Straddling the sea lanes between the active volcanoes of Vesuvius and Etna is the Aeolian archipelago, with its main island of Lipari set opposite Sicily's northern coastline in the Tyrrhenian Sea. Its permanent population is around 11,000, easily doubling during the holiday season from May to September. As well as Lipari town, three smaller villages dot the fantastic volcanic landscape with its still-steaming fumaroles and hot springs denoting ongoing hypothermic activity deep underground. Lipari town's harbour, set on a deep, sheltered bay, was of strategic importance for several thousand years as a trading centre. Conquered variously by the Greeks, the Carthaginians, the Romans, the Normans, the Saracens, the Ottomans and several Italian city states, the town features a mighty fortress, still visible today, which was constructed in the 16th century by the Spanish, putting an end to attempts at colonisation or Mediterranean piracy. Set high on a hill, the fortress overlooks the harbour, Lipari hotels and the hordes of tourists who arrive each year - yet another invasion.

other spellings: liparihotels, lipali otel, ripari hotell, ripali hote, lipair hotes, liprai hotle, liapri, lpiari