MONUMENTS

If  we arrive by hydrofoil, at Marina Corta, we immediately see on the quayside the 13th c. Chiesa dele Anime del  Purgatorio. If we land from the ferry , at Sotto Monastero, we are near the baroque Chiesa di Sant' Antonio. From either of these churches a short walk takes us to the so-called Castello, which is a great natural fortification, in a fine position high on a terrace that drops sheer into the sea. This is the site of the acropolis of the ancient city, which had a regular layout with decumani running NS and perpendicular EW cardines. The massive 16th c. city wall can still be seen; it incorporates the remains of a 4th-3rd c. BC Greek tower and exhibits some traces of 13th and 14th c. fortifications. Inside the boundary  wall, in the upper part of the town, stands the Cathedral, built in 1084 by the Normans,  who established an archbishopric here. It was completely refashioned in the 17th c. The frescoes and the stuccos in the interior are 18th c. Among the paintings one particularly worth seeing is the Transit of the Virgin Mary, attributed to Polidoro da Caravaggio (16th c.). The Chiesa dell'Immacolata (15th c.) and the Chiesa dell' Addolorata are near the Cathedral. The entire area within the walls has been carefully explored in a systematic series of excavations which has brought to light a considerable amount of extremely important material, not only as regards our knowledge of the history of the Aeolian Islands but also with reference to the various cultural facies that succeeded each other in the course of the millennia, from the Neolithic until the Middle Ages. The Archaeological Museum. The very interesting Aeolian Archaeological Museum is located in some rooms of the Castello and the Archbishop's Pa1ace, and in some other rooms that have been added. The Museum displays material not only from Lipari but also from the other islands in the archipelago and from the surrounding area. The distribution of the material in the various rooms reflects the most up-to-date criteria of museum display. The first section is devoted to prehistoric and protohistoric items from Lipari; all the phases of the Aeolian Neolithic are richly illustrated. This is followed by examples of the Protohelladic, and Mesohelladic, with  typically decorated vases. The frequent contacts with the Aegean are attested by the numerous objects of Minoan or Mycenaean origin. The items belonging to the southem Apennines that are on display have suggested contacts between the Aeolian Islands and mainland Italy. A separate section contains numerous carved inscriptions found in the necropolises on Lipari. Leaving this first part of the Museum we find just opposite it the building which houses material from the other Aeolian islands. In another building located between the Cathedral and the Youth Hostel is the Classical Archaeology Section, with a vast collection of pottery , tomb furnishings and other material, arranged chronologically from the l2th to the 3rd c. BC. The ground floor contains the Marine Archaeology Section, which is of great interest because of the enormous number of wrecks recovered in the area, together with the cargoes and equipment on board the ships. A separate building houses the Vulcanology Section, which documents the phases of the geological formation of the Aeolian Islands and of Lipari, with illustrative panels and other easily understood informative material. The new town began to develop beyond the boundary walls around the l7th c. A vast area of great archaeological interest extends outside the town. A Neolithic village and a Greek-Roman necropolis have been brought to light at Contrada Diana. Besides its archaeological interest, Lipari has considerable scenic and naturalistic beauty, with its coasts, its sea and its inland areas, which can be admired either by taking a round-the island boat-trip or by driving around it.

I testi sono tratti dalla "Sicily and its islands" Ugo La Rosa editore.