Area description for Lipari, Aeolian islands

Lipari

Lipari is the main town on the island. Clearly visible, as you approach the island from the sea, are the top of the town, the fortified city with behind (visible if you come from Marina Lunga) the former Franciscan convent, now Town Hall. Far below at its feet sit the two bays of Marina Corta, watched by the small church of the Anime del Purgatorio (once isolated on a rock, now linked to the mainland) and by the 1600’s church of San Giuseppe, and of Marina Lunga, the larger of the two inlets. On the last night of the festival of St. Bartholomew on 24 August, Marina Corta is illuminated by a magnificent display of fireworks, set off from the sea. The lower part of town or città bassa, with its main street Corso Vittorio Emanuele lined with charming shops and restaurants, provides the perfect context for the traditional passeggiata (walk).

Aeolian Islands

The seven Aeolian Islands are situated off the north-eastern coast of Sicily. They vary in character from being rough and untamed places (like the two most remote islands Filicudi and Alicudi), to being tempered by residents and visitors (Lipari and Panarea), to introverted and solitary (Salina), or lively (Vulcano and Stromboli) which, with timely precision one might say, puff out smoke before relishing the attention paid to them as they toss small incandescent lumps of stone high into the air.

Sicily

Sicily has beckoned seafaring wanderers since the trials of Odysseus were first sung in Homer's Odyssey. Strategically poised between Europe and Africa, this mystical land of three corners and a fiery volcano was the site of two of the most enlightened capitals of Europe: the ancient Greek city at Siracusa, and, in medieval times, the Arab-Norman one at Palermo. The island has been a melting pot of great Mediterranean cultures: Greek and Roman; then Arab and Norman; and finally French, Spanish, and Italian. Sicily reflects these influences in a rich tapestry of art and architecture that includes massive Romanesque cathedrals, two of the best-preserved Greek temples in the world, Roman amphitheaters, and baroque palaces and churches.