Traveling to the Aeolian Islands in search of myth
As the orange alert for Stromboli's eruptive activity spreads, we tell you about the archipelago beyond clichés. Starting with the ancestral history of an area with Homeric echoes that never ceases to amaze. Never
It is only a little before dawn when the ship that left Naples last night docks at Stromboli. The silhouette of the volcano has slowly emerged from the darkness and now the perfect cone stands out against the rosy sky that precedes the sunrise. Distinct at the summit is the smoking plume waving as if endowed with a life of its own. Not far away, clearly visible from the deck of the ship anchored for fast unloading and loading, is Strombolicchio, a small volcanic islet about a mile from the larger island and representing the northernmost point of the entire Sicilian region as well as being one of Italy's oldest and most iconic lighthouses.
Geologically, Strombolicchio is the daddy of the major volcano. Its origins date back some 200,000 years.
The Aeolian Islands, whose name already betrays their genesis, are mythological lands. And it is Homer'sOdyssey that tells us that these islets were the home of the god of the winds, Aeolus, who kept them inside some wineskins. After welcoming Odysseus, he gave him a gift of winds enclosed in a wineskin from which the king of Ithaca let out only the Zephyr that blew in the sails to return to Greece. But his companions, one night, thinking that the wineskin held a treasure, opened it, thus causing a furious storm that drove the ship back to the Aeolian Islands. Aeolus, believing that Odysseus was being persecuted by the gods, refused to help him again and drove him away from the islands. So far the myth.
Today - just as the Civil Defenseis placing the level of orange alert due to theeruptive activity of Stromboli - the Aeolian Islands are once again a paradise for vacationers, especially if you own a boat, preferably a sailing boat, and for diving enthusiasts as the seabed of the islands is a natural aquarium not to be missed.
Vittorio Scioisa's entire report is published in issue 1 of Grand Tour.
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