Guide of Panarea

Panarea is an island in the Aeolian archipelago and is divided into three centres, San Pietro, Ditella and Drautto, San Pietro is the main port. Panarea is the smallest island in the archipelago and also the oldest with other islets around it that constitute a micro archipelago.

History

The island is a popular destination during the summer and is a mix of history, culture and nature. The island like the rest of the archipelago was dominated by the Etruscans and later by the Greeks, then in 252 BC it went under Roman rule. In the medieval and Byzantine period, the island went into decline until the Norman period in which Panarea began to flourish again. 

Places to visit 

The coasts on the western and northern side of the island are inaccessible they are very jagged and covered with solidified lava formations, the other coasts have the wide flat beaches that tourists are looking for. In the past, there were vineyards and olive groves on the island but today they have been abandoned. The centre of the social life on Panarea is in San Pietro, which is full of little white houses that contrast with the green olive trees, palm trees and caper plants.

The church of San Pietro is located in the centre and is very important for the island, as from here on the 29th of June each year the procession to honour the patron saint begins. It descends down the small streets of Panarea and continues towards the sea, culminating with fireworks.

In San Pietro you can also visit the small museum of Panarea, where you can find exhibits that tell the geological history from the Neolithic to the Bronze Age. Drautto is a district that takes its name from Turkish pirates, but today you can enjoy the soft beach and the Zimmari cove. There is also a prehistoric village in Drautto, in the south-west of the island. There is a Bronze Age village where the remains of huts and artefacts from the Mycenaean period.

Beaches  

One of the most striking beaches is Cala Junco, a bay that looks like an amphitheatre with rock formations on either side that create a natural pool. The water has amazing, iridescent colours from emerald green, turquoise to deep blue. Near the cove, there is a village that dates back to the Bronze Age. Ditella has therapeutic thermal springs and Calcara beach is located in a collapsed volcano from whose soil gases still rise.