Vulcano

The senses tell The Gran Cratere of the Fossa

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Breathtaking view of nature

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.

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The smell of Vulcano

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.

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The heat of the volcano

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 to feel how, regardless of the season, there is a slight immediate warmth. But be careful not to touch the fumaroles, the temperatures there are over 100 °C!

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The power of silence

When there are 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.

The hidden part of the Aeolian Islands

The malleability of Vulcano’s mud

Vulcano, the youngest of the Aeolian works of art

Volcanoes as a natural art form

The Sciara del Fuoco

How pumice is formed

Myths and legends about volcanoes

The senses tell The summit craters

Filicudi: small island, big history

The senses tell The salt lake of Lingua

The senses tell The Village of Capo Graziano

Lipari at the centre of Mediterranean history

The salt lake of Lingua

The Cathedral of Lipari and the Norman Cloister of the Benedictine Monastery

Panarea, where sea and volcanoes become sculptors

Pollara, between poetry and beauty

The prehistoric village of Cala Junco

The polis of the living and the necropolis of the dead

The ancient production of salt

The senses tell The Pumice Quarries of Lipari

Lipari, where history intertwines with volcanoes to create archaeology

Salina, the green island with twin mountains

The Thermal Baths of Saint Calogerus

Seven islands, dozens of volcanoes

Stories of the sea and shipwrecks. The wrecks of the Aeolian Islands

The senses tell The Sciara del Fuoco

Between brush strokes of sulphur and clouds of steam: the fumaroles of the port of Vulcano

The senses tell The Stacks of Panarea

The Village of Capo Graziano

The summit craters

The Gran Cratere of the Fossa: when the volcano becomes a sculptor

Alicudi, where time has stood still

Malvasia delle Lipari DOC

At the heart of trade in history

Panarea and its history

The pure white of the pumice quarries

“Vulcanian” eruptions

Filicudi, a submerged paradise

Stromboli, the volcano that breathes

The 2002-03 eruption

Where do Vulcano’s gases come from?

“Strombolian” activity in the place where its definition was born

The Aeolian Islands, where volcanology was born

The underwater fumarolic activity of Lisca Bianca

The stacks of Panarea

Lipari Castle, “fused” with the lava

The underwater morphological elements of the Aeolian Islands

Tsunamis: a not uncommon phenomenon in Stromboli