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.
Advertisement
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
Thorn Tree forum discussion
Recent posts
-
RE: aeolian islands...on a budget
by lucapal 09 September 2011
You will be very lucky to get a room on the Aeolians in September for that price....your best bet will be a small family-run place on…
-
Lipari - Aeloian Islands
by Pamplona 25 August 2011
If you get to the Aeloian islands and Lipari in particular, I cannot praise highly enough the people at Diana Brown accommodation (Salvatore…
-
RE: Best way to travel and experience Naples to Sicily
by desires 08 August 2011
We have been in Sicily 2 times, both times we stayed in the lovely town Cefalu, a cosy middleaged town with narrow streets, and a beach…
