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Aeolian Islands - Filicudi

FILICUDI - (Surface area: 9.5 km2): The ancient name of Filicudi, Phoenicusa, derives from the abundance of ferns on the island, especially in olden times. The island has an almost oval shape, with a peninsula to the south-east called Capo Graziano (174m.), and is composed of six recognisable eruptive centres. The earliest of these must have been situated in the stretch of sea lying off the coast at Fili di Sciacca. The largest and most ancient structure is Fossa delle Felci, while the most recent is Montagnola.

The summit of Filicudi bears the same name as that of Salina: Fossa delle Felci (774 m.). The minor summits are called Montagnola (383 m.) and Terrione (278 m.). All three were once volcanoes. The mountain sides and slopes of the island are for the most part steep and rugged. The houses are grouped around the port of Pecorini and, above all, Valdichiesa, where the church of Santo Stefano is located. The immediate hinterland areas of Filicudi are places of rare beauty. Hillsides with gorse-covered terraces sloping down towards the sea alternate with narrow valleys, steep cliffs and a mixture of stark and sandy beaches. Here and there, you can admire deep grottoes such as the Maccatore and San Bartolomeo grottoes or those called Perciato (‘pierced’) and Bue Marino (‘seal’), which is the most famous: it has an entrance in the shape of a pointed arch and is very deep. Off the western coast of the island, there are some isolated crags called Montenassari, Mitra, Notaro and one called La Canna, which reaches a height of 71 metres. Coral fishing was once practised around La Canna and even today people occasionally dive for sponge in the area. The sea around the island abounds in fish.

From a palaeontological point of view, the Capo Graziano promontory is of particular interest because it is the site of some prehistoric villages dating back to the Bronze Age. A very early settlement, from which only a few oval-shaped dwellings have so far been discovered, is situated at Piano del Porto, on the southern coast of the isthmus that joins Montagnola to Capo Graziano at Filo Braccio and near the Lopez dwelling (which has been dated back to the nineteenth-eighteenth century BC). An even larger settlement from a later period is located on the upper part of Montagnola di Capo Graziano. Excavations carried out in recent years have discovered about thirty oval dwellings on a natural terrace standing at an altitude of 100 metres. This village probably extended right up to the summit of Montagnola. It is quite probable that the latter tendency to settle in the higher, more easily defended areas was due to dangers that had not exsisted when the first dwellings were built on the underlying plain. Besides local pottery, numerous fragments of imported ceramics have been found in the dwellings, showing that there was contact with Aegean traders between the sixteenth and thirteenth century BC. The dwellings also show superimposed signs of early and middle Bronze Age cultures. The village probably ceased to be used following violent destruction during the thirteenth century BC. Some burial areas have been found among the natural crevices on the rugged slopes of Montagnola. On the summit of Montagnola di Pecorini, which dominates the village of Pecorini itself, there is a large rock with Greek inscription engraved on it.

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