Page 200 - The Rough Guide of Sicily

The Aeolian Islands, or Isole Eolie, are a mysterious apparition when glimpsed
from Sicily’s northern coast. Sometimes it’s clear enough to pick out the
individual white houses on their rocky shores; at other times they’re murky,
misty and only half-visible. D.H. Lawrence, on his way to Palermo by train in bad

weather, was clearly not in the best of moods when he wrote that they resembled
“… heaps of shadow deposited like rubbish heaps in the universal greyness”. The
sleepy calm that seems to envelop this archipelago masks a more dramatic
existence: two of the islands are still volcanically active, and all are buffeted

alternately by ferocious storms in winter and a deluge of tourists in summer. But
their unique charm has survived more or less intact, fuelled by the myths
associated with their elemental and unpredictable power.

Closest island to the mainland is the day-tripper magnet of Vulcano, with its mud
baths, hot springs, black-sand beaches and smoking main crater. Across the channel

lies the main island, Lipari, which is the hub of the ferry and hydrofoil system. It also
has the widest choice of accommodation and restaurants, and is the only island with
any kind of life outside the main summer season. Of the central group of islands,
Panarea is the smallest and most elite, and in August the conspicuously rich float in to
commune with nature from their multi-million-euro yachts and villas and €500-a-night

hotel rooms, overlaying the gentle lapping of the waves with a cacophony of extremely
loud music. Though the regular fireworks of its volcano bring droves of trekkers to
Stromboli, this island too attracts its share of fashionistas – Dolce and Gabbana have
a house here – while the chic whitewashed Piscità quarter is full of stylish villas.
Twin-peaked Salina springs perhaps the best surprise – second in size only to Lipari,
it attracts a less flamboyant crowd, and being unusually fertile, remains green year-

round, making walking in its mountains pleasant at all times. Filicudi, long favoured by
the trendy left, has something of a radical-chic feel, though it is all very understated
and relaxed; wandering its mule tracks, it’s not hard to get a taste of what life in the
archipelago was like twenty – or a hundred – years ago. If this is what you are looking

for, make the effort to get out to distant Alicudi, an uncompromising kind of place and,
some would say, the hardest to like. Individual identity aside, each Aeolian island is
embraced by water of a limpid quality rarely found along the coast of Sicily. Most of
the beaches are pebble – sandy stretches are sparse, and tend to be ash-black – but
boat tours (available at every Aeolian harbour) provide access to any number of
secluded coves, hidden caves and quiet snorkelling and scuba-diving waters.