Salina in Half a Day: the Six Villages, Capers and Malvasia

Salina takes its name from the sea salt worked here, and for a long time the island lived on two exports: that salt and Malvasia wine. The route goes round the whole island. Santa Marina, the main port, then Malfa, Pollara, Valdichiesa, Leni and Rinella. Between them stand Monte Fossa delle Felci and Monte dei Porri, a nature reserve with a range of plant and animal life unusual for somewhere this size. The other half of the day is the tasting: local products put together with the wines that suit them, Malvasia delle Lipari among them, and the capers Salina is known for. At Santa Marina the streets are cobbled and the Aeolian houses painted in strong colours, with bougainvillea round the doors and windows. The Church of Santa Marina stands above the seafront, its bell tower visible from the water.