Page 240 - The Rough Guide of Sicily

beach climb up and across to the headland of Punta Milazzese, passing the trailhead
of a waymarked path (look for the signposts) that wends into Panarea’s interior,
passing below the island’s highest peak, the craggy Punta del Corvo (421m), before
descending back to San Pietro – a hike of two to three hours on a path that is easy to
follow.

ACCOMMODATION: DRAUTO

Albergo Girasole Via Drauto 090 983 018 or 328 861 8595, hotelgirasole-
panarea.it. Family-run hotel out on the way to the sandy beach at Zimmari. Great place
to stay in low season, but even this part of the island is chocca in August, the skinny

road buzzing with electric cars and motorini. €220

Villaggio Preistorico

Beautifully situated on a craggy headland above Zimmari, atop Punta Milazzese and
overlooking two rocky inlets, the Villaggio Preistorico is the archipelago’s best-

preserved Bronze Age village. The 23 huts here were discovered in 1948, and the
oval outlines of their foundation walls are easily visible. The site is thought to have
been inhabited since the fourteenth century BC, and pottery found here (displayed in
Lipari’s museum) shows a distinct Minoan influence – fascinating evidence of a
historical link between the Aeolians and Crete that goes some way towards
corroborating the legends of contact between the two in ancient times.

Cala Junco

Steps descend from Punta Milazzese to Cala Junco, a spectacular stony cove whose
aquamarine water, scattered stone outcrops and surrounding coves and caves make it a
popular spot for snorkelling.

< Back to The Aeolian Islands

Stromboli

The most spectacular of all the Aeolian Islands, STROMBOLI is little more than a
volcanic cone thrust out of the sea. It’s very much alive and kicking, throwing up

showers of sparks and flaring rock from the craters every twenty minutes or so, while
a handful of more serious eruptions over the last century have caused major lava
flows. That of 1930 led to serious damage to many homes and sparked a spate of
emigration from the island, while threatening eruptions in 2002 and 2003 spewed
volcanic rock into the sea, spawning tsunami and ejecting rocks onto rooftops. In
2007, two new craters opened on the summit, creating new lava streams into the sea,

and in July 2010 fiery boulders set the mountain alight, though the fire was swiftly
extinguished. A flow of lava is often visible from afar, slowly sliding down the