WORDS & PICTURES: Johanna Picano
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If someone were to ask me to choose one day from last year, only one single day, that made the greatest impression on me, I would choose the day when I first experienced the Aeolian Islands. This group of seven small islands just located outside Sicily’s north-eastern coastline had been on my wishlist for a very long time, and although I was only able to spend one day visiting two islands, I was regaled with such a strong sense of place.
I later realised that this day had somehow marked the end of a cycle, the end of a season, allowing me to bring a new energy into the next phase of my life.
It was an unseasonably warm day. I was spending a few weeks wrapping up my summer in Sicily, and decided to embark on this day trip by myself, although surrounded by strangers on the boat out to the Aeolian Islands.
Our first stop was Panarea: a blooming, colourful gem. I walked away from the port, up narrow streets lined with summer houses already closed for the season, which only rendered them more interesting. I could almost hear the late-night conversations and the smell of morning coffee that must have filled the air during the most intense months of the year.
Around every corner was a breathtaking viewpoint; I was overwhelmed by the beauty surrounding me. On my way back to the port, I walked into a small church, sat on a bench for a while, and thought of all the stories and secrets kept in the old wooden confessional.
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Already from Panarea I could see Stromboli, bursting with black smoke. Moving from the colours of Panarea to the black, dramatic silhouette of Stromboli was a stark contrast, but somehow also a perfect match.
I spent almost all my time on Stromboli in the water or with my feet in the black sand. The power of that landscape did something to my soul; I could almost feel my body recharging with the natural energy of the volcanic soil. It was a sense of pure magic, and I had to force myself away from that beach to avoid missing the boat. While I was getting ready to embark, the sun began to set, the sky was painted in more shades of gold and pink that I knew possible.
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I experienced that entire sunset from the sea. The boat brought us to a vantage point, from which we saw the final rays of daylight dive into the water, the sky slowly illuminated by countless stars and punctuated by orange lava eruptions from Stromboli. I stood there, moved to tears; I could have stayed forever. It was beautiful in so many ways, and I felt so connected to the Earth, to life, to the universe, to myself, and also to the rest of the group: people I had never met and most likely will never meet again.
The boat ride back from the Aeolian Islands to the coast was long, but I sat outside for the entire journey, gazing at the stars like an old sailor. These remote pieces of land cast out to sea were so filled with beauty and energy, in the purest and simplest of ways. I unlocked a new gateway in my mind and soul that day, and promised myself, under that starry sky, to always treasure the places capable of leaving me with this stupor.
