Alicudi

Alicudi belongs with its neighboring islands of Lipari, Stromboli, Vulcano, Salina, Panarea and Filicudi to the archipelago of the Aeolian Islands, which lie in the Tyrrhenian Sea off the north coast of Sicily.

It belongs to the municipality of Lipari in the province of Messina.

General Information

In ancient times the island was called because of the luxuriant here, same heather Ericusa.

It is the westernmost and 5.2 km ² second smallest of the Aeolian Islands. The nearly circular island consists of the 675 m-high stratovolcano Filo dell'Arpa. Two-thirds of the island are not cultivated. The only place on the island, Alicudi Porto is connected to the settlements Sgurbio, Tonna, Pianicello, Bazzina and Mont Angola by stone stairs.

The almost 100 inhabitants, of agriculture ( cultivation of figs, capers, almonds and vines ), live from fishing and tourism, are concentrated in the southeastern part of the island.

A road network is not available, the houses are connected to each other through centuries-old stairways and serve as a transport mule. Electricity and connection to the telephone network has only existed since 1990. Meanwhile, on the island remain quite stable GPRS signal is present.

Tourism

In summer, a hotel is open. Additionally you'll find in Alicudi Porto a post office and two grocery stores. The Biglietteria for ferries / hydrofoils opens before each arrival of the ships. In high season, a guesthouse near the port and opens a bar

Outside the high season you will find accommodation with private persons. The best times are spring and late summer / autumn. Alicudi is largely car -free because there are no roads. Alicudi features with the exception of port settlement on no street lights.

The road from the plateau ( Timpone delle Femmine ) to the summit is blocked by dense, thorny vegetation in some years.

In good weather you can reach the port Alicudi Porto daily by the Sicilian coastal town of Milazzo by hydrofoil. Depending on the season several times a week also a ferry to Milazzo (takes 7 hours). In summer, the arrival is possible directly from Palermo. Another possibility is the overnight ferry Siremar, which runs twice a week to and from Naples.

More information

The artist Paola Pivi lived for two years on Alicudi and works currently (2007) on the project Alicudi in which they want to create a photo of the island in the original size.