EXCURSIONS TO THE AEOLIAN ISLANDS

Spring comes early to Filicudi and brings with it an explosion of multi-coloured flowers, making it a beautiful time of year to walk along the ancient pathways which cross the island. The pathways and terraces, laid down over the centuries to allow the cultivation of the land, are a marvellous and impressive example of human endeavour. The pathways, made of earth or stone slabs, are about a metre wide to allow the passage of donkeys, which are still necessary today to reach many parts of the island. Capers, vines, olive trees and carob trees are characteristic of the wild countryside, dominated by red rocks with various weather-beaten shapes.

Hills and valleys give the countryside a broken look. The Mediterranean brush covers the entire island and is particularly thick on the northern side. The coastline is not sheer but gradual, creating a variety of colours in the sea from green to blue and violet. Then there is the Grotta del Bue Marino, with its mystical atmosphere, and finally La Canna, a rock about 70 metres high: a black blade sticking out of a blue sea. The climate, the brilliant light, the gentle violence of Mediterranean nature, the perfume of its maquis and the silence make this island almost unique.