Lipari Islands

Lipari Islands (lĭp`ərē), formerly Aeolian Islands (ēō`lēən), Ital. Isole Eolie, volcanic island group (1991 pop. 10,382), 44 sq mi (114 sq km), Messina prov., NE Sicily, Italy, in the Tyrrhenian Sea. The group includes Lipari (14.5 sq mi/37.6 sq km), an exporter of pumice and the site of Lipari, the group's main town; Salina, where malmsey wine and currants are produced; Vulcano, the site in former times of the worship of the mythical fire god, with a high volcano that emits hot sulfurous vapors; Stromboli, with an active volcano (3,040 ft/927 m) that has several craters; Panarea; Filicudi; Alicudi; and 11 other islands. Fishing is an important occupation, and there is a growing tourist industry. Regarded as the site of the mythical residence of Aeolus, the wind god, for whom they were formerly named, the islands were colonized by the Greeks in the 6th cent. B.C. Under the Roman Empire and during the Fascist regime in Italy (20th cent.) the island group served as a place of exile for political prisoners.

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Eolie Islands

 or Lipari Islands

Volcanic island group, Tyrrhenian Sea, in the west-central Mediterranean Sea. Located off the northern coast of Sicily, the seven major islands and several islets have a total land area of 34 sq mi (88 sq km). The major islands are Alicudi, Eilcudi, Lipari, Panarea, Salina, Stromboli, and Vulcano. Vulcano and Stromboli are active volcanoes. The Greeks believed the islands to be the home of the god Aeolus, king of the winds. They have been inhabited since the Neolithic Period and were held successively by the Greeks, Carthaginians, Romans, Saracens, Normans, Angevins, and Aragonese.

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Lipari Islands 

a group of volcanic islands in the Tyrrhenian Sea, north of Sicily, belonging to Italy. The archipelago consists of ten islets and seven islands (Lipari, Salina, Vulcano, Stromboli, Filicudi, Alicudi, and Panarea) with a total area of 117 sq km; they are formed primarily of basalt lavas and tuffs. There are active volcanoes on Vulcano and Stromboli (926 m). Olives, figs, and grapes are grown, and wine is exported. There are deposits of sulfur.

In 260 B.C., during the First Punic War (264–241 B.C.) the Roman navy (113 ships) destroyed the Carthaginian squadron (50 ships), which was surprised in one of Sicily’s bays near the Lipari Islands. During the fascist dictatorship in Italy (1922–43) antifascists were exiled to the islands.