Contact:

 Holger Stark
 Via Pianicello 5
 98050 Alicudi

 Tel. +390909889408
 [

]  [Contact Details]

 Beate Stark
 Tel. +49 8822 922789
 [eMail]  [Contact Details]

Alicudi is the least known and remotest of the seven Eolian Islands.

Quick Facts:

• Size: 5.1 km²
• Population: ca. 100
• Height: 690 m
• Road network of cobbled streets and paths, mostly in steps
• No cars
• UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site

A holiday on Alicudi takes you into another time and space. The high season lasts from end of June to beginning of September. This is when the only hotel and the only bar on the island are open, and shopping in one of the two shops might take a little bit longer.

The rest of the time, Alicudi is a place of pure peace and quiet. The rhythm of the day is dictated by the arrival of the two hovercrafts, one in the morning, one in the evening, and the ship at midday.

People live on 3 different levels: at sea level around the harbour, in the villages Vallone and Tonna half way up the mountain (ca. 250 m above sea level), and in the upper region with the villages Pianicello and St. Bartholo (420 m above sea level).

History:

Like all of the Eolian Islands, Alicudi, too, is of vulcanic origin, having emerged from the seas about 600 million years ago. Panarea and Alicudi are the oldest of the seven, and no longer active. Stromboli, the best known of the seven islands, is still very much alive.
Humans have lived on these islands since the fourth or fifth millenium B.C. Large deposits of obsidian made the Eolian Islands into important trade centres.

Obsidian is a vulcanic material that was not only used for weapons but also for ritual objects like sacrificial knifes and mirrors used in temples. The working of obsidian was a much respected craft.

The Greek tale of Odysseus mentions how the hero comes to visit King Eolo at Lipari. Later, the Greeks colonised the islands and brought their culture with them. Apart from the Greeks, the Etruscans, Arabs, Saracenes, Phoenicians, Jews and Normans also left their traces.

For many centuries, people on the islands lived a self-sufficient life, farming, fishing and trading locally. Pirates were always a danger, and the oldest village on Alicudi is at 600 meters above sea level, to be out of reach of marauding invaders. Only at the beginning of the 20th century, people left the mountain villages in favour of the lower levels. Today, not many of the terraces on which the inhabitants planted wine, olives, fruit, vegetables and grain are still cultivated. Since many people emigrated at the beginning of the 20th century, the population of Alicudi has dwindled from nearly a thousand to round about a hundred. A large part of the formerly agriculturally used land has been converted into a nature reserve.

Visit the Picture Gallery to get an impression of Alicudi and the amazing views.