Sicily and the Aeolian Group of Islands
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Aeolian Islands
Aeolian Islands is a beautiful place for sailboat travelling
Sicily, the biggest volcanic island of the Mediterranean, sticks out in the 3000 m height with its landmark Mount Etna. On its very fruitful soil on the slopes and at the foot of Etna wine, oranges and lemons thrive. The island has many harbours and picturesque places along the coast, which are worth visiting. The areas around Sicily as well as the island itself attract with different destinations. You can start in Portorosa or Palermo, for the Aeolian group of islands, consisting of seven islands, lies only a few sea miles away. These islands are also of volcanic origin. Lipari is the largest and the most populated island of this archipelago. However, the berths are in most cases unprotected, as on almost all islands. The island Vulcano is easy to recognize because of its sulphurous smell. Sulphur fumes are coming out from the clefts in the rocks, and the pond-like basins are filled with a warm sulphurous mud, in which people bath, as they believe in its healing effect. Stromboli offers an impressive scene: clear water streams onto the beaches with deep black sand, and in the background there is a smoke stripe of Stromboli, the only permanently active volcano in Europe. Salina is the greenest island because it has the biggest water supplies. This island is especially famous for the so called Malvasian grapes, which grow there and produce a sweet wine. Calabria is the southernmost region of the Italian mainland and borders in the north on the region Basilikata. In the north-east it is surrounded by the Gulf of Tarent, in the south-east by the Ionian Sea and in the west by the Tyrrhenian Sea. The south Calabria lies only a few kilometers away from Sicily and is parted from it by the narrow Straits of Messina. Especially the eastern coast from Sibari to the western tip of the boot at Reggio di Calabria is worth sailing. The coastal towns attract with not overcrowded beaches even in midsummer. Many of these towns were founded by Greek settlers over 2.600 years ago, so this region can surprise with a Greek aura even nowadays. But also the western coast of the Tyrrhenian Sea with some beautiful sand beaches is perfect for a sailing holiday.
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