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Lipari (Aeolian Islands) & Milazzo
Milazzo: You'll probably reach Lipari via boat from Milazzo, whose coastal fortress is visible from afar. The citadel, built by Normans with later (13th century) external walls, is actually Milazzo's only real attraction, and it is unfortunate that hardly anybody ever visits this vast structure Located on the edge of town, the castle is one of Norman Sicily's best kept secrets and well worth a visit if you're a lover of medieval military architecture. The castle was one of the first Norman buildings erected in Sicily, though there were additions over the centuries. Milazzo itself was founded as Mylae by Greeks from Zancle (Messina) in 716 BC. To top of page |
A
group of volcanoes off the north coast of Sicily, declared a UNESCO
World Heritage Site, Lipari, Vulcano, Salina, Panarea, Stromboli, Filicudi
and the remote Alicudi, are all extinct except for Vulcano and Stromboli,
which is one of the world's most active volcanoes. In summer Stromboli,
Filicudi and Panarea are packed with the rich and famous, acquiring a worldly
atmosphere, while Vulcano, noted for its hot mud springs, and at 20km the
nearest to Sicily, attracts a more homely clientele of young families with
children. Salina is the greenest of the islands, with many trees, and vineyards
producing the renowned Malvasia (Malmsey) wine, while Lipari has a salty
old town centre dominated by the Castello, an impressive citadel built on
a great mass of bronze-red lava rock. The various churches and palaces within
its walls house the superb Museo Archeologico Eoliano, with departments
dedicated to Geology, Prehistory, Classical and Roman History, and a wonderful
Underwater Archaeology section with amphorae, anchors and other objects
recuperated from shipwrecked vessels on the sea-bed, testifying to the treacherous
nature of these waters.