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.

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.