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Aeolian Islands - Panarea

Panarea can boast a centuries-old tradition as an exclusive holiday resort. In Roman times, an unknown patrician built a panoramic villa on the isle of Basiluzzo: today you can see traces of its wall and mosaic floor and the private landing stage, which is now under the surface of the sea. The slopes here are very steep and stratified and the jagged coastline hides many a grotto, as well as crags and rocks of varyng shapes and sizes. The only place where you can land here is in the natural harbour sheltered by the Punta di Levante promontory. In more recent times, a group of intellectuals, artists and travellers have turned Panarea into a haven for living in contact with nature and fortifying the soul. These have also been joined by aristocrats and businessmen who have decided to restore the old Aeolian houses. As well as the original houses, there are now others that go to make up a village of white houses nestled among the bougainvillaea, geraniums and hibiscus platnts. Theses include the summer residences of the Modrone, Bulgari, Agnelli and Ruspoli families.

The two enchanting beaches where you can go for a swim are situated at Cala degli Zimmari and Cala Junco, which lies opposite the Bastimento basalt crag. You can also go by boat to the small archipelago of Le Formiche, a cluster of rocks lying off the coast of Drautto. Not far from here is the islet of Lisca Bianca, which has a wonderful little beach. On very calm days just off the isle of Lisca Bianca, you can observe a very strange natural phenomenon: there is a spot where the sea gurgles due to the activity of an underwater solfatara. This is the only such phenomenon in Italian waters and it produces one million cubic metres of sulphur gas from the numerous fissures lying at a depth of only ten metres below the surface. Below the water, the sulphur turns into whitish flakes which form a deposit on grottoes and underground hollows. It was in this area that archaeologists from the University of Oxford discovered the wreck of a ship that sank while carrying a veritable archaeological treasure - a cargo of Greek ceramics dating from the fifth centuy BC.

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