The Aeolian Islands (Italian: Isole Eolie, Sicilian: Ìsuli Eoli) are a volcanic archipelago in the Tyrrhenian Sea north of Sicily. The locals residing on the islands are known as Eolian. They are a popular tourist destination in the summer, and attract up to 200,000 visitors annually.
The largest island is Lipari, and tourism marketing often names the entire archipelago as Lipari Islands.
The other islands include Vulcano, Salina, Stromboli, Filicudi, Alicudi, Panarea.
Curbing urban development has been a key to preserving the Aeolian islands in a natural state. New buildings are severely restricted. Existing residences can be bought and restoredbut must comply to resemble its whitewashed houses. Traditional houses consist of modular cubes constructed from indigenous building materials — stone, lava, pumice and tufo. Almost all houses have a large outdoor terrace, usually shaded by grape-vines and flowering vines. The houses, balconies and terraces are mostly decorated with brightly patterned terra-cotta tiles, a throwback to long-ago Spanish conquerors.
The Aeolian Islands with a total population of approximately 10,000, have very different characters depending on the season. The head count swells to 200,000 during the summer months. Thousands of holidaymakers visit the Aeolian Islands each year seeking a road-free idyll and a close-up view of volcanic fireworks.