Lipari is the largest island of the Aeolian Archipelago. It is the place of continuous discoveries, and you need time to enjoy all of its architectonical and natural wonders. Lipari offers every kind of attractions, it’s a perfect destination for families and young people, in search of nightlife. Moving by car, scooter or bicycle gives you more chances to reach places of charming beauty.

These are the places of interest to visit:

Chiesa della Madonna della Catena- Quattropani- Lipari

From the architectonic point of view the church does not present particular elements; its small and cozy space is basic and linear, and it is perfect both for silence and prays. La Chiesa di Quattropani is a little treasure, kept in one of the upper parts of the island, easily reachable from the port thanks to signposts, which simplify a way. It is strategically situated on the hill, in order to offer an amazing view.

The Norman Cloister

The Norman Cloister is an ancient and wonderful structure, an astounding find, showing the human’s genius; the strength of mighty stones which resists the passage of time. The cloister was the King’s Ruggero II wish. It is a part of the monastery, situated near the Saint Bartholomew Cathedral. The cloister was restored in 1978; the capitals belong to the Roman Period, and represent various types of animals.

Marina Corta

On the sides of the Lipari Port, at the foot of the Town Hall there are two bays: that of Marina Corta, and that of Marina Lunga. Marina Corta is peculiar for its churches’ disposition, which appear at the sea, and which become crowded with tourists, especially during the Easter Period to admire the wonderful Easter Procession. Marina Corta is a pleasant place for afternoon and evening walks, it is full of peculiar locations, restaurants, pubs, places for amusement for the young, where they can listen to live music and have a nice aperitif. The alleys are marvelous and particular, and with stone floor; narrow streets are framed by little balconies with wrought iron railings, and colorful plants. Walking down these streets means to be catapulted out of present. From Marina Corta you can easily reach the Port and Marina Lunga. Before arriving to the port it is necessary to go through the marvelous main street of Lipari. Women, fans of shopping, can found themselves in the “Toyland”. The shops are everywhere, so are the hospitable and polite shop-assistants. The main street is always busy, properly because of many shops and locations.

Saint Giuseppe Church

The Saint Giuseppe Church is an amazing building, dating back to the 17th century. For the fans of that period’s architecture, it is surely a necessary halt, being one of the most ancient buildings. It was built upon the crypt containing the relics of Saint Bartholomew, the protector of the Islands, and the patron of Lipari. The building appears at the adjacent beach, which peculiar position makes the building more attractive.

The Saint Bartholomew Cathedral

The Saint Bartholomew Cathedral is the most important building of the whole Aeolian Islands. It was built in the 16th century, and is situated in the central part of the island. The insides are spectacular, the paintings and the floral decorations are a vivid evidence and a precious heritage of the skill of that epoch’s artists.

The Canneto zone

The Canneto zone offers the possibility to enjoy one of the most beautiful beaches of the island. Its seashore is accurate in its every detail, and there are a lot of pubs and locations, ideal for afternoon and evening walks.

Belvedere of Quattrocchi

A usual stop for the tourists is the Belvedere of Quattrocchi, round 4 kilometers away from the center of Lipari. It is one of the most beautiful panoramic sites of the island; from its hill it seems to look at a great picture, a real time postcard with the shapes of the isles in the background, and Lipari in the foreground; the amazing stacks of Pietralunga and Petra Menalda, the high coast creeks, the Valle Mura beach, and the imposing Vulcano with its smoking peak.

Baths of San Calogero

Going down the asphalted street you arrive to Pianoconte, where thanks to signposts you can reach old baths of San Calogero, known for the excellent therapeutic properties of its springs. Unfortunately, it is not possible to use the baths anymore, which are closed for years, but the walk will lead you to admire magnificent and marvelous views: the archeological excavation has brought to sight the rests of a Mycenaean Tholos ( a great stone building of round dome, consisting of overlapped lava blocks), and various basins for thermal baths, dating back to the Romans and to the Greeks.

Contrada Caolino

After Pianoconte it is possible to visit Contrada Caolino. The term’s etymology derives from the mineral’s name, extracted for the first time in Kaoling, a Chinese locality. It is a clay white rock, used in porcelain fabrication. The mine is abandoned now, but it is still a nice place to visit.

As soon as you arrive to Lipari it is hard to avoid the sight of the 15th century mighty wall of Castello. . The castle’s area had been populated from the Neolithic era (4000 B.C.), and every civilization which settled there left an indelible print upon the area’s architecture. The archeological excavations have pointed out the overlap of the cultures , following each other during the centuries, a true paradise for the archeologists. The castle is surrounded by a long wall, built by the Spanish under Karl V domination around the middle 1500. Karl V , after the incursion of Barbarossa in 1544, with the consequent deportation of the greatest habitants’ part, decided to grant the city a reliable defensive system. The enter door leads to a gallery at exit, where an iron shutter was closed, and thanks to the existent trapdoors, boiling oils were poured. The first building to see is the Church of Santa Caterina, already dismissed, built between XVI and XVIII centuries, with the cross nave. The castle has other religious structures; between them the Chiesa dell’Addolorata dating back to the 16th century, with a richly decorated Baroque façade; further there is the Chiesa dell’Immacolata built in 1747. In front of the Church of Santa Caterina two wide excavation ditches show the rests of huts dating back the Bronze Age and being a part of a Greek-Roman urban plant. Next to the excavations there is Concordato staircase, built in the 10th century to connect Saint Bartholomew’s Cathedral to the urban center.
Saint Bartholomew’s Cathedral, the main archipelago’s place of cult showing all its majesty, was re-built upon the ruins of antique pagan temples during the Hellenic Age, and then decorated more times. The last re-edification occurred as a consequence of the pirate’s Barbarossa invasion, who heavily destroyed the structure. Nowadays the church is presented as a Neo-baroque style, in its external part, and is neared by a bell tower. The interior of three naves, with the cross vault, is depicted with the episodes of Old Testament; it is also possible to admire the silver Statue of Saint Bartholomew, patron of the Aeolians, and the main archipelago’s icon of cult. From the Saint Bartholomew’s Cathedral you can reach the cloister of the antique Norman Abbey, of which only three sides were preserved because one of them was used during the construction of the right nave after the amplifying.

On the south-west coast you can observe a Greek model reproduction of the Greek Theatre realized in 1976, which offers a suggestive background, with the view on Marina Corta port. Next to this area there is an archeological park , where Greek Age sarcophagi, found in Diana necropolis, are collocated. On the east part of this area there is a small Church of Santa Maria delle Grazie, constructed between the 12th and the 18th centuries upon the ruins of the already existent place of cult. Dulcis in fundo, in the castle’s area there are various halls of the Archeological Aeolian Museum: Bernabo Brea.

• Address: via del Castello – Lipari (Messina)
• Timetable: every day h. 9.00-13.00/15.00-18.00 except for holiday afternoons
• Opening: winter period on reservation.
• Opening the Detached Section of Panarea:
• Summer period: every day h.9.30-13.30/15.00-18.00 winter period on reservation.
• A ticket: Full prize € 6,00; Reduced: € 3,00.

The museum complex is situated upon the Neolithic rock of the “ Castello” of Lipari, a kind of a natural fortress, used by populations settled down on the island to defend themselves from attacks and invasions. The museum is the evidence of all the cultures and populations which have settled the territory. It is possible to admire the Bronze Era huts, on the overlapped levels, and exactly four of them; some of the Greek-Roman buildings and the urban plant of the 2nd B.C. The museum of Lipari, one of the principal historical and cultural attractions of the island, is divided into six large areas, which are: the pre-historic section, the epigraphic section, the classic section, the section of the minor islands, the volcanologic section, and the paleontological section.

Luigi Bernabò Brea, the supervisor of the eastern Sicily, and Madeline Cavalier, founded the Regional Archeological Museum round the fifties of the 20th century. The Museum “Luigi Bernabò Brea” had various works of amplification, because of the rapid increase of the collections. The building’s arrangement highlights, thanks to the reconstruction of wide excavations’ sections, and stratigraphic, the connections of the finds with the historical period of reference. Doing so, it provides an accurate historical continuity, describing the various dominations which succeeded.

The pre-historical section

The pre-historical section is placed inside the bishop’s palace, going back to the 18th century, built upon the ruins of the Norman monastery. On the first floor, from the I to the VI hall, there are finds dating back to the initial phase of the Middle Neolithic Age. The route goes on with the exposition of the finds, belonging to the last Neolithic period, and to the populations which followed till the Bronze Age. The route of this section finishes on the ground floor where the finds, dating back to the Lipàra foundation (580/576 B.C) are kept. These finds present historic and religious suggestion, concerning the objects used for the rituals and votive offers to the god Aeolus; found in a well and dating back to the VI-V B.C.

The epigraphic section

From the X hall of the pre-historic section you arrive to the epigraphic pavilion where funeral artefacts in lava stone , of III-I B.C., and deriving from the excavations of the Greek-Roman Diana’s necropolis, are kept.

The classic section

The classic section represents the work of the greatest importance in the intervention program of the museum’s buildings. The overlook on the garden, on the Castle’s walls, and on the sea, is really charming, and offers to the tourist the possibility to establish the visual contact with the extraordinary natural context where the museum is set. The building dedicated to the classic period is of the Fascist Epoch. The finds, coming from the excavations of Milazzo are exposed in the halls XVI-XVIII; the last one is dedicated to the archaic Greek necropolis of Milazzo. It’s interesting to notice that the island of Lipari, on the archaeological level, keeps some of the most important finds of the whole central-western Mediterranean basin in the Luigi Bernabò Brea Museum. While visiting the classic pavilion, it is possible to admire great vases, better known as Hydriae, which once kept ashes of the cremated corpses. You can admire the outfits of circa 3000 tombs, the Greek tragedy and comedy masks, amphorae, pyxides and other manufactures dating back to the Byzantine Epoch, and also, necklaces of gold, precious and a huge collection of the IV B.C. Greek coins, representing Hephaestus and the dolphins.

The minor islands section

The section of the minor islands, collocated in the building near the bishop’s palace, keeps the finds of the Neolithic and Bronze Era, which were found on the near islands of Salina, Filicudi, Panarea, and Stromboli. This section is dedicated to Alfred Ritmann. The visitor is explained the geomorphological aspects of the Aeolian Archipelago, to understand the various aspects of human settings which followed in the course of the centuries. While visiting the three floors, it is possible to learn something about the volcanic activities, industrial archaeology, general volcanology.

The paleonology quayernary section

This section, settled on the south-western part of the Castle, keeps the fossil finds of the Aeolian Islands. These finds are a singular evidence of the life forms pre-existing the Man’s appearance.

It is situated on the southern point of the island, near to Punta Crepazza. This uncontaminated paradise can be reached only by boat. Its main characteristic is that is particularly sandy, with some pebbles. Its crystalline waters are perfect for snorkelling, i.e. swimming in surface, using a snorkel. It is a beach which extend along the coastal part full of creeks and bays, which follow each other as far as the rock of Lipari, not far away from Marina Corta port.
Canneto Beach, 3 km northern away , is situated on the eastern coast of the city. Almost covered with gravel, partly mixed to sand, this beach is framed by a charming bay, and is perfect for immersions in clear and turquoise water. The main characteristic of the coast is not only a small width, but the length. This beach is partly equipped with umbrellas and beds.

Acquacalda village of Lipari, on the northern coast of the island, gives a name to the near beach. The majestic white mountain of pumice dominates the beach, and is a rarest natural masterpiece, with the caves, which are really unique in Europe, beyond the Turkish one. The natural landscape recalls the idea of wild nature.

The cave zone of obsidian and pumice, represents a background for Papesca Beach. It is situated on the north-eastern coast of the island. It is possible to see old bridges used to charge the extracted minerals and the remains of mine infrastructures. The crystalline waters are a mirror of the white blinding panorama of the coast , the colour due to pumice stone.
Some kilometres northern of Lipari, there is Porticello Beach. It is an equipped beach covered with gravel, characterized by the presence of white pumice. On the left side of the sea it is possible to admire the caves of Campo Bianco, and on the right side, as a contrast to white colour of pumice, the shining black obsidian coulee of the Rocce Rosse.
On the opposite coast of Lipari there is the Valle Muria Beach, considered together with Bianca Beach, one of the most beautiful beaches of the Aeolians. It has a particularly extended conformation, and it seems to be quite wrapped by rocky hills, from the artistic point of view. The beach is reachable by boat from Marina Corta port.

The most beautiful beach of Lipari is Bianca Beach. The seabed, formed by pumice sediments is a rarest show in the world for each tourist, and it surely increases the desire to spend the holidays in these fantastic Mediterranean places, Italian and world pride. The sea is particularly warm, of an intense turquoise colour; upon it the piers, once used for a transport of extracted material, are extended.

Lipari is the largest island of Aeolian archipelago; it extends over the surface of 37,6 km ², 9 km long, and circa 5 km large. Lipari is the second island for the distance from the Sicilian coast, and is divided from the volcano by a small part of sea, of half a mile circa, called Bocche di Vulcano. It is about 22 miles away from the Milazzo Port. Lipari, with its 11.000 population, compared to other Aeolian islands, assumes the connotations of a town; there are a hospital with the hyperbaric chamber, a safe port, and all those support services necessary to navigators.

The main docks, like touristic ports are situated on the east side, divided between them by a rocky hill where the castle of Lipari is situated. Inside this fortification you can find : the archaeological museum, and various historical buildings and archaeological sites.
38 28 3N – 14 57 4E

Located north of the Castello, there is Punta Scaliddi, going till the pier, which borders the northern side. The commercial pier is used as a landing place for ferries, as well as the first 20 meters of the adjacent pier, situated on the left side, and cleared to facilitate the moves. The remaining part, circa 120 meters of the pier , are used by touristic boats, which are permitted to stop only for passengers’ landing and boating; during the evening time the stop is only permitted to the pleasure boats. The northern part of pierce of 70m around, with the seabed of 8m in the header is used for the stop of pleasure boats, excepting the last 10m, used for lifeboats. The port complex has a capacity of circa 50 boats, the pier’s depth between 4 and 10 meters, and it suffers from eastern winds, grecale and sirocco. Pay great attention while crossing the ferries.
The Canneto landing on the North of Marina Lunga is situated after the Monte Rosa hill, where a pier of 60m overlooks upon a sandy seabed between 2 and 5 meters. The pier’s header is used for the boats transporting people, only for time necessary for landing and boating. The northern and the southern side of the pier, where the stairs are collocated, are used for landing and boating of small touristic units. The pier suffers from the winds of the 1 and the 2 quadrant, and constitutes a perfect shelter for libeccio and mistral winds. It is possible, paying a great attention to submarine cables, anchor at the northern part of the Monte Rosa Hill, upon a seabed between 10 and 70 m from the coast.
Portinente is the docking situated southern of the Marina Corta, usable only by small boats of little fishing, near to a pier, 50m away from the foreshore; it is possible to anchor upon a sandy seabed of 10m. It suffers from the winds of the 1 and 2 quadrant.
38 28 55N – 14 57 88E

The small port of Pignataro, situated northern of Lipari’s Castello ; constituted of a breakwater pier with wharves, provided with bollards, and moorings, has a maximum capacity of 250 boats. The pier’s header on the North delimits the boathouse, and is only used for ferries. The shelter port of Pignataro extends over a surface of a crystalline water of 34,000m²; but only 6,000m² are assigned for tourists’ receiving, whose capacity is of 40 boats. The boathouse of a recent construction, has a sliding slipway, cranes up to 70 tons, garbage service, telephone, wall sockets; besides, near to the area there are: a hospital, a hotel, banks, post offices, chemists’, workshops, pubs, restaurants, foodstuffs, and all those services connected sea tourism, and others. The boathouse offers a perfect shelter in the case of winds from the 1st to the 4th quadrant, but is exposed to the strong winds of osthro and libeccio; the winds of the south-east provoke undertows. Be careful, especially during the evening hours to the numerous buoys at the west of the boathouse, which make it difficult to access.

EOL.MARE srl Lipari Tel: +39 090 9814233 – Fax: +39 090 9813534 – Cell.:

+39 368 668535 Email:info@eolmare.com www.eolmare.com

The boathouse of Marina Corta, located south of the Castello fortification, consists of a pier at “Y”, where at the point of the two pier’s cross, the San Onofrio Church is situated. The unusual shape forms the two boathouses: the bigger one is collocated northern of the church, it has many wharves, and is delimited by a pier extending in the north-eastern direction; mainly used by fishing boats. The second boathouse, collocated south, and much more smaller, allows to moor small pleasure boats, usually occupied by charterers. It is forbidden the docking on the south-eastern side of the pier, intended for hydrofoils and line catamarans. The boathouse is a decent shelter, because it is exposed only to sirocco winds on the South, while on the north it offers an insufficient protection against winds of the 1st quadrant. The surface assigned to amusement is of 500m² out of a total 10,000m² of water, and it allows a reception of only 10 boats.
The port complex of Porticello is situated north-east of the extreme Punta delle Castagne, collocated north-east of Lipari, is composed of various piers, and even if it does not assume a touristic role, we decided to cite it. The northern pier is used for a docking of ferries and cargo ships; the two southern metallic ones are for an exclusive use of one society.
Located north of Castello it extends from this point towards Pignataro Port; the bay has 5 piers, and is ruled by the winds blowing from the south, south-east, east, and north-east.

Who considers that the Aeolian Islands are amazing, charming and magic only for their appearance, is wrong! In their bowels, in the restless depth of marine flowing, between the rocky fissures, holding up the earth, and being enveloped by wonderful sea water, amazing worlds are hidden! We bring you, thanks to words and images, into the depths of the sea, into those majestic seabed which receive the beauty, and leave anyone charmed.

In Lipari, plunging into the village’s dry point, it is possible to admire, from the maximum depth of 23mt, a various gamma of the colours, and fishes. In this point, the immersions are suitable for everybody; even amateur skin-divers are able to enjoy this amazing marine fauna. Immersions’ level is of low difficulty . It is necessary to anchor in the cove. Six meters away you can dive in a sandy seabed. The immersion gradually goes on towards a seabed full of stones, which produce ravines and walls, showing wonderful colours; in these elegant corridors octopus, groupers and morays move. In the maximum depth you can admire the view of fins nobilis.

The Punta Castagna immersion has some limits, if compared to the village’s dry. Attention, no limits of beauty! The immersions in this place are recommended only to expert skin-divers, and they advise not to go over 40 meters; the difficulty is high. It is a hard law of life, and sometimes, something of difficult to be reached, appears more charming and magic. The immersions in this point go beyond every imagination, and great charm. The seabed is characterized by the presence of canyons covered with the whitest pumice. This scenery appears magnificent in its particular mix of colours, light plays, and shadows. It is possible to anchor 9 meters further. The blue colour of the seabed opens the descent towards spirographs, which seem to deputize Dante’s Beatrice, leading to a part of paradise! You do not meet the blessed souls , but real, concrete, tangible beauties. This seabed shows us, at 36mt, anthias’s clouds, and red gorgonians. Between these clouds of anthias there are not the angels to move, but wonderful lobsters, groupers and elegant barracuda. What we see in the surface is only the smallest part of what is hidden in the heart of depths. We are not talking about the Freudian mechanism, or about the famous Iceberg of Titanic, but almost about a huge stone emerging from the Lipari’s seabed. We are introducing the immersion of the bath stone, requiring a long preparation, considering a highest degree of difficulty. The maximum reachable depth is of 36meters. Once reached our “extreme point of the iceberg”, you have to moor on the southern side, where the seabed rises up to 14mt, to go on then its descent up to 36mt, its maximum depth, where our “iceberg’s point” offers the scenery of cubic rocks. You are not admiring a Picasso’s painting! These are the imperfect, but such wonderful geometries of the nature! These rocky stones are collocated one upon another at the foot of the majestic stone. They are embellished by the mantles of starfishes, marine sponges, spirographs, and gorgonians. This is the real pardise for groupers. The amazing seabed is also the place where to meet amberjacks, octopus, and morays.

The immersions are not suitable only for the heroes of the seabed. Of the medium difficulty, up to 30mt of depth, la Secca delle Formiche provides an amazing scenery of a rocky formation, which arises from a purely sandy seabed of 30mt.

Jointly, these rocks give the idea of an inverted cone. The docking has to be done on the top of the shallow, a clearly visible point, thanks to its crystalline waters. The scenery offers the passage of some parrotfish, too.

Wherever you go, the eyes catch unique images, which make us feel as a part of nature, in a perfect harmony with the environment. Crystalline waters of Lipari also accept less skilful skin- divers. The immersion, named so by the boulders characterizing the seabed, Le Formiche di Lipari, does not present particular difficulties, and allows us to admire a seabed, which varies between 13 and 28 mt. These boulders, stacked one upon another, create suggestive natural tunnels, where you can meet octopus and groupers. The tunnels are enriched by the presence of asteroids. At this point it is enough to rise your eyes upward, to meet shoals of small fishes. It is really between the sky, the earth, the water and the depth, that man has the honour to feel indeed a part of a perfect totality, going beyond apparent spaces.

The evocative scenery, unfortunately for a few, is offered by the immersion known as “panettoni di pietra menalda”. The immersion is almost tricky, and is suitable only for expert skin-divers. The maximum depth is 49mt, and bottom times are indeed reduced. The scenery shows the wonderful pentagon starfishes, melon hedgehogs, and pink gorgonians.

Regarding magic atmospheres, Lipari by night is to be lived in its whole beauty, and emanating all of its charm, it seduces tourists who love to amuse themselves, and know to enjoy the nightlife. Lipari’s amusement , for an unforgettable summer, consists of concerts, theatre and folk festivals, food and drink festivals with all their tastes and smells typical of the island. The outdoors locations offer amusement and spectacular views, and also dancing on the beach. You can enjoy the pleasant sensation of still warm sand, while between Bacchus and Muse, exalted by the amber taste of the Malvasia drink, the moon rules over the sea and the sky. Lipari, with its charming sceneries recalls the Arabian Nights’ sensation. After all this fun, the dawn’s sight, and the delight of swimming while the moon leaves its place for a new, unforgettable day, made of swimming, relax, and enjoyment.

From the Sottomonastero Port it is possible to start visiting Lipari island to enjoy an amazing sight between the blue of the sea, and the caves. The tour goes on up to the hill of Castello, to arrive to Marina Corta. From Saint Giuseppe Church to the extreme point of Crepazza, the rocky and steep coast gives birth to amazing beaches. Just think about Portinente cove and the extreme point of Capistello. Once passed Crepazza you arrive to one of the most beautiful parts of the Lipari island where you can admire the amazing Vinci Beach. The peculiarity of this beach is its position; in front of it there is a promontory with the rocks of Pietralunga, Pietramenalda, and Brigghio. The tour goes on between wonderful creeks; in fact, on the slopes of the mount Mazzacaruso it is possible to admire one of the most beautiful creeks of the whole island: the Fico cove, that one next to the extreme point of Cugno, to then interrupt at the extreme point of Palmeto.

This is one of the possible routes to explore the island via sea. The beauty of Lipari, such as of the other Aeolian Islands, can be discovered in different ways. Via earth, for example, you can discover other types of beauty. It deals with different ways of discovering, compared to boat excursion. For the fans of long excursions, three hours on foot from Castellaro, it is possible to admire the charming view which the Pianoconte fraction offers. Going through the vineyards “O Castiddaru” you arrive to the Caolino Cave. After a break at the church, where you can admire a suggestive view of Salina, Alicudi, and Filicudi, going towards S. Calogero, enjoy “ A Petra o Vagnu”, and

“O Cola Ficu”. At S. Calogero hot springs it is possible to visit the Mycenaean Tholos, a structure built 3500 years ago, and a Roman pool. Another amazing place is, undoubtedly, Lami. This fraction is reachable, leaving from Canneto, in two hours of walking. Surely the path is not very comfortable, but the goal deserves all the efforts done to reach it. It is one of the island’s zones with a major number of extinct volcanoes, now covered with the typical Mediterranean vegetation, and vineyards. Once overpassed the Church of Madonna del Rosario, and once reached the locality “U Cavaddazzu a Rina”, it is possible to admire the amazing lava coulees, thrusting into the sea.

From the touristic point of view Lipari is the island which represents the right compromise between leisure, amusement and natural beauties. It is the largest island of the Aeolian Archipelago, presenting a high number of services and structures. That is why it is considered suitable for city dwellers, too.

The center is full of shops’ variety which extend along a boulevard, where to enjoy pleasant afternoons of shopping, and delightful evenings in the most renowned restaurants for their food and wine specialties. From touristic point of view Lipari is not only an appreciable destination for its landscapes’ beauty, on the contrary it can be considered as an artistic and a cultural pearl: the whole history of the Aeolian Islands is concentrated on the Lipari Island. The archaeological museum keeps finds, which constitute the evidence of more than 5000 years of archipelago’s and island’s civilization.