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Visit Lipari
Lipari is the name of an island and also the only major town in the archipelago of the Aeolian Islands, situated off the north coast of sicily, the island off southern Italy. It is to history that we turn on a visit to Lipari, with the Acroplis and the Aeolian Museum being the highlights in the town itself.
The Acropolis, called the Castle, forms the heart of the Old Town. It was here that the people of the Neolithic, Bronze Age and the Hellenistic Age settled. On the south side of Piazza Mazzini we can access the citadel, where you can see Church of Saint Catherine and of the “Addolorata” (XVI century), with its rich altars, gilded stucco work in the 17th century baroque style, and a painting depicting the crucifixion.
Lipari Cathedral
Further on is the Cathedral dedicated to “San Bartolo”, the patron saint of the Aeolian Islands, built by Count Roger. Originally Lipari Cathedral was quadrangular in shape, with a garden surrounded by a gallery with columns and capitals representing some monstrous animals and doves pecking at dates. Of the ancient Norman style the church has only retained the arched vaults; the interior and the façade were subsequently rebuilt. Inside the cathedral are the silver statue of St. Bartholomew and a 17th century picture depicting the "Madonna of the Rosary."
Rebuilt in the second half of the sixteenth century and completed with a barrel vault, it is high and oblong, with several chapels to the sides. In the 18th century the cathedral underwent radical innovations in structures and decorations; the ceiling frescoes depicting biblical scenes date from the 18th century and during the first half of the century the silver statue of the Protector and the wooden altar were added. Towards the end of the same century the tower was erected.
Bishops Palace
After the church of Our Lady of Grace, rich in frescoes , we come to the Bishop's Palace (XVIII century), located to the right of the cathedral and home to the remarkable museum of the Aeolian Islands, which preserves archaeological remains from the Neolithic age, through the bronze age and to the Greek and Roman period. In recent years it has been expanded with a section dedicated to underwater archaeology and volcanology.
Lipari Aeolian Museum
The Aeolian Museum was created in 1954 by Luigi Bernabò Brea and Madeleine Cavalier, and it exposes organic artefacts from excavations undertaken by the two scholars. The exhibition focusses on clarity, that make the visit enjoyable even for non-specialists. It consists of 27 sections, ranging from Neolithic to modern times. Among these, we point out in particular, the first section of archaeological objects of obsidian (blades and splinters), which accompany some articles of pottery in the “Stentinello style”, decorated with engravings of great artistic value. Room No 10 holds the Greek-Roman artefacts.
Near the west wall there is a massive stretch of wall that uses Norman monastery, consisting of blocks of lava stone from the Greek walls from the 4th century BC. Particularly noteworthy is the "bothros" or "votive pit" of the shrine of Aeolus, which was located on the Acropolis; among these we can also see some ceramic statues in terracotta - outstanding in particular is a "deinos", a vessel to pour wine and water, presumably made in Attica, with black figures attributed to the so-called “Painter of Antimenes” and representing the exploits of Hercules and Theseus painted on the outer edge.
Next you enter the garden of the inscriptions, where you can see exposed coffins and funerary stelae of lava stone, bearing the name of the dead in Greek, from Greek and Roman necropolis. The leader of the polychrome production is considered to be the “Painter of Lipari” (IV century BC), and the "lekanai" with the beatitudes of the Champs Elysees and the Nereids bearing the arms of Achilles.
The sub-marine remains of the Aeolian archipelago are exceptional, retrieved from the waters were full of shipwrecks. Among the most important we mention the “Ciabatti, Signorini Wreck”, with ceramic mixing of the Early Bronze Age, and black painted pottery probably of Aeolian manufacture (first half of the third century BC). Some bronze coins from the Roman period were found in the "Alberti Wreck”, with some amphorae.
In the volcanology section there is an important educational section, as an introduction to the knowledge of the geology of the archipelago, and also to the other natural resources of the region and the production of wines and local products - a tradition carried on still today with the production of liqueurs such as Grappa Liqueur, Mandarin, the “Malvasia di Lipari”, a fortified dessert wine with the color of honey.
Lipari cuisine
Today, the typical Aeolian cuisine is seafood based, with grilled fish, spaghetti "alla Strombolana" with capers, pasta with sea urchins, and, finally, the "Mulincianeddi", a kind of meatball made with eggplant, capers, tomato and red pepper.
See also history of Lipari
See more places in the region in our Sicily travel guide.