Lipari

Introducing Lipari

At the centre of the archipelago, Lipari has been inhabited for some 6000 years or so. The island was settled in the 4th millennium BC by Sicily’s first known inhabitants, the Stentillenians, who developed a flourishing economy based on obsidian, a glassy volcanic rock. Commerce subsequently attracted the Greeks, who used the islands as ports on the east–west trade route.

Today’s trade is still flourishing, with a bustling and historic main street flanked by shops, restaurants and bars. Overlooking the colourful snake of day-trippers is a grande dame of a castle, once plundered by pirates such as Barbarossa (or Redbeard), who was eager to get his hands on Lipari’s lucrative obsidian and pumice mines.

Lipari is the best-equipped base for island-hopping, with plenty of places to stay, eat and drink.

Last updated: Feb 17, 2009