbling up from the seabed, or diving at the Secca dei Pesci to watch the amberjacks pass or to look for the wreck of the British cargo ship that sank off Lisca Bianca, on a seabed sloping from 25 to 40 meters down, are fantastic experiences. But to feel like you are in paradise, all you have to do is let the boat rock you, with a glass of Salina Malvasia in your hand, and cast a casual glance at the unlucky ones heading back to port! With Stromboli in the background, smoking and throwing out lapilli. Whether you are sipping a colorful drink on the terrace of the Raya or savoring a glass of Malvasia, the view will take your breath away!
🌋 Stromboli
From the depths of the sea, the bulk of Stromboli, with its slender slopes, stands out boldly against a sapphire sky. On its eastern slopes, covered in a mantle of green, typical little white houses stand out. Some, lined up along ebony-black beaches or near lava rocks, create striking color contrasts. Other houses are perched around the churches or hidden among centuries-old olive groves. Others still climb the steep slopes of the mountain. They are mostly in ruins and once gave shelter to the islanders who fell victim to the night raids of Saracen pirates. Around the village run long hedges of prickly pears, which often mark property lines. Scattered whimsically over the ledges or clinging to the walls, caper plants show off their shape, like strange green umbrellas that in summer are decked with showy white flowers. In spring the thick olive trees and vineyards, crossed here and there by rows of wisteria, brambles and broom, make an enchanting scene. The idyllic picture is completed by the lullaby of the cicadas, drunk on sun and scents.
Heading north, past Punta Lena, you sail along a beach backed by a tuff cliff, after which opens the island’s main beach, Ficogrande, where the ships connecting Stromboli with Sicily and Campania dock. Until World War I, this beach, like the one at Scari, was home to large sailing ships that made Stromboli’s merchant fleet the most important in the Aeolian archipelago. Continuing around the island, high rock walls appear, jutting boldly into the sea. Once you round them, the grand sight of the Sciara del Fuoco, the “Stream of Fire,” opens up before your amazed eyes. It is a steep, wide slope furrowed by streams of lava flowing toward the sea and crossed by huge glowing boulders rolling down amid swirling clouds of thick steam and gusts of ash. At the top of the sciara, at an altitude of 700 m, you can see the eruptive system, deeply set between gigantic dikes and massive bulks of volcanic conglomerate, often wrapped in haze and pelted by the red-hot material thrown out by the vents. The show the Sciara puts on is especially striking at night, when the lava flows look like fantastic streams of fire. This will be one of our destinations, both by night and by day.
We will moor off the beach of Ficogrande and, going up to the square, we could venture all the way to the top of the village terrace to reach the “Ingrid bar and restaurant” and, sipping excellent aperitifs and local delicacies, enjoy the view of the volcano’s slopes, following the little “fireflies” of the keen hikers coming down the ridge after the night hike. Yes. Because while some, out of curiosity, will go looking for the house that hosted the brief love affair between Ingrid Bergman and Rossellini during the filming of “Stromboli, terra di Dio,” others, more daring, can choose the hike up to the top of the crater, where, with due care and the guides, you can even spend part of the night. The starry sky of Stromboli, seen from up there on July nights, is a unique emotion. The almost nonexistent light pollution makes it one of the few places in Europe where you can see the largest number of celestial bodies. From the top of the volcano you can also watch Stromboli’s constant activity. The explosions, called Strombolian, make the island tremble a little and throw glowing lava into the air. It is a trip we always recommend to our guests, because the show the volcano puts on is unmatched.
Depending on the weather, both sea and wind, we might also decide to leave the mooring buoy for a while and head out at night to discover the sciara, then come back once we have admired Stromboli’s fountains of lava from below. Leaving the island the next morning after spending the night there, we will sail past Strombolicchio, a little less than a mile to the northeast, the part of Stromboli’s underwater platform that rises above the sea. It is an imposing rock made mostly of basalt, which geologists call a “volcanic spine” because it is the ancient solidified remnant of the volcanic vent of the mother island, worn down over time by natural forces. Eroded by wind and weather, its rough, jagged profile studded with pinnacles and spires makes it look like a dark, fascinating Gothic cathedral! Topped by its distinctive lighthouse, the rock soars majestically toward the sky, with steep walls dropping sheer into the clear water of the Tyrrhenian. A steep staircase of more than two hundred steps, partly cut into the rock, leads up to the terrace from which you can admire the stunning view of Stromboli and Sicily, almost as far as Calabria when the sky is clear.
🌿 Salina
The island is divided into three municipalities, Santa Marina, Leni and Malfa. Hydrofoils and ferries call at the harbor of Santa Marina and, on the other side of the island, at Rinella. A paved road links Lingua, Santa Marina, Malfa and Pollara, and a branch crosses the saddle between the two volcanoes to reach Leni and Rinella. Salina has an excellent minibus service that quickly connects all the villages, even late in the evening, and you can also rent scooters and quads to explore the island, heading toward the Fern Woods up to the Sanctuary, to the charming little village of Rinella or toward the famous bay of Pollara, which we will also reach by sea as we sail around the island. Don’t miss the charming village of Santa Marina, full of brightly colored flowers spilling naturally over the medieval walls of its narrow lanes, and of shops packed with typical local products. Around the little square, the meeting point for everyone who comes ashore to enjoy the island, are restaurants and bars set in old Aeolian buildings, bright white and trimmed with bare rock. The island’s upper slopes are covered with ferns, poplars, chestnuts and the typical Mediterranean scrub, made up mostly of broom, myrtle and strawberry trees.
The middle and lower slopes are often terraced and dotted with caper bushes, prickly pears and various crops, such as orchards, olive groves and vineyards. Among the local products, special mention goes to the red wine, remarkable for its aroma and high alcohol content, and above all to Malvasia, the renowned white wine that only Salina produces in the archipelago. Malvasia is golden yellow, with an intense aroma and a delicately sweet taste. Already called “the nectar of the gods” by Diodorus Siculus, it is a delicious white passito, made by drying and then pressing the round grapes that ripen in the sun of the island’s vineyards. An ancient wine, born from grapes brought by the legendary Homeric heroes who landed on these shores, if not by Phoenician pirates, it still keeps intact the memory of the ancient Mediterranean civilization. Sipping it with fine cheeses or traditional sweets (as the experts recommend) means rediscovering pieces of that distant past, steeped in clear sea and sunny beaches. Along with Malvasia, Salina is known for its tasty capers.
Sailing around the island offers unforgettable views of its high, solemn coastline, its distinctive raised terraces, its lovely little beaches and its villages of typical white houses, set along the sea or halfway up the slopes. Even today, the island’s traditional architecture has not changed much. Most homes are single-story buildings with a flat terrace roof and a pergola held up by columns. Only in the villages do you see houses with an upper floor. In summer, Salina is a base for trips to the other islands of the archipelago. As a whole, the island is very picturesque, and it is easy to admire its scenery thanks to an efficient network of roads connecting its various villages. The hike to the Fossa delle Felci, the highest peak in the whole archipelago and also a nature reserve, is spectacular too. Starting from Valdichiesa or from Santa Marina Salina, you can hike up the mountain, from which you can admire a wonderful view of the entire archipelago, the Sicilian coast and, in the distance, Etna.
Sailing along the coast of Salina and approaching Lingua, we can’t resist dropping anchor and taking the chance to go ashore and enjoy two of the best-known and tastiest products in all the Aeolians, the “pane cunzato” and the granita of the legendary, evergreen Alfredo. Why “Da Alfredo” and not somewhere else? Because Alfredo’s granita tastes of Salina lemons, as big as the Amalfi sfusato, of the figs that bend the branches of the trees behind every low wall on the island, of mulberries, almonds and even the strawberries that arrive by ferry. The glass cups show off its creamy texture. There is no liquid at the bottom, and yet it is not too cold. There is a secret to this granita that Alfredo jealously guards at the bottom of his fruit-pressing machines. Here the taste and scent of the fruit don’t hide, they go to your head from the very first spoonful. Up to two different flavors in the same cup, with or without whipped cream… and that, too, is nothing short of sublime!
The “pane cunzato” (“dressed” or rather topped bread) is not served the traditional way here, but reinvented and made unique! Each serving of pane cunzato is skillfully enriched with local fragrant herbs that fill it with different scents, with rosemary, oregano, basil, garlic, calamint and mint, combined with the zest of verdelli lemons, “a pennula” cherry tomatoes and, of course, capers. Instead of a roll or a slice there is a round of toasted bread, served with different toppings, all based on the flavors of the island. From sweet cherry tomatoes to anchovies in oil, from red onions (braided and hung on every balcony on Salina) to capers (plain, as a paste or as “cucunci,” the caper berries), not to mention generous gratings of baked ricotta salata from the dairies around Milazzo. To start, it is best to order one for two people. The mountain of ingredients piled on these rounds of bread is a real test for many appetites!
After a lovely evening all together at the table, it is nice to take some time for a walk alone along the pier, or to enjoy with friends the music of the local bands that take turns every week. One of the most moving stops on the trip around Salina is anchoring in the rocky amphitheater of the bay of Pollara, which rises majestically and swallows up our tiny boats at anchor… “How do you become a poet?” “Try walking along the shore to the bay, looking around you.” That is how Pablo Neruda answered Mario Ruoppolo, the Postman who wanted to learn from the Chilean poet the art of writing love poems, turning sighs and trembling into words and phrases to win a woman’s heart. Letters in exchange for poetry, the moving trade suggested to the cinematic genius of Massimo Troisi by Antonio Skármeta’s novel “Ardiente paciencia.” Languid, sensual and sometimes daring verses, whispered on the beach and entrusted to the gentle waves lapping the coast of Pollara, an enchanted corner of Salina. The shyest of the Aeolian Islands, but also the most sensual. The Greeks called it Didyme, from the Greek word for twins, because of the double profile of its two twin volcanoes on the horizon, which recall the full curves of a woman’s breast. A green island, rich in fresh water and forests, chestnuts, poplars and other plants with a Mediterranean scent. Of all the island’s hidden corners, Pollara is truly the most intimate and secret hideaway, the place to gather the confessions and hopes of a love. A strip of sand surrounded by an arc of high white cliffs, the visible part of a submerged crater, a pulsing center of life and creation, whose core lies a few meters deep in the middle of the bay. On the other half of the crater stand the colorful houses of the fishermen. Besides the colors and the scents mixed with the smell of salt, it is the sounds that make Salina recognizable forever. The roar of the sea, the rustle of the wind, the clipped phrases of old sea dogs, the puffs of the fumaroles… that is why Mario records all the sounds of the island for his faraway Master, to let Neruda relive all the moments they shared and to show him that he has learned his lesson. Beauty creates beauty, and on Salina, an island that stays in your heart, that beauty feeds on the harmony of an ancient, unspoiled nature!
🗿 Filicudi
Rugged and wild, Filicudi shows all its captivating splendor from far away, with that unmistakable profile that makes it recognizable among a thousand and unique in the world. The island’s slopes are mostly steep and rocky. The houses are clustered around the harbor of Pecorini a Mare and, above all, at Valdichiesa, where the church of Santo Stefano stands. Filicudi’s coastline has uncommon beauty. Terraced slopes covered in broom woods running down to the sea alternate with narrow valleys, crumbling cliffs and coastlines that are sometimes stern, sometimes inviting. At Pecorini a Mare, named for the way it looks from afar to sailors, like a flock of sheep clinging to the island’s ridge, we will moor to a buoy and, after a refreshing swim, whoever wants can enjoy a fun happy hour ashore. Over the years the islanders’ initiative has created a meeting place here that gets very crowded, especially in August. Two cheerful local ladies lay out an inviting spread simply by opening the shutters of their houses overlooking the little harbor, letting guests taste delicacies and traditional dishes.
Of great interest on this island are its many beautiful sea caves. The most famous, the Bue Marino, was once thought to be the lair of monstrous creatures. With its unusual pointed-arch shape, it is easy to reach by dinghy, so you can explore every corner, even by swimming, and enjoy the striking silence that hangs inside. On the way to Alicudi we can’t miss a stop for a swim and lunch in the shade of “La Canna,” an imposing volcanic sea stack a full 85 meters high, towering over the sharp outlines of the rocks of Montenassari, Mitra and Notaro.
🔥 Vulcano
A red glow, smoke, ash, lapilli. The earth shakes like a restless giant, puffing and rumbling, until long, winding tongues of lava begin to run down the sides of the underground forge where Vulcan, the divine blacksmith of fire, blows his scorching breath! Volcanoes have always frightened, amazed and fired the imagination of peoples. The tremors of earthquakes, the smoke, the ash, the fire and the molten rock give voice to the tormented soul of the Earth. An active volcano is an open door to the center of our world, to the primordial forces that shaped it and keep changing it without rest! Vulcano, the ancient Hierà (sacred), Thermessa or Terasia, is a very interesting island for its many volcanic and post-volcanic phenomena. Vulcano’s most distinctive feature is a plateau, the largest in the Aeolians, made of lava, layers of tuff and Quaternary deposits and cut by deep ravines. It is ringed by bare, rolling hills that slope down to the sea. On the island’s upper slopes the landscape is picturesque and wild. Peaks alternate with wide stretches of tuff and sand. Sailing around Vulcano is a series of fantastic sights, famous for the variety and beauty of their scenery.
The island of Vulcano has three distinct landforms. The first, in the south, is made up of several stratovolcanoes (Monte Aria (500 m), Monte Saraceno (481 m) and Monte Luccia (188 m)) and of the large depression of Vulcano Piano (330 m), shaped like a horseshoe open to the northwest. The second, in the center, is the Caldera di Vulcano, whose central part forms the crater of Vulcano Fossa. This is deeply cut by gullies and made up of two craters, Fossa I and, 400 meters southwest of it, the present-day Fossa II crater. It is about 500 meters wide and 200 meters deep and has produced historically known eruptions, mostly explosive, with many lava flows. One of them, the famous obsidian flow of Pietre Cotte, spreads along the northwest flank near the two parasitic craters of upper and lower Forgia Vecchia. The third landform is Vulcanello (123 m), with its three craters lined up from northeast to southwest. This small volcano produced many lava flows that form the Vulcanello platform and Punta del Roveto. Vulcanello is joined to Vulcano by a thin isthmus, about one meter above sea level, which goes under water in especially bad weather. In the summer months the ground takes on beautiful, varied colors. These are efflorescences (fumarole sublimates) of iron and aluminum sulfate oozing from the soil.
Around the sea stacks and off the beach where we will moor, you can see the typical bubbling of the water caused by underwater fumaroles. On the seabed you can make out deposits of colloidal sulfur in thin, fluffy filaments that give the sea a milky look. As the gas bursts out, it creates countless bubbles on the surface. You can watch this very well from the top of the sea stacks when the sea is calm. But above all, it will surely be a curious experience to swim in these waters and enjoy their benefits, which the locals say are good for the skin and for joint pain. A few hundred meters farther on, we can admire a hot spring called Acqua di Bagno, known for its healing powers.
The climb up the volcano and the hike to the crater make a pleasant walk, best done early in the morning or in the evening, and even though it is uphill, you don’t need a guide to reach the top. You can go on your own, starting from the harbor area, where a well-marked trail begins. At the top you will enjoy a magnificent view and, if the gas emissions allow, a full view of the plug that seals the central crater. Anyone can do it, and kids will enjoy climbing freely too. The way down is easy and, with due care, great fun if you take the sandy slopes that let you jump. The crater is about 400 meters high, and at a normal pace you reach the top in less than an hour. No danger, then… so let’s go! In town, too, Vulcano offers plenty of choice. It is packed with shops, boutiques, restaurants, meeting spots and small beach clubs called “chiringuitos,” where we usually meet at sunset for an aperitif and good music… Before setting sail for Lipari, don’t forget to stop by and try the granita at Remigio, a classic 1960s café overlooking the island’s small harbor.