Vulcano in the context of Aeolia (mythical island)


Vulcano in the context of Aeolia (mythical island)

⭐ Core Definition: Vulcano

Vulcano (Sicilian: Vurcanu) or Vulcan is a small volcanic island belonging to Italy in the Tyrrhenian Sea, about 20 km (12 mi) north of Sicily and located at the southernmost end of the seven Aeolian Islands. The island is known for its volcanic activity and contains several volcanic calderas, including one of the four active volcanoes in Italy that are not submarine. The English word "volcano", and its equivalent in several European languages, derives from the name of this island, which derives from the Roman belief that the tiny island was the chimney of Vulcan, the Roman god of fire. In November 2021, 150 people were evacuated from the island's harbour area due to increased volcanic activity and gases; an amber alert had been issued in October 2021 after several significant changes in the volcano's parameters. In the fall of 2025, volcanic unrest increased again with strong gas emissions reported on October 15, 2025.

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👉 Vulcano in the context of Aeolia (mythical island)

Aeolia (Ancient Greek: Αἰολία, romanizedAiolía), the island kingdom of Aeolus, the ruler of the winds, visited by Odysseus in Homer's Odyssey. In the Odyssey, Aeolus' Aeolia was a floating island surrounded by "a wall of unbreakable bronze" where the "cliffs run up shear."

Homer does not say anything about where the island was located, but later writers came to associate Aeolia with one or another of the Lipari Islands (also called the Aeolian Islands), north of eastern Sicily. The Greek geographer Strabo reports that Strongyle (modern Stromboli), one of the Lipari Islands, was said to be Aeolus' island. Others associated the island of Lipara (modern Lipari) with Aeolia.

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Vulcano in the context of Aeolian Islands

The Aeolian Islands (/ˈliən/ ee-OH-lee-ən; Italian: Isole Eolie [ˈiːzole eˈɔːlje]; Sicilian: Ìsuli Eoli), sometimes referred to as the Lipari Islands or Lipari group (/ˈlɪpəri/ LIP-ər-ee, Italian: [ˈliːpari]) after their largest island, are a volcanic archipelago in the Tyrrhenian Sea north of Sicily, said to be named after Aeolus, the mythical ruler of the winds. The islands' inhabitants are known as Aeolians (Italian: Eoliani). The islands had a permanent population of 14,224 at the 2011 census; the latest official estimate is 15,419 as of 1 January 2019. The Aeolian Islands are a popular tourist destination in the summer and attract up to 600,000 visitors annually.

There are seven significant islands: Lipari, Vulcano, Salina, Stromboli, Filicudi, Alicudi and Panarea, and a set of minor islands and rocks.

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Vulcano in the context of Campanian volcanic arc

The Campanian volcanic arc is a volcanic arc that consists of a number of active, dormant, and extinct volcanoes in the Campania region of Italy. The Campanian volcanic arc centers on the bay of Naples and includes:

  • Mount Vesuvius: an active volcano that last erupted in 1944.
  • Phlegraean Fields: a huge, ancient caldera containing the western area of Naples. The area is a collection of numerous extinct craters that are evidence of ancient eruptions; however, also included in this area is Solfatara, a shallow volcanic crater still emitting jets of sulfur fumes and, thus, still active.
  • Ischia: an island 20 kilometres west of Naples, it last erupted in 1302.
  • Palinuro, Vavilev, Marsili, and Magnaghi: undersea extinct or dormant volcanoes south of Vesuvius. The last three were discovered in the 1950s and bear the names of the geologists who discovered them. Palinuro was known earlier. As of 2006, there was some concern about the state of "dormancy" of Marsili, which is 3,000 meters high with the cone reaching to 500 meters from the surface of the water. Satellite cones of recent origin have been detected on Marsili.

"Campanian volcanic arc" is something of a term of convenience, since the area is part of the same large area of intense volcanic and seismic activity that includes, further to the south, the active island volcanoes of Stromboli, and Vulcano off the north coast of Sicily and even the largest active volcano in Europe, Mount Etna, on Sicily.

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Vulcano in the context of Lipari

Lipari (/ˈlɪpəri/ LIP-ər-ee, Italian: [ˈliːpari]; Sicilian: Lìpari; Latin: Lipara or Meligūnis; Ancient Greek: Μελιγουνίς, romanizedMeligounís, or Λιπάρα, Lipára) is the largest of the seven Aeolian Islands, located in the Tyrrhenian Sea off the northern coast of Sicily, Southern Italy, and a comune (municipality) including six of them (Lipari, Vulcano, Panarea, Stromboli, Filicudi and Alicudi); it is administratively part of the Metropolitan City of Messina. It has 12,793 permanent residents, but during the May to September tourist season, the total population may reach up to 20,000. It is also the name of the biggest island in the archipelago, where the main urban area of the comune is located.

Christopher Nolan shot his upcoming 2026 film The Odyssey throughout the Aeolian Islands and particularly around the island of Lipari, cited by its ancient name of Aeolia after Homer.

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Vulcano in the context of Multi-component gas analyzer system

A multi-component gas analyzer system (Multi-GAS) is an instrument package used to take real-time high-resolution measurements of volcanic gases. A Multi-GAS package includes an infrared spectrometer for CO2, two electrochemical sensors for SO2 and H2S, and pressure–temperature–humidity sensors, all in a weatherproof box. The system can be used for individual surveys or set up as permanent stations connected to radio transmitters for transmission of data from remote locations. The instrument package is portable, and its operation and data analysis are simple enough to be conducted by non-specialists.

Multi-GAS instruments have been used to measure volcanic gases at Mount Etna, Stromboli, Vulcano Italy, Villarrica (volcano) Chile, Masaya Volcano Nicaragua, Mount Yasur, Miyake-jima and Mount Asama Japan, Soufrière Hills Montserrat, with permanent installations at Etna and Stromboli.

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