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EOLIE ISLES: the 7 enchanted sisters. . .
Eolie Islands, the 7 sisters, are rich of myth and magical atmospheares. I suggest you to visit them in spring or winter, than in summer. You'll feel new sensations: pine smell and sea flavour dancing together for you in the air. Sailing on a sailor ship discover magical straits or beach in wich have magical moment of relax. You can also do nice trek in the islands.
1° Lap: Vulcano
- Lipari - Salina
2° Tappa: Stromboli - Panarea In Stromboli, famous for its vulcan, you can have a trek, or watching the show of the eruptive mountain, aboard on a ship. Panarea is VIP preferite island. You can run someone into, walking for the street.
3° Lap: Alicudi - Filicudi They are the farest islands from mainland and, for this reason, the most wide. If you are seeking for uncountaminated life these are the right places. You can also visit a prehistoric hamlet.... Enjoy yourself discovering the different faces of these charmed islands, finding in each one different way to live them ... Write us for more informations. See you !!!
Like often goes on, Sunday
morning, we embarked in an adventure to reach Eolie
Island. We arrived in Milazzo in time for the departure of 9.00
o'clock. A pleasant wind, a tepid sun, and silver azure sea greet each other,
welcoming hundreds tourists who waited to be embarked for Milazzo, but ahimè,
bad discover, all the departures are suspended. Fast ships, hydrophils and
ferries stopped. Rough sea, that's the answer of the operators. ... Just some
small boats can sail but the cost is much expensive, so ... we wait.
Don't waste the morning (we are with an English group and it's not easy to make them understand that the ship doesn't start for ... bad weather conditions ... with a sea like that !!!) we took advantage visiting Milazzo. In bad luck we were lucky. Castle was opened (it will be closed since January 2009 since the end of under repair works), and an able and prepared guide accompanied us inside the fortified citadel explaining its history. The Castle rises in the high part of the town, over the remains of Greek Milazzo. The whole area is divided into 3 parts: Ancient, Greek and Medieval, and its a really fortified citadel and not just a castle. The visit leads from the recentest part to the ancientest, that is the proper castle. First we see the church, ex-Milazzo Cathedral Dome, with '700 façade. In front of the thersold some stone are the rest of an ancient Greek Temple. Nowaday is a deconsacrated church, and it's used for concerts, because during the "1000 Expedition" in Risorgimento period was used such us a military hospital from Garibaldi. The two order façade is bordered with lesene (exterior fake columns) and with XVIIIth century portal. The internal was built over the remain of a Bizantyne Basilica. It has a Greek Cross Plant (with 2 arms of identical lenght) in the centre of whom, under the dome was situated the main altar, the other two was on the left and on the right. That's on the left is dedicated to Santo Stefano, the protector of the town. The paint reproduce the saint martirdom, over whom a badge with 3 crowns represent the 3 teological virtues of Stefano: poverty, obedience and chastity. That's on the right is dedicated to SS. Salvatore. In the church there are other altars, but they was stolen of the precious stones which tricked them up. The wall outside surround the whole area. It was built of two stones lines filled with sand, which soften the enemy blows, which couldn't reach the citadel inside. That's the reason why the castle was never conquered, but knew different domination just for arranged marriage. After that we see the reamin of an ancient convent of cloistered nuns. After being abandoned (the nuns were the first to populate the country below) was used for a little such as Town Hall.
In the internal courtyard many
doors and windows which were cells during borbonic and fascist period
when the castle become a prison. During the II World War was imprisoned
political dissidents, the Partisans. Here was locked in also Sa Outside a stone stair, “you can climb on your risk” – guide advertises - (cause sliding and irregular steps), leads on the terrace from whom you can see a superb view of the whole Eolian archipelago. (Maria Virgillito)
NB: I want to thanks the castle guide for her preparation and time. Every news in this page springs from her informations.
Eolie Islands – extract by Houel "Voyage Diary in Sicilia, Lipari and Malta Islands"
Jean Houel, a French architect and painter, was in Sicily first time with Brydone entourage. Brydone was in Naple in 1770, when he decided to continue is journey, introducing the fashion of Sicily voyage. Houel read avidly Brydone and Von Riedsel Travel Book, and he wanted to complete their relations. The painter is mainly attracted from Ancient Sicily, that was a paradigm in '700 art world. Travel reports are avidly read for all over the XVIIIth and XIXth centuries, but discrepancy between ideal Winckelmann Sicily and real island gives place to every kind of fantasies and misrepresentations. Houel stays in Sicily four years, a long time to give a superficial description, but he can't elude some of the XVIIIth century common place. With the obstinacy of the reporter he documents the main Sicilian celebrations: Sant’Agata (CT), Corpus Domini (SR), Santa Rosalia (PA), for example, even if his telling isn't charming like Brydone's. “I enhance my pictures with the written, and confirm my written with my pictures”. He draws a Sicily teared by lacerating oppositions, where the feast is a way to forget, for a while, famine and disease. He lauds Sicilian virtues in figurative arts, even if he doesn't love baroque style (Catania, Noto, ...). Catania is the realization of the Arabian Phoenix Myth, with its destruction and rebirth. (extract from: Viaggio a Catania di J. Houel – di C. Ruta - Sellerio) Following some pages from Houel Travel Book (filed both the French original and the Italian translation in Regional Library - Catania - University Square). Reading these pages relives a '700 nature feeling with its scientific knowledge and a simple and genuine way of life, superstitiuos and ingenuous at the same time.
« Lipari Islands are in number of ten, the others are rocks uninhabitable. These islands are: Lipari, properly called, the greatest; Vulcano, desert, it could be inhabited; Salina, lived; Filicudi and Alicudi, in the same direction, both inhabited; Panarea and Stromboli been full by people. The others are desert: Basiluzzo (once time inhabites),Dattilo (it could be full by people) and Liscabianca. Formicoli are small rocks near Liscabianca and Liscanera emerging with low tide». Houel thinks that: « Panarea, Basiluzzo, Dattilo, Liscanera, Liscabianca and Formicole once time were the same, unique Island. Infact the sea that surrounds this isles is not deep and the are air bubbles under the water, indicating a submarine vulcan». « The island is made of granite, who doesn't know, could think that granite is a vulcanic rock» (Future reports will demonstrate that granite is a vulcanic intrusive rock, obtained when magma cooled slowly inside the earth). « I have seen two raining procession in Lipari. First children whipping themselves, it seemed they played, followed by priest and people singing litanies. Some days later another religious procession. Adult men whipped themselves with little iron chain and the blood flowed down, soaking the earth. It didn't rain, but the vineyards and the plantations were luxuriant and full of fruit, thanks to earth fertility and copious dew, that replaced water lack». (extract by: Houel in Sicilia – di G. Macchia, L. Sciascia, G. Vallet) - (Maria Virgillito)
tural excursions sicily, sostenibility ecosostenibilità turismo sicilia, turismo alternativo sicilia, scopri sicilia, sicilia insolita, sicilia scoprire, luoghi arte sicilia, libera informazione sicilia, castelli sicilia, isole sicilia, visita sicilia, parchi naturali sicilia, turismo sicilia, scoperta sicilia, visitare sicilia, monumenti, chiese, noto, barocco, centri storici sicilia, leggende sicilia, tradizioni sicilia, feste, sicilia, sagre sicilia, folklore sicilia, ecosostenibile, ambiente, difesa protezione natura sicilia
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WebMaster Virgillito Maria.
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Vulcano: you can reach the top of the mountain, at
Lipari you can visit the Castle (interesting also
While
we walking Castle entrance becomes visible. A curiosity: early the access was
situated in the frontal wall (in the place in which are still visible the
remains of a walled-up arch), but it was much vulnerable so it was located in a
more hide place on your right (it's difficult to see it if you are not few
meters far),
defended by cannons (which were located in the holes in the wall, the +
was
a rudimental gun sight),
by jet of boiling oil and big rocks rolling down from the chutes hollowed in the
walls. The wall outside is built in local white stone, except for the buttress
in lavic rock. That's tipycal of arabian art, but Federico II opted for that for
2 reasons: one because the lavic rock is more resistant and was used to
strengthen the weakest point of a building, the second is that the Emperor was a
great lover of arabian heritage, infact most of his advisor, poets or architects
were Arab. Entering in the castle the first thing you meet is the “Giardino delle Vergogne”
(Shame Garden), so called because during the Fascist period in the frontal
wall were shooted and hanged up the dissidents at the totalitarian regime, such
as warning.
ndro
Pertini, Italian President in '70s, just for one night, waiting to be
carried at Lipari castle. In the middle of the courtyard a well. Opposite a
balcone, that introduces to royal halls. Infact, even if the Castle was mainly a
fortress was used also for relax from Federico II and his court. Around the
castle there was an area called "the Park" a private hunting reserve of the
king. Ending the Fireplace Hall, gives ospitality to the greatest
European fireplace of XIII century. Originally placed in the centre of the room,
after was located in the left wall, where is situated till now. 
Eolie
Islands, Lipari Islands are so called too. When 
