vista
The Gran Cratere of the Fossa is a vantage point where you can stop, sit and admire the majesty of nature, which in the Aeolian Islands has manifested itself with seven islands and numerous cliffs.
So with a single glance, you can see (from right to left towards Lipari) Stromboli and its plumes of black smoke, Panarea Basiluzzo and the other cliffs in front, Lipari with its diverse morphologies and colours and Salina’s twin mountains, Filicudi and Alicudi.
And on days with good visibility you will also be able to observe the magnificence of Mount Etna, which stands out above the Peloritani Mountains, on the north Sicilian coast.
udito
If you are lucky you might find very few people at the top of the Gran Cratere of the Fossa; if not, look for a rock to sit on alone and enjoy the silence. You will hear only the wind, which is unavoidable in the Aeolian Islands, and the gases coming out of the fumaroles, nothing else.
tatto
As with the port of Vulcano, you can feel the warmth rising from the ground even at the top of the crater. Just sink your hands lightly into the volcanic sand and you will feel how, regardless of the season, there is a slight warmth. But be careful not to touch the fumaroles, the temperatures there are over 100 °C
olfatto
The smell of fumaroles is certainly not pleasant, but it is characteristic and typical of Vulcano. Its intensity changes both with the changing seasons and with the volcano’s activity.
After a particularly rainy period, the smell is not very intense, as there is more rainwater, which has filtered to the depths and evaporated.
In the final years of the 20th century there were times when the magma moved in the depths, which happens naturally, and this increased the amount of magmatic gas in the fumaroles, causing the smell of rotten egg given by the sulphur in the gases to increase immeasurably.
