Great historical richness, countless legends and Greek myths, fabulous sea baths, incredible beaches, magnificent views, myriad possibilities of walks in the mountains and on the coast, tantalising dishes and succulent dessert wines … Despite all this, the Aeolian Islands are relatively unknown outside Italy and remain surprisingly intact outside the busy weeks of August. Arrival in Catania halfway between the cities of Messina and Syracuse, at the foot of the Etna volcano. Along the edge of the shore of mainly lava and crevices, the dull magnificence of its black rocky cliffs, unexpectedly, besides the commercial zones of its harbor, to become above all a coastline of golden sand (the beach of Plaia) and the last of which is the marshy mouth of the « Oasis of the Symèthe river » where the fertile silts welcome a unique and protected Sicilian ecosystem.