- Aeolian Islands
Infobox World Heritage Site
WHS = Isole Eolie (Aeolian Islands)
State Party = ITA
Type = Natural
Criteria = viii
ID = 908
Region = Europe and North America
Year = 2000
Session = 24th
Link = http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/908The Aeolian Islands (Italian "Isole Eolie") are avolcanic archipelago in theTyrrhenian Sea north ofSicily . They are a popular tourist destination in the summer, and attract up to 200,000 visitors annually.The largest island is
Lipari , and tourism marketing often names the entire archipelago the Lipari Islands because of the ease of pronouncing Lipari compared to Aeolian. The other islands includeVulcano , Salina,Stromboli ,Filicudi ,Alicudi ,Panarea andBasiluzzo . The town of Lipari has about 11,000 inhabitants. Vulcano is famous for itsfango (mud) baths.History
The Cnidian settlers under
Pentathlos arrived at Lipara in 580 BC and settled on the site of the modern village known as Castello or la Cittade. They named the islands after the Greek keeper of the winds,Aeolus , whose benevolence was essential. Outside Lipara, on the road to the necropolis, a sanctuary toDemeter andPersephone has been discovered. In 394 BC the Roman embassy consisting ofLucius Valerius ,Lucius Sergius , andAulus Manlius took a golden bowl that was made as a gift toApollo , to Delphi. The diplomats were captured by Liparian pirates, but instead of being harmed the diplomats and their offering were protected by the magistrateTimasitheus and escorted safely to Delphi, this made for peaceful relations between the two states [http://www.romansonline.com/Src_Frame.asp?DocID=Hor_LV05_28 Accessed 04/05/07 ] . The islands were the site of theBattle of the Lipari Islands in260 BC betweenRome andCarthage . Biblical historianJosephus mentioned a group that is probably related to the Aeolian islands: "Elisa gave name to the Eliseans, who were his subjects; they are now the Aeolians." Elisa refers to the biblical figureElishah , grandson ofJapheth , son ofJavan .In
1544 , whenSpain declared war onFrance , the French kingFrancis I , asked the OttomanSultan Suleiman for help. The latter sent a fleet headed byKhair ad Din (also known as Barbarossa) who was victorious over the Spaniards, and managed to retakeNaples from them. In the course of the battle the Aeolian Islands were depopulated. Later immigrants from mainland Italy, Sicily and Spain re-established communities on the archipelago.UNESCO World Heritage Sites
The Aeolian Islands are listed by
UNESCO asWorld Heritage Sites , although inaccuracy, the missing closure of apumice quarry, and the oncoming building of some four harbours by the shore of the sole town ofLipari [ [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zEznpP5nFog YouTube - Mega porto: lo scempio di Lipari ] ] pose a threat to the islands' place on the list, according to the Italian UNESCO Commission. [ [http://www.eddyburg.it/article/articleview/9588/0/152/ Eddyburg.it - Le Eolie fuori dai siti Unesco ] ]References
External links
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* [http://whc.unesco.org/pg.cfm?cid=31&id_site=908 UNESCO World Heritage Sites, Aeolian Islands]
* [http://icarus.umkc.edu/sandbox/perseus/pecs/page.69.a.php Richard Stillwell, ed. "Princeton Encyclopedia of Classical Sites", 1976:] "Aeoliae Insulae (Lipari Islands), Messina, Sicily"
* [http://www.worldphototour.org/italy/sicily/aeolian_islands/index.asp Aeolian Islands photos]
* [http://www.marcllewellyn.com Website for Finding Nino, a travelogue about living and working on the Aeolian Islands
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