Italy's Aeolian Islands Still Tranquil

It's Italy's best summer secret, at least for those who have the geographic wherewithal to get there.

The Aeolian Islands is a dreamy archipelago of volcanic islands and deep-blue Tyrrhenian water off the northwest coast of Sicily.

Fashion circles know it as the summer getaway of Dolce & Gabbana, who own a summer home on Stromboli, the northernmost and most famous island in the archipelago. For others, it's a summer refuge after they've made the party pilgrimage to St. Tropez, August'ed in Capri and hotel-hopped every morsel of the Mediterranean.

How to Get There

It takes longer to get from London to the Aeolians than from New York to London. The journey from New York includes no less than two planes, a train, rental car or taxi and several ferries.

I made my way via British Airways to Catania where I was greeted by a renovated airport and unseasonable drizzle.

Ferry to Heaven

Ferries leave every hour from Milazzo to the Aeolians, except during stormy weather. Sleek seafaring vessels these are not, the Aeolian ferries are an armada of dingy-like boats with dirty facades and windows long since glazed over with calcium deposits. If you're lucky you'll be on a larger boat from the Siremar Lines offering plasma TVs and new interiors -- not the soot-covered Ustica fleet.

Ferries make the hour-and-a-half trip to the Aeolian Islands with stops at Vulcan, Lipari, Salina, Panarea and Stromboli.

	On the Sea

The first two islands are touristy, liberating the ferries of backpackers and campers to the further more-glamorous islands. Next ferry stop is Lipari, the largest of the islands and the official seat of government for most of the Aeolian Islands.