Stromboli is the most dramatic of the Aeolian Islands, an ancient and active volcano rising massively from the Mediterranean, with a couple of small settlements on the coast. It is an incredible and awe-inspiring sight, with a unique island atmosphere that attracts not just tourists but also film-makers and style-setters.

Stromboli has been inhabited for thousands of years and then life on the island was based on farming the fertile ground near the shores, and on fishing. By the middle of the twentieth century, prompted by a big eruption in 1930 which damaged buildings, and by the prospects of emigration, many of the islanders had departed and the population had dwindled. But after Roberto Rossellini’s 1950 film “Stromboli terra di Dio” drew attention to the island volcanoes unique attractions, tourism began to give new life to Stromboli.