Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
downhill to the
Red House
(
Click here
), site of Ingrid Bergman and Roberto Rossellini's torrid love affair
while filming
Stromboli: Terra di Dio
in 1949.
A few hundred metres further on, as the main road jogs briefly left, look for
Bottegadel Marano
(
Click
here
), a neighbourhood grocery with a great deli where you can pick up trail snacks and water. Soon thereafter
you'll pass
La Libreria sull'Isola
(
Click here
)
, a bookstore that doubles as a movie theatre in summer.
About 2km from your starting point, pass
Chiesa di Piscità
on your left, then descend briefly to a left-
hand turn-off with signs for L'Osservatorio. Start climbing gradually, paralleling the sea at first, then following a
series of switchbacks to
L'Osservatorio
(
Click here
) pizzeria.
From the pizzeria to the viewpoint the climb is much steeper. Arriving at the Sciara del Fuoco viewpoint, pre-
pare to be amazed! The sight of the volcano's eruptions, followed by cascades of molten rock crashing down the
lava-blackened mountainside into the sea is stunning. Linger past nightfall, as the volcano's orange glow becomes
more dramatic with the waning light.
The youngest of the Aeolian volcanoes, Stromboli was formed only 40,000 years ago
and its gases continue to send up an almost constant spray of liquid magma, a process
defined by vulcanologists as
attività stromboliana
(Strombolian activity).
The most recent major eruptions took place on 27 February 2007. Two new summit
craters were formed and lava flowed down the mountain's western flank but little real
harm was done. Previously, an eruption in April 2003 showered the village of Ginostra
with rocks, and activity in December 2002 produced a tsunami, causing damage to Strom-
boli town, injuring six people and closing the island to visitors for a few months.
The climb itself takes 2½ to three hours, while the descent back to Piazza San Vincenzo
is shorter (1½ to two hours). All told, it's a demanding five- to six-hour trek up to the top
and back; you'll need to have proper walking shoes, a backpack that allows free move-
ment of both arms, clothing for cold and wet weather, a change of T-shirt, a handkerchief
to protect against dust (wear glasses not contact lenses), a torch (flashlight), several litres
986 57 52;
www.totemtrekkingstromboli.com
; Piazza San Vincenzo 4; 9.30am-1pm & 3.30-7pm)
hires out all
the necessary equipment, including boots (€6), backpacks (€5), hiking poles (€4), torches
(€3) and windbreakers (€5).
