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May 10, 2007
Hello from Sicily – A Driving Tour
through Lipari and a Magical Evening in Vulcano
Our beautiful dinner in the old town
of Lipari last night was another opportunity to get to know
Sicilian cuisine. A light-hearted evening was followed by a night
of deep sleep and by 8 am this morning I stuck my head out of the
boat: another gorgeous day! Everyone was still sleeping and I had
about an hour and half to walk into town and catch another glimpse
of picturesque Lipari. I mailed my postcards and picked up some
fresh locally grown oranges for the gang on the boat.
View of the bay north of Lipari from the Castello
Once back at the boat, my co-travellers Herbert, Claudia and I
were ready for another excursion: a driving tour of Lipari. Herbert
is a German TV travel journalist and is planning to bring a television
crew to Sicily next year to film the Italian language learning experience
aboard a sailboat provided by Laboratorio
Linguistico. Naturally he has to scout out the various locations
to check into sights of interest, lighting, and facilities –
all the factors that will have a bearing on the shoot.
View of the Bay of Canneto
He had asked our captain Francesco to arrange for a local guide
who would drive him around the island and generously invited Claudia
and me to come along. Our driver Pasquale Liberatore (what a great
name), a Lipari resident, arrived punctually at 9:30 am to pick
us up at the Lipari pleasure craft harbour to take us on a tour
through this beautiful island.
View of Lipari from the South
Pasquale packed us into his vehicle and off we went. His personal
story, incidentally, is also quite interesting: Pasquale was born
and grew up in Lipari and then in the lat 1950s his family emigrated
to Melbourne, Australia, where there is a large community of southern
Italian émigrés. Southern Italy went through real
economic hardship after World War II, and many hundreds of thousands
of people emigrated from the mainland and the islands. Pasquale
spent a few decades in Australia but as the only person from his
immediate family, he returned to Lipari to live here. He has now
been back for about 15 years and loves living here although he occasionally
misses his brothers and sisters and their families who are still
living in Australia. Of course he speaks excellent English, and
that is how he markets himself – Pasquale, the English-speaking
cab driver and tour guide.
Pasquale, our cab driver, showing us some pumice stone
The first place he took us to was a village north of Lipari called
Canneto which has a beautiful waterfront location, draped around
a horseshoe-shaped bay. We decided to catch a little late breakfast
first, and I really enjoyed my refreshing lemon granita, a typical
Sicilian specialty – crushed ice that comes in a variety of
flavours, a great idea for starting off the day. Herbert enjoyed
a fresh croissant and an espresso.
On our way out of the bar, parked by the lungomare, the waterfront
promenade, a local fisherman was selling fresh fish he caught this
morning out of a little three-wheeled cargo vehicle. He shouted
out the names of the fish with a peculiar cadence that was sure
to attract the attention of passers-by. This is one thing I noticed
about Sicily: street selling, particularly of fish, produce and
other edible products, is still a popular way of marketing one’s
merchandise.
Fish, anyone?
We continued our drive towards the white pumice quarries that Lipari
is famous for. This volcanic stone is used for the production of
cement, as an abrasive and a cosmetic exfoliant. Pumice is a highly
porous, extremely light-weight, usually white stone that is formed
during volcanic eruptions. Just a few dozen meters away from the
pumice quarries we stopped to see another type of volcanic stone:
obsidian, or volcanic glass, which is a dark-brown, dense, virtually
opaque and heavy substance.
Pumice and obsidian are plentiful on the island of Lipari
Pasquale explained that the chemical make-up of obsidian and pumice
is essentially the same, but that they are ejected a different temperatures
during volcanic eruptions. Obsidian has been used for eons; because
of its flint-like quality it can easily be shaped into blades and
spear tips and other cutting instruments. Today obsidian is even
used as for surgical scalpels which produce less trauma than steel
scalpels. Another less high-tech use of obsidian is as a gemstone,
and many stores in the Eolian Islands sell jewelry crafted from
this volcanic glass.
The beautiful view of Salina from the Chiesa Vecchia di Quattropani
We came around the northern tip of Lipari where a beautiful view
opened up toward the island of Salina. Pasquale took us up a mountain
road to the Santuario di Chiesa Vecchia di Quattropani, a beautiful
country church located on a hill with a phenomenal view over several
of the Eolian Islands. As we were standing by the railing of the
terrace, a jet fighter flew by at what seemed like supersonic speed,
literally a few meters above the water. By the time we realized
where the booming sound was coming from it was already disappearing
into the horizon.
Chiesa Vecchia di Quattropani with a Fiat Cinquecento
Another 15 minutes further on the west side of the island we stopped
at an abandoned kaolin quarry. Kaolin is a silica-based mineral
that is used in the production of ceramics, as a food additive and
even as an ingredient in toothpaste. Everything was blooming around
here, and yellow and purple flowers lit up the crags overlooking
the sea.
Everything was in bloom
At the southern tip of Lipari we stopped on a parking lot beside
a private village and had a phenomenal view of the nearby island
of Vulcano. We could even see the columns of sulphur fumes emanating
from the fissures near the crater of this still active volcano.
A flat stretch of land called Vulcanello is located in front of
the main island of Vulcano. This part of the island appeared only
about 2000 years ago in a volcanic eruption. Volcanism is still
reshaping the earth all around here.
Sculpture of Christ near the Chiesa Vecchia di Quattropani
We had seen almost every corner of this small island and Pasquale
dropped us off near downtown Lipari. This guided tour provided by
a local expert was a great way of getting to know the island of
Lipari. Claudia and I headed straight for an outdoor restaurant
on the piazza by Marina Corta and had a well-deserved lunch and
another nice stroll through town before we started to head back
to our sailboat.
View of Milazzo from the north
Around 3 pm we said goodbye to Lipari and set sail for our next
destination: Vulcano. On our way our
skipper Francesco took us past some very interesting rock formations
at the southern end of Lipari. One protruding rock column was reminiscent
of a praying pope while several tall isolated rocks grew right out
of the sea in front of Lipari. We circled around to the eastern
side of Vulcano and dropped anchor in the bay in front of Porto
di Levante, the only landing place on the island. Several ferry
boats were making their entries to and exits from the bay, and several
other sailboats were anchored at a distance from the island.
Interesting rock formations
Now it was time for our Italian lesson: for two hours in the late
afternoon Claudia, Agnieszka and I were studying concepts such as
the Italian Condizionale as well as the Congiuntivo under the guidance
of our expert teacher Franco. You would definitely be hard-pressed
to find a more stimulating environment to study Italian than a sailboat
anchored in a beautiful bay in Southern Italy.
Sailboats anchored in front of the island of Vulcano
The wonderful thing about this sailing trip has been so far that
it has been a nearly perfect immersion in Italian, where we are
hearing the language all day and both our teachers communicate only
in Italian with us. This concept is as close to full immersion as
one can imagine, and the learning process is very intense and fast.
What a sunset!
For the evening we stayed on the boat and watched a beautiful sunset
which bathed the entire scene in hues of pink and purple. After
our on-board dinner we retreated outside where Agnieszka, a gifted
singer, and Franco, a great guitar player, teamed up and entertained
us with many different soulfully delivered classics.
Our talented guitarist and singer: Franco and Agnieszka
Sitting on a sailboat at night, by candlelight, in the beautiful
bay of Vulcano, listening to the touching melodies of two gifted
artists, was a magical, almost spiritual experience. I knew tomorrow
was going to be our last day on this
sailing trip, but I didn’t want this moment to end…..
A magical evening...
Interesting and useful books about Sicily:
seful links:
Sicily
Tourist Information
Eolian
Islands Tourist Information
Laboratorio
Linguistico Italian Language School
Related articles:
My Italian language learning adventure
in Sicily in 2007
Hello from Sicily: Arrival in Taormina
Hello from Sicily: An
interview with the Sciglio family from Hotel Villa Nettuno
Hello from Sicily: A hike to Castelmola
and a taste of Sicily
Hello from Sicily: An excursion to
ancient Siracusa
Hello from Sicily: A leisurely
Sunday at Isola Bella
Hello from Sicily: Language
studies in Taormina and a walking tour
Hello from Sicily: A country driving tour
around beautiful Mount Etna
Hello from Sicily: A private lecture
about Sicily and the Mafia
Hello from Sicily: A Sicilian
cooking class in Taormina
Hello from Sicily: A hike up Mount
Etna a few days after an eruption
Hello from Sicily: Goodbye Taormina
- Hello Milazzo
Hello from Sicily: Starting my sailing
trip through the Eolian Islands
Hello from Sicily: Discoveries of Lipari
and Salina
Hello from Sicily: A driving tour of
Salina and Italian studies on a patio
Hello from Sicily: Explorations of
Stromboli, featuring an active volcano
Hello from Sicily: Beautiful Panarea
and a nice dinner in Lipari
Hello from Sicily: A driving tour of
Lipari and arrival at Vulcano
Hello from Sicily: Conquering Vulcano
and a final dinner in Milazzo
Hello from Sicily: Discovering Milazzo,
its long history and architecture
Hello from Sicily: An excursion by train
to the medieval treasure of Cefalu
Hello from Sicily: Discoveries
in the Nebrodi Mountains
Hello from Sicily: My final day in
Catania
Presenting:
The Babilonia Italian Language School in Taormina
Presenting:
The Laboratorio Linguistico Italian Langauge School in Milazzo
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