Aeolian Islands
Some 200,000 people visit the volcanic archipelago off Italy's northeastern shore each year. Known as the Aeolians, these eight islands offer particularly terrific scuba diving and nature hikes, thanks to their crystal-clear waters and their multitude of flora onshore.
You can catch ferries several times a day during the summer months from Milazzo and Messina to the Aeolians, with most routes arriving at Lipari, the largest of the islands. Your visit can stop there if you are simply looking for a place to get your water sports fix, or you can travel onward to other Aeolian islands including Stromboli, which is home to an active volcano.
Lipari
Lipari is the name of both the largest of the Aeolian islands and the main town on that island, with about 11,000 residents. That number tends to double during the summer months, and most of the tourists head straight to the snorkeling and scuba diving centers along the coastline, as well as to the island's beaches.
Question
What is obsidian?
Obsidian is a naturally occurring form of glass that is created when lava cools without any accompanying growth of crystals. Lipari, a volcanic island, is covered in the stuff, which Stone Age cultures broke apart to use as spearheads and mirrors. Today, obsidian is used not just as a gemstone, but also in creating sharp, thin scalpels for use by heart surgeons.
Even if that is your primary plan, consider setting an hour or two aside for a look around the Museo Archeologico Eoliano, which not only will teach you about artifacts from the islands, but which also discusses its geological history. As with lava and eruptions elsewhere throughout history, the tales rarely fail to disappoint in terms of excitement.
Vulcano
What beaches are to Lipari, steaming mud baths are to Vulcano. This Aeolian island has fewer than 1,000 year-round residents, most of them earning their living from the tourists who arrive by ferry and hydrofoil to visit the natural hot springs and mud baths.
Alert
Leave your silver jewelry behind when climbing into the mud baths at Laghetto di Fanghi. The naturally occurring chemical properties in the mud will tarnish your favorite rings and necklaces. They will also stink up any fabric that they touch, so consider wearing an old bathing suit that you wouldn't mind parting with after your day trip is done.
Laghetto di Fanghi is the mud bath that for centuries has been rumored to heal everything from arthritis to skin ailments. It's an easy walk from the pier where you ferry will deposit you, and it's pretty much the only thing to do on Vulcano. Just follow the crowds. You can squirm around in the “medicinal mud” for as long as the sulfuric smell doesn't choke your nostrils (it is reminiscent of rotten eggs, like any good ointment), and then cool and clean yourself off at the nearby beach.
Stromboli
Stromboli is the Aeolian island that houses an active volcano — one whose minor eruptions are so consistent that they have become a tourist attraction. You can visit by day for a look around, but it is considerably more memorable to visit at night, when yellow and red plumes of heat pierce the black sky like a fireworks display.
There is hiking on Stromboli, but only when the volcano is not erupting. The last eruption was in late 2007, when two new craters opened up, one of which sent lava flowing down into the sea.
