Salina’s harborside Porto Bello (Via Bianchi 1; 090-9843125) serves excellent raw seafood and traditional dishes like spaghetti al fuoco and calamari stuffed with Malvasia-soaked bread crumbs. Just off the seafront near the lighthouse, Il Delfino (Via Marina Garibaldi; 090-9843024) offers traditional Aeolian dishes (pesto with pine nuts, capers, almonds, and basil; swordfish rolls with bread crumbs and ricotta) and rooms for the night. Bar Alfredo (by the seawall) has the best granitas in season—almond, mulberry, lemon, fig.
Chef Stefano Oliva of Stromboli’s Punta Lena (Via Marina 8; 090-986204) is passionate about his superfresh seafood—sardines, octopus salad, spaghetti with mussels and clams—served overlooking the sea from which it came. Uphill from the port, Ristorante Roma (Via Roma 15; 090-986088) is a casual pizzeria that also offers traditional pastas.
Filicudi’s Villa La Rosa (Via Rosa 24; 090-9889965) is a restaurant and pensione (as well as a disco in high season) specializing in simple Sicilian cuisine—grilled swordfish with lemon leaves; fennel frond and sardine pasta; pasta with eggplant and fresh ricotta. A seaside restaurant with a few rooms to rent, the extraordinary La Sirena (Pecorini a Mare, Filicudi; 090-9889997) uses only fresh, local, and traditional ingredients in its marinated raw-fish creations; tuna sausage with onion chutney; gnocchi with pistachios; and many other dishes.
Being There
The view from the top of Stromboli is magnificent, particularly at dusk. From a safe vantage point, you can watch the volcano shoot sparks and lava that crash into the sea with a mighty boom. (Hire a guide from one of many agencies at the port.) Originally built to defend the island from pirates and intruders, the Castello on Lipari is home to artifacts produced by the numerous cultures that have flourished on this strategically important island since before the Bronze Age. The museum—with its separate hall of vulcanology—has an extraordinary collection of Neolithic pottery and obsidian (volcanic glass), once the sharpest material known to man. The museum also has hundreds of amphorae retrieved from shipwrecks, but the most remarkable items are the delicate pots dating from the third century b.c. and decorated with Dionysian scenes by the Lipari Painter, and the little terra-cotta theatrical masks and statues representing characters in Greek plays. The best way to see the less accessible parts of the Aeolians is to hire a boat—especially on the little islands. Ask around at the smaller ports for a fishing boat or kayak. That said, my favorite thing of all here is il dolce far niente—the sweetness of doing nothing. Since there’s little activity on the outlying islands, particularly Filicudi and Alicudi, you have nothing to do but swim, hike, and contemplate your next meal. (Be sure to end it with Malvasia, the amber-colored dessert wine that is the traditional after-dinner drink in the islands.) Finally, while you’re here, pick up some of the fruits of the unruly caper bush, which tumbles down rock walls and grows on the roadside throughout the islands. Preserved in salt, these little buds are intense culinary gems, tiny morsels of pure flavor—nothing like the vinegar-packed variety sold in American stores.
Getting There
The overnight ferry (SIREMAR; 081-5800340) departs from Naples daily (except Wednesday) in high season (July and August); a reduced service operates at other times. Hydrofoils (SNAV; 081-4285555), which also operate between the islands, are another option; they run from Palermo, Milazzo, Messina, Cefalù, and Naples. Naples, Palermo, Catania, and Reggio Calabria can all be reached by air.
Note: Some hotels and restaurants may be closed during the off-season (November through March).
Pinterest
