The Aeolian archipelago originally the volcanic mythical site of the King of Winds, is situated in the Tyrrhenian Sea north of Sicily and is composed of seven principal islands and a few islets. Lipari, Salina and Vulcano are the three major islands, close to each other, and to the west we find Alicudi and Filicudi, and to the north-east Stromboli and Panarea.

A bit o history...
Lipari and Panarea have been inhabited since the Neolithic era (VI millenium B.C.) and were the sites of commercial activities, a type of obsidian, a volcanic glass which is harder and sharper than flint. Entering the Mycenaenan economic system, the Archipelago declined with the fading of that civilization but remained for all of antiquity a desirable site from a strategic and commercial point of view (for the commerce of alum) and became renowned for thermal cures.

After a period of obscurity, during which survival depended on pastoral grazing and fishing, the Normans arrived and the Benedictines founded a monastery on Lipari giving fresh impetus to the cultivation of grain and the exportation of alum and sulphur. Lipari was pillaged in 1544 by muslim pirates Kair-ed-Din, said to be Barbarossa, who made slaves of the inhabitants.
The recovery came after a long time and the history of the Archipelago joined that of the province of Messina. After the union the commercialization of Pumice stone (present in the north eastern slopes of Lipari) received a natural impetus and marine connections were enthusiastically encouraged.
Today the Aeolian islands with their landscapes of considerable beauty are the centre of an intense tourism and contain an excellent structure of accomodations.

The Aeolian islands

THE CLIMATE
The climate in the Aeolian archipelago is particularly mild, influenced by the latitude, by the geographical position, and by the presence of the sea which has an important warming effect.
The season in which it rains more are the autumn and the winter while the summer is quite dry.
The Aeolian Islands have a warm temperature typical of the Mediterranean central areas. Definitely the best climate for the development of tourism and of the typical local cultivations.