Bill versus the volcano (VIII)
This was a comparatively quiet day, most of it spent getting from point to point in preparation for the real fun stuff that would follow over the next two days. It did, however, involve a stop at a real Acme of Amphorae, a Paragon of Pottery, an Excelsior of Earthenware, an Ultra of Urns. This foray into archaeology wasn't really what we had made this trip for, but even complete whackos like us need to do some conventional tourism some of the time.
After a too-early start and improvised breakfast, we bid a fond farewell to the village of Stromboli and prepared to head back to Sicily and Mount Etna, where we would spend the next few days. This required a change of boat at Lipari, largest and most populous of the Aeolian Islands. Lipari too is volcanic, with its most recent eruption about 1300 years ago, and some earlier eruptions had been responsible for the obsidian found in jewelry -- and weaponry -- from the Aeolians in ancient times. We did a short hike to an obsidian flow and a huge pumice mine, but that stuff is really not likely to be interesting except to the specialist, so I'll fast-forward through that and a rather tedious windshield tour of the island, and get us back to Lipari town to pick up the action.
This small town (at least until the swarms of summer tourists arrive...), with only about 11,000 year-round residents, is the site of an incredible archaeological museum, the Museo Eoliano. While it has a few displays of the region's geology, history, etc., what it's really about is ancient artifacts. You would absolutely not believe the number of amphorae at this place. It looks as though every Roman and Greek (and earlier) vessel plying the waters around the Aeolians must have sunk nearby, close enough to let their fully-loaded cargo get pillaged by later collectors who had nothing better to do than donate the goods to this museum. Personally, I got rather amphorae'd out after first thousand, but WGMIL, whose archaeological leanings I mentioned earlier, must have looked at every last one of 'em. There were also a disquietingly large number of ... burial jars. One or another of the cultures who inhabited this area in the Good Old Days commemorated their dear departed by stuffing their bodies into over-large vases, many of which, 2000 or so years later, got dug up and stuffed in their turn into this museum. I didn't check on whether the urns were still occupied; I presume they were. No photographs from here, alas, as photography was forbidden inside the museum, but trust me, if you like this kind of place, this is the kind of place you will like. I do have one "landscape" photo of the castle containing this museum, as well as an attractive cathedral and some other interesting sights:
Lipari
Eventually our hydrofoil came in and we zipped back across to Milazzo, the Sicilian port, from which we would be chauffeured on to our next stop, Sapienza, high on the slopes of Mount Etna. We'll pick up the story there tomorrow; for now, the Web Site du Jour, which will give you an idea of why we were there: http://www.ct.ingv.it/Ufso/Default.asp?Pagina=EtnaWebcam.htm , with webcams full of all manner of amazing stuff on Etna. It's in Italian, but the ideas will come through clear enough.
