Page 209 - The Rough Guide of Sicily

In a measure designed to cut down on the density of tourist traffic on the islands,

cars are banned from Stromboli, Panarea and Alicudi. In July and August, cars
belonging to non-residents can disembark from ferries to Lipari, Vulcano and
Filicudi only if drivers can prove they are staying on the island for at least a week,
whether in a hotel or in private accommodation. Ferry companies will ask for proof
of a hotel booking before issuing tickets to those wanting to take their own car.

However, it’s easy enough to manage without your own transport. Lipari and Salina

have a good bus network, while you can rent bicycles, mopeds and scooters on all
the main islands, or simply walk around the smaller ones.

If you need to leave a car in Milazzo, you can do so at one of several garages, the
most convenient of which are also listed here; expect to pay around €15 per day
(worth negotiating for longer periods). Some offer a shuttle service to the port.

GARAGES

Central Garage Via Cumbo Borgia 60 090 928 2472. By the Duomo Nuovo,
5min from the port.

Mil Nautica Via Acquaviole 49 090 928 1912. South of the port, on the road to
the train station.

Ullo Via Nino 40 090 928 3309. Signposted up Via Minniti from the port.

Lipari

LIPARI is the busiest, biggest and most diverse island in the Aeolian archipelago,
with a long history of settlement and trade. The main town – also called Lipari – is a
thriving little port, dominated by impressive castle walls that surround an upper
citadel housing the bulk of the archeological remains and a terrific museum. The road
that circles the island from town takes in several much smaller villages, some good
beaches and excellent views out to the neighbouring islands, though development has

not been carefully controlled. While parts of the island are beautiful and unspoilt,
getting there inevitably means passing through villages cluttered with brassy holiday
houses, or with rusting machinery and ghostly abandoned factories – relics of the
island’s now defunct pumice mining industry.

Historically, it has always been Lipari that has guided the development of the
Aeolians. In classical times, after obsidian had been superseded by metals, the

island’s prosperity was based on its sulphur baths and thermal waters, while its alum,
too, was much prized, and was found more abundantly here than anywhere else in
Italy. More recently, its main industry was mining pumice – the reason why huge
chunks of the mountains on the east coast are missing – but under the auspices of