EXCURSIONS TO THE AEOLIAN ISLANDS

A black giant’ stands out imposingly against the intense blue sea.

For thousands of years the volcanic cone with its ‘spurts’, as the roars of the explosions are called, has been like a lighthouse for mariners. For those who approach the island, as soon as darkness begins to fall, the flame of the volcano becomes visible at 15/20 minute intervals. A timorous respect is commanded by this young volcano of 100,000 years, maybe unique in the world for its three mouths in continuous explosive activity, among the highest in Europe, 2,400 metres from cone and base: ‘A 5-star volcano’.

In 1949 the director Roberto Rossellini made ‘Stromboli’ with Ingrid Bergman. In Via Vittorio Emanuele there is a plaque which shows the house where the two had their love affair. In the last 40 years some new inhabitants have arrived from Campania and Sicily. In summer there are numerous commercial activities thanks to the visitors who have changed the traditional character of the community. Stromboli, for the ancients Strongyle (round), has two landing-places. The first, Pertuso, (Pertugio) is on the south-western side, in the village of Ginostra. It is the smallest natural port in the world, big enough for just one boat.The second, to the east  is the Scari (port) of the village of San Vincenzo. From here to Ficogrande and Piscità there is a series of beaches of pebbles and fine black sand, typical of the island.

Every evening, groups of people meet up, adequately equipped, to climb up the volcano, coming back down at 11 pm. A guide is obligatory if you want to reach the Pizzo at an altitude of 900 metres. Others board boats at Scari to go under the Sciara del Fuoco and watch from the sea the spectacle of incandescent rocks. When there are violent eruptions, as happened in 2003, the flow of lava slides down the slope and ends up in the sea giving off great columns of steam.

The best beaches on Stromboli are the little coves of black sand tucked into lava crags along the coast at Piscità, from which there are fine views of the islet of Strombolicchio.