History of Lipari

About the man's presence in the Aeolian Islands and in Lipari, the historical sources consist of the "Bibliotéké Historiké" (“Historical Library”) of  Diodorus Siculus (90-27 BC), who said that the island was settled by early immigrants from Italy, called “Ausoni”,  led by King  Liparo, to whom  later would also joined the people led by the Greek Aeolus, identified with the legendary King of the Winds, that Ulysses, according to the Homeric tradition,  encountered during his extensive travels.

Apart from this digression of mythological character, Diodorus Siculus tells us  that the island of Lipari was colonized by Greeks from Rhodes and Cnidus. With this statement of Diodorus Siculus, we enter the historical period. No one  knows  with absolute certainty the exact moment of interest and involvement of Lipari within the sphere of influence of the Greeks  of Rhodes and Cnidus , but the finds of ceramic objects found in Lipari would suggest to the VI-V century BC. Contemporary studies confirm in part the data  of the tradition. According to Bernabò Brea, a leading expert in the history of Lipari,  it was one of the last islands to be colonized by the Greeks of Cnidus between 580 and 576 BC, to whom then joined  some Greeks of Rhodes.

The  Cnidians  had considerable difficulty in settling on the island because of opposition by Carthage, which, due to the presence of the Greeks, saw involved  their commercial interests in the area. The Cnidians were defeated, but  they settled in Lipari, bringing an economic revitalization to  island that was inhabited by peoples who  settled in it already from the Neolithic period, and then they abandoned it because of violent volcanic eruptions that have shaken the island. Here the Cnidians built their fortress, almost impregnable.  The Cnidians  then had to fight even against the Etruscans, who saw threatened their dominance in the Tyrrhenian Sea. However, the Cnidians resisted the Etruscans, and around the castle of Lipari the  town became more prosperous, growing and expanding its walls.

Allied with Syracuse, Lipari repulsed the Athenians attacks (V century), and enjoyed a prosperous period of economic expansion and control of the Tyrrhenian Sea. Lipari was attacked in 304 BC by the ancient ally, Syracuse, for which it formed an alliance with the Carthaginians, with whom he was also allied against the Romans, who tried several times to conquer it, but in vain. However, in 252 BC, Lipari suffered a defeat and the Romans sacked and destroyed it, killing most of its inhabitants.

The destruction of the city by the Romans marked the final decline of Lipari, which was reduced to a place of little importance; all the  handicrafts  of the city, how show the archaeological evidences,  suffered a final collapse (See Luigi Bernabo Brea , M. Cavalier, "Masks and Terracotta figures of the Greek Theatre in Lipari, Rome, 2001:  11 ff.). The fall Of the Roman Empire exposed the Aeolian islands to raids by the Vandals and the Goths, who occupied it permanently under Theodoric (454-526); the Byzantines attempted to reconquer Sicily starting a war that devastated Sicily and which ended in mid-VI century AD.

With the fall of the Roman Empire,  also began the incursions of the Arabs, who gradually succeeded in conquering the whole of Sicily near the end of the tenth century AD. With the arrival of the Normans, led by Count Roger (1031-1101), began for Sicily a period of reconstruction, which continued under the Swabians, and that also involved the Aeolian Islands. Following Sicily and Lipari was ruled by Charles I of Anjou (1226-1285), and they were fought between the Kingdom of Sicily,  Aragonese,  kingdom of Naples, and Anjou.

A serious event for Lipari was the turkish attack, which involved the destruction of the city. Charles V (1500-1558) rebuilt it, sending a colony of Spaniards, who restored the Castle, surrounded it by walls more powerful of the above.

From the seventeenth century, Lipari, was annexed to the kingdom of Sicily under Philip III (1578-1621), and from then on it followed the fate of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies until the Unification (1861).

Etymology of Lipari

About  the etymology of Lipari, the question is "double" in the sense that we are confronted with two names. According to the testimony of Callimachus, the famous Greek poet of Cyrene (310-240 BC), Lipari,  "Lypàra", in ancient times was known by another name, “Meligulìs”. About the meaning of the name,  scholars have indulged with many hypotheses, but one of them proposed in the nineteenth century, deserves special consideration because  it is somehow confirmed by contemporary studies. C.A. Vanzon ,  in his "Universal Dictionary",  wrote: "[...] 'Melicudìne', the mythological daughter of Venus, who gave his name to one of the Aeolian Islands,  called then Lipari. 'Melicudine', according to Callimachus in his 'Hymn to Diana' means 'honey bearing' [...]" (See Antonio Carlo Vanzon, "Universal Dictionary of the Italian language", Livorno, 1836, Vol.  IV: 310 ). Professor A. Pagliara, in an article in "Kokalos" ("Meligulìs-Lypàra- Note di toponomastica eoliana," in "Kokalos" Flaccovio, 38, 1995: 312 and 316), explained: "[...] The anthroponyms as 'Meliton,' feminine 'Melito' and 'Melitene' derived from 'Meli', so on to 'Meligounis' we can derive an etymological meaning as "generated by (or under) honey (‘meli ghignomai’). So, 'Meligounìs' from 'meli' and 'Ghigonomai', meaning 'generated in honey';  an etymological meaning that (...) to testify to us was also the name of one of the daughters of Aphrodite [.. .]. "

Honey itself, for its golden color, refers to something "brilliant" and "bright". According to Callimachus the island of Lipari, based on a mythical tradition dating back to Thucydides, was  not the home of Aeolus but of Hephaestus, the god of fire "brighter".  Here, then, according to tradition, the god Vulcan, the “God of  fire” , had his forge, and in fact the island's volcanoes, making it particularly "light" when their flames erupting. But is there  a relationship between "Meligulìs" and the next name  "Lypàra?”. "A religious of the Society of Jesus," in an essay dating back to 1709, with great doctrine, wrote: "[...] Natale Conti says that [Lipari] is derived from the Greek word "lyparu" or "Liparis" that  it is interpreted as "pinguis", meaning "land rich" and "fertile" (...) However, Bocharto  founded an  etymology of Lipari in the language of Phoenicia, in which "Nibaras", or "Nibras" means  "Lampas" or "Fax";  from here the Greek writers formed  "Lypàra" because the flames, that in those early centuries flowing from his land, made the night bright as a lit torch  [...]" (See "A religious of the Society of Jesu "," La Sicilia in Prospettiva ", Palermo, 1709, vol. II:  457). A few centuries later, Professor A. Pagliara wrote: [...] It is true that "Lypàra" in Greek means "fat" and "fertile", but also means "light", confirming the assumption that between the ancient and the most recent name there is a certain semantic correlation (...) Therefore it will not be exaggeration to say that the two names, 'Meligulìs' and' Lypàra, although differing in its denotation,  have a common connotation  [...]" (see p. 316). In conclusion, "Meligulìs" - "Lypàra" would mean "the bright and shiny island," and this etymology now enjoys the consensus of scholars.