Italy; The Aeolian Islands, The Secret Islands
Stromboli Volcano
The Aeolian Islands sit right off of the northeastern side of a neighboring, but larger Italian Island, the island of Sicily. Not well known and not well visited, these are truly hidden secret islands. In fact, probably the easiest way to visit the Aeolian Islands is by yacht charter. And by yacht charter, you will be one of the few visitors and have a choice of anchorages and lovely isolated beaches to yourself. However the highlight of the Aeolian Islands is the active volcano on Stromboli Islands, as where else can you anchor underneath an active volcano and watch the active volcano “fireworks” while dining on deck.
Lipari
The main islands of the Aeolian Islands are Lipari, Stromboli, Vulcano, Panarea, Basiluzzo, Salina, Filicudi, and Alicudi. Lipari is the most well known and probably the most well settled. There is a very good museum on Lipari, well worth visiting, that traces the history of civilization in the Aeolian Islands from the stone age. Panarea is the jet set island of the group, if one of the islands were to be singled out for that description and one of the other inhabited islands. Stromboli has one of the most active volcanos in the world, which has been erupting for the last 2000 years. Climb to the crater and after working up an appetite have a pizza cooked in oven heated by the volcano. Agriculture is predominant in these islands with the rich volcanic soil and restaurants commonly serve the catch of the day and the main menu item.
Panarea
A great way to see these islands is by yacht charter. A one week charter beginning and ending in Palermo, Sicily can include the highlights of the Aeolian Islands and one or two other ports on the island of Sicily. There is an airport servicing Palermo, so for a charter including the Aeolian Islands flying into Palermo and starting and ending your charter in Sicily is the easiest way to organize a charter of Sicily and the Aeolian Islands. And if you do decide to do this charter itinerary, you will be one of few that have cruised this volcanic archipelago in the Tyrrhenian Sea.
Caves on Filicudi
Labels: Western Mediterranean - Italy
