Island of Panarea

Province: Messina

Municipality: Lípari

Area: 3.4sq.km/1.3sq.mi

Altitude: 420m/1,378ft.

Population: 268

Communications

Shipping links with Milazzo and Naples; hydrofoils to Milazo and the other Aeolian islands.

Location

Panarea, the ancient Euonymos, lies 15km/9mi northeast of Lípari and is the smallest of the Aeolian Islands. Together with the rocky and uninhabited offshore islands to the northeast, Basiluzzo, Spinazzola, Panarelli, Lisca Bianca, Lisca Nera, Bottaro, Dáttilo and Le Formiche, it forms an archipelago which is probably the remains of an old semi-submerged volcano. Its volcanic nature is demonstrated in the form of fumaroles - especially in the Conca della Calcara in the north, where the ground reaches a temperature of almost 100° C/212° F - and hot springs with water at a temperature of 50° C/122° F in the village of San Pietro. On the west side of Panarea the rocky cliffs fall away steeply down to the sea. On the eastern slope, below the rugged ridges of Pizzo Castello and Pizzo Falcone, corn and vines are grown on terraced plots. Prehistoric village

This island has plenty to offer tourists, and the village on the east side is divided into the districts of Ditella on the north, San Pietro on a creek of the same name in the center, and Drauto in the south. From Drauto the visitor can climb the 420m/1,378ft high Timpone del Corvo and visit the prehistoric village which in 1948 was excavated on the rocky Punta Milazzese projecting out over the picturesque bay of Cala Junco. It dates from the Bronze Age, with 23 oval-shaped huts from the 14th-13th centuries B.C. Remains of Greek civilization have been found in La Calcara (fifth-fourth centuries B.C.).

Leisure

The few remote beaches (shingle) can be reached by boat. The clear water and fish in plenty are attractive to divers and underwater swimmers.