Lipari

   

Lipari, the largest of the Aeolian Islands with just under 38 square kilometers in area, occupies a central position in the Aeolian archipelago. Its irregular shape elongated in a north-south direction is related to the numerous eruptive centers that constitute it. The highest points are Mount Chirica (602 m) and Mount S.Angelo (594 m) in the northern and central parts of the island, respectively.

The island's prehistoric events are closely linked to its volcanic nature. Indeed, in the Neolithic period it reached great importance and wealth thanks to obsidian, a volcanic glass formed by the rapid cooling of effusive rocks of the acid type, which represented the sharpest material then known and was used to make weapons and tools for everyday domestic use.

Lipari is an active and quiescent volcanic system, as evidenced by weak hydrothermal activity in the western part of the island as well as the occurrence of explosive/effusive eruptions in late Roman and medieval times.