Vulcano

The Gran Cratere of the Fossa

The Gran Cratere of the Fossa is the mountain that can be seen from the port of Vulcano.
Though not very tall (just 400 metres high), its charm is immense, because you have the chance to see a genuine volcano, whose current activity is given by the numerous fumaroles on its summit.
The ascent to the Gran Cratere is a walk of around 45 minutes which, if taken slowly, is suitable for everyone even in the summer heat. You will forget about the climb as soon as you reach the top.
Once the path ends, turn immediately north, towards the port and the island of Lipari: from here you can see all seven magnificent Aeolian Islands above a blue sea like no other.

The Gran Cratere of the Fossa
Photo from the top of the Gran Cratere de La Fossa. In the foreground, the bottom of the crater is central, circular in shape and yellow ocher. The clearer bottom is about 50 meters deeper than the crater, brown in color cut by the yellow of the sulfur of the fumaroles. In the background, in a central position, you can see, immediately above, the Vulcanello peninsula, separated by a small strip of sea from the island of Lipari. Seen from here, the island of Lipari appears to be made up of two parts, the more stubby one in the foreground, and the much more horizontal part behind. In the background on the left, with the peaks in the clouds, you can see the two mountains of the island of Salina.

If you are lucky, on days with more visibility, you can also see the majesty of Mount Etna, which rises 2000 metres above the northern mountain ranges of Sicily, and whose plumes of gas are practically a constant throughout the year. Turning to the south you will instead have the opportunity to observe the centre of the crater of Vulcano , with numerous fields of fumaroles that surround it. It is not the kind of view you see every day.

By going around the crater belt you will also be able to see the products of Vulcano’s last eruption between 1888 and 1890.
These are simply blocks of rock, ranging from a few decimetres to a few metres in size.
They are dark grey in colour, very dense and therefore heavy, with fractures on the surface, which is where the name of bread-crust bombs comes from.
bomba a crosta di pane del Gran Cratere de La Fossa
These volcanic “bombs” are typical of vulcanian eruptions . Try to see how the fractures and shapes change from one bomb to another; you will feel like you are looking at the section of an open-air sculpture museum!

Where do Vulcano’s gases come from?

The pure white of the pumice quarries

Lipari Castle, “fused” with lava

The Sciara del Fuoco

Lipari, where history intertwines with volcanoes to create archaeology

The senses tell The summit craters

The senses tell The Gran Cratere of the Fossa

The prehistoric village of Cala Junco

At the heart of trade in history

The senses tell Alicudi

The Village of Capo Graziano

Lipari at the centre of Mediterranean history

Volcanoes

Wine, oil and capers, masterpieces of nature and launching pad of the Aeolian economy

Alicudi, where time has stood still

Stromboli, the volcano that breathes

Filicudi: small island, big history

The Stacks of Panarea

The Aeolian Islands, where volcanoes were first studied

Vulcano, the most famous volcano in the world

The malleability of Vulcano’s mud

The polis of the living and the necropolis of the dead

The Cathedral of Lipari and the Norman Cloister of the Benedictine Monastery

Seven islands with different faces

The fumaroles of the port of Vulcano

The senses tell The Stacks of Panarea

The summit craters

Myths and legends about volcanoes

The senses tell The prehistoric village of Cala Junco

Pollara, between poetry and beauty

The senses tell the Lipari Castle

The senses tell the port of Vulcano

The Gran Cratere of the Fossa

Salina, the green island with twin mountains

The salt lake of Lingua

Panarea, the island of Stacks

Filicudi, a submerged paradise

Seven islands, dozens of volcanoes

The hidden part of the Aeolian Islands

The ancient production of salt