vista
The presence of constantly active fumaroles reminds us that the island of Vulcano is an active volcano.
The Stack, the rock overlooking the port, is a wonderful natural tower that is now completely yellow and white due to the sulphur and gypsum that have crystallised along its sides. The road from the port of Vulcano to the thermal area of the Levante beach is also the same colour. With all this yellow and sulphur you might feel like you are walking along one of the avenues of hell.
However, this colouring is not entirely uniform; it has patches of various intensities on a grey background, the original colour of the rock.
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.
udito
Perhaps at night in absolute silence, try to get close to one of the fumaroles at the port and, taking care not to put your face inside it, move your ear near one. You will hear the true breath of the earth.
tatto
Another typical characteristic of Vulcano’s port area is the warmth that you will feel when you touch anything there. In every season, with or without the sun, try to touch the ground, the rock faces or anything in contact with the ground and you will feel anything between a pleasant warmth and an almost unbearable heat. But be careful not to touch the fumaroles, the temperatures there are over 100 °C!
gusto
The structure of Vulcano would seem unable to accommodate anything edible. On the other hand, we are talking about an island that was never inhabited until the 1960s.
In fact, in recent years, many plots of land in the southern part of Vulcano, the part not currently active, have been used for sheep farming. It is quite common to find goats and sheep grazing freely all over the island. The volcanic cheese has become famous, especially the baked ricotta, produced and packaged exclusively on the island.
