Panarea and Stromboli

Panarea and Stromboli: two islands not be missed

Panarea and Stromboli are the easternmost islands of the Aeolian Archipelago. One is an active volcano, the other is a smart island.

Panarea

Fumaroles, islets, underwater gas bubbles and prehistoric villages: this is Panarea.

The white homes surrounded by olive tree groves are grouped in three districts, which bear the names of Iditella, S. Pietro and Drauto.

In S. Pietro district, a hot spring gushes out, used for therapeutic treatment.

The name Drauto refers to the pirate, who docked his ships here precluding the lives of the inhabitants.

Furthermore, Cala Junco, a natural pool of crystal and clear water with changing colours as green and turquoise, was the harbour of Capo Milazzese: a promontory where stone huts from the Bronze Age have been found.

In addition, the enchanting group of rocks nearby are worthy of mentioning. These islets are to be considered parts of the same volcanic system; they represent the remains of eruptions in the same morphological unit constituted by a volcanic underwater upland. This way Panarea has been created followed by Dattilo, with its pyramid form, Bottaro, Panarelli, Formiche, Lisca Bianca, Lisca Nera, and Basiluzzo, with its shape of a cupola, where there are the remains of a Roman villa with traces of a mosaic floor and coloured plaster.

Stromboli

It is the northeastern most island of the Aeolian archipelago, containing the volcano with its effusive and explosive activity. To climb to the crater you need three hours. The lava outflows have created the Sciara, which particularly at night offers an unforgettable spectacle: torrents of fire run down the slope and end up in the sea.

A promontory divides the Sciara from the village of Ginostra with its cubical small houses dominating rocky precipices bordered by agaves, prickly pears, and broom bushes and olive trees.

The small houses of the central zone contrast with both churches S. Bartolomeo and S. Vincenzo Ferreri, built by French noble people, who made a pilgrimage towards the Holy Land.

In the 1960s, a Greek necropolis was found containing some vases of an excellent artisanship.

A mile from Stromboli there rises from the surface of the sea, the gigantic volcanic rock Strombolicchio: spikes of rock in which germinate caper bushes and seagulls nest.