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thermal establishments of S. Calogero, situated on the western coast, have very ancient
origins and one avails of water which gushes out at a temperature of 60 degrees. Salina,
rich in greenery with a great deal of cultivation, it has the highest relief of the
Archipelago, the Mountains Fossa delle Felci (962 metres) and dei Porri (859 metres) are
side by side. It is supplied with spring water which gives impetus to a thriving
agriculture, with vines (for Malvasia, produced also in Lipari), fruit, capers and cactus
fruit. Near Punta Lingua there is a little salt water lake used at one time for Saline,
from which the name of the island derives. Under the care of the Sicilian Region a natural
Reserve of the Mountains (Monti dei Porri, Fossa delle Felci) has been established and
this has contributed to the maintainance of a biological balance which renders this island
desirable for tourists without disfiguring the natural environment. Of notable interest is
the spectacle which can be admired at approximately 200 metres from the Rinella beach,
where sulphuric emissions from the bottom of the sea appear on the surface in hugebubbles,
called "sconcassi" (explosives), that sometimes kill the fish and are clearly
visible on a calm sea. The little house of Pollara, used by Troisi for the film "Il
postino" (The Postman), taken from the novel by Skàrmeta has become a tourist
attraction. Vulcano is the nearest island to mainland Sicily and is separated from Lipari
by a narrow stretch of sea (1.6 km)called Bocche di Vulcano. Considered in ancient times
as the site of Efesto, God of fire, it presents a stupendous contrast between the barren
nature of its rocks and the intense blue of the sea. The Porto di Levante and that of
Ponente, delimitated by the penisula of Vulcanello (124 metres) constitute two splendid
and contrasting beaches, one very coloured and the other with black volcanic sand.
Characterized by fumaroles and thermal springs, the island is presented as a plateau on
which stand out the Monte Aria (499 metres) and the crater (Fossa Grande, 386 metres)
whose perfect cone shape was altered in its last eruption of 1890.
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Alicudi
is the most western of the Archipelagos. The highest peak is that of Montagnola (675
metres), an extinct volcano. In contrast to the ruggedness of the west, the east has a
form of nature more suitable for cultivation and construction. The island offers an
extraordinary sequence of landscapes characterized by beaches, backwaters, caves (grottos)
and an uncontaminated sea rich with fish and lobster. Filicudi, oval in form and
surrounded by rocks, among which the Canna, a natural obelisk 85 metres high. La grotta
del Bue Marino is characterized by ghostly rays of light. Stromboli is formed by a
volcanic cone (Serra Vancura) of 926 metres which is still active and pours lava as far as
along the north west coast, called Sciara del Fuoco. The other areas are inhabited and
covered with vineyards, olive and caper groves. In the north east, 1.6 kilometres away,
stands out a small islet called Strombolicchio (43 metres high). Panarea, surrounded by
isles and islets, among which Basiluzzo, has an indented coastal perimeter of notable
suggestion. Characterised by a still uncontaminated nature and a rich and rare fauna, it
offers the possibility of multiple excursions, among which the Conca di Calcara is worth
particular attention.
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