Lipari

Hotel Oriente ***

The Aeolian islands took their name from Aeolus, Lord of the winds, who, according to Homer, had his kingdom here. Islands full of surprises and contrasts. Who approaches today, with the ship or the hydrofoil, can't avoid being overwhelmed by the magnificence of the landscape and feeling eager to explore it.

"Wandering Islands": along the millenniums, the eruptions had many times modified their dimensions and their appearance. The coasts and the soundings are amazing but also the inside is full of charm: imposing volcanoes always active, peculiar rocky formations, thick vegetation at Salina, prehistoric villages at Lipari, Panarea and Filicudi, and the archaeological treasures, wich the sea returned, scrupulously conserved at the Archaeological Museum of Lipari.

On the left side rise up the bell-tower of the St. Joseph church, reachable from the sloping road with the same name, passing before the gorgeous ceramics of Stefano.

Continuing on the right, we arrive in the Square of the Arts and Trades, with its realistic mural paintings. It is nice to wander aimless in the labyrinth of the narrow alleys. Behind St. Joseph, just around the corner, we find the ancient seventeenth-century chapel of St. Bartolomeo, magnificent in its simplicity.

From here, the silent road leads to the beach of Porto delle Genti, called also in the Sicilian dialect "Portinente" (the Port of Nothing), because it is exposed at the winds and therefore, useless, except only when the sea is smooth. The Vittorio Emanuele Avenue, the old Roman decuman, is still the main street today. Passing through, in the summer months, it is always very animated by tourists and townspeople. It is all a succession of shops, agencies and meeting-places. Among all the things that capture the attention, the malmsey and the capers are the most common purchases and you can find them wherever you go.