Alicudi (Messina Province) is the most westerly island in the Aeolian archipelago, 110.75 km from Messina, area 5.2 sq km, alt. 675 m (Monte Filo d'Arpa), pop. 102, post code 98050, tel. 090. Economy: fishing (lobsters), tourism.
Alicudi is the least populated of the Aeolian Islands (138 inhabitants) and it is also the island that is furthest off the tourist trail.
Its name in ancient times was Ericusa, because of the heather (erica) that grows there wild in great profusion.
It is circular in outline, rising to a peak called Timpone della Montagna (or Filo d'Arpa), an ancient volcano, now extinct. No volcanic phenomena have occured on the island for many years.
The impassable west part is uninhabited. We can admire the great rocks that drop sheer into the sea and the high coasts with their stratifications of black volcanic rock.
A village dating from the Capo Graziano culture (17th-16th century BC) has been excavated in the vicinity of the port.
The present-day village in is the east part of the island.
Links to other sites about Alicudi include:
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