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Stromboli
Active volcanic island off the coast of Sicily, Italy
Active volcanic island off the coast of Sicily, Italy
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Stromboli |
| native_name | scn |
| el | |
| settlement_type | Island |
| image_skyline | Aerial image of Stromboli (view from the northeast).jpg |
| image_caption | Aerial view of Stromboli from the northeast; to the right, the Sciara del Fuoco can be seen. |
| elevation_m | 924 |
| elevation_footnotes | |
| coordinates | |
| subdivision_type1 | Country |
| subdivision_name1 | Italy |
| subdivision_type2 | Island grouping |
| subdivision_name2 | Aeolian Islands |
| subdivision_type3 | Region |
| subdivision_name3 | Sicily |
| population_as_of | 2016 |
| population_total | 500 |
| population_footnotes | |
| area_total_km2 | 12.6 |
| pushpin_map | Sicily#Italy#Europe |
el

Stromboli ( , ; ) is an island in the Tyrrhenian Sea, off the north coast of Sicily, containing Mount Stromboli, one of the four active volcanoes in Italy. It is one of the seven Aeolian Islands, a volcanic arc north of Sicily, and the mythological home of Aeolus.
The island, with an area of 12.6 km2, represents the upper third of the volcano. The volcano has erupted many times and is constantly active with minor eruptions, often visible from many points on the island and from the surrounding sea, giving rise to the island's nickname "Lighthouse of the Mediterranean".
Etymology
The name Stromboli is derived from the Ancient Greek name (Στρογγύλη), which was derived from (στρογγύλος ), after the volcano's round, conical appearance when seen from a distance.
Height and shape
Stromboli stands 926 m above sea level,{{cite gvp | access-date = 1 January 2009 }} and over 2700 m above the sea floor.{{cite journal |last1=Tibaldi |first1=A. |last2=Corazzato |first2=C. |last3=Marani |first3=M. |last4=Gamberi |first4=F. |year=2009 |title=Subaerial-submarine evidence of structures feeding magma to Stromboli Volcano, Italy, and relations with edifice flank failure and creep. |journal=Tectonophysics |volume=469 |number=1 |pages=112–136 |doi=10.1016/j.tecto.2009.01.031
The area of Stromboli island is 12.6 km2.
As of June 2024, there are two active craters at the peak, each with multiple vents showing volcanic activity and lava flows.
The Sciara del Fuoco ("stream of fire") is a large horseshoe-shaped depression created in the last 13,000 years by several collapses on the northwestern side of the cone. Approximately 2 km northeast lies Strombolicchio, the volcanic plug remnant of the original volcano.
Volcano

Mount Stromboli has been in almost continuous eruption for the past 2,000–5,000 years; its last serious one occurred on 11 September, 1930 when 6 people were killed. A pattern of eruption is maintained in which explosions occur at the summit craters, with mild to moderate eruptions of incandescent volcanic bombs, a type of tephra, at intervals ranging from minutes to hours. This pattern of Strombolian eruption, as it is known, is also observed at other volcanoes worldwide.
Eruptions from the summit craters typically result in a few short, mild, but energetic bursts, ranging up to a few hundred meters in height, containing ash, incandescent lava fragments, and stone blocks. Stromboli's activity is almost exclusively explosive, but lava flows do occur at times when volcanic activity is high: an effusive eruption occurred in 2002, the first in 17 years, and again in 2003, 2007, and 2013–14. Volcanic gas emissions from this volcano are measured by a multi-component gas analyzer system, which detects pre-eruptive degassing of rising magma, improving prediction of volcanic activity.
On 3 July 2019, two major explosive events occurred at around 16:46 local time, alongside 20 additional minor explosive events identified by Italy's National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology. A hiker near the volcano's summit died after being struck by flying debris when the eruption began. Additionally, 6 people suffered minor injuries due to the eruption.
On 28 August 2019, at 10:16 local time, an explosive eruption sent a pyroclastic flow down the volcano's northern flank and into the sea, where it continued for several hundred meters before collapsing. The resulting ash column reached a height of 2000 m.
On 4 July 2024, Stromboli erupted along with Mount Etna, and the Italian Civil Protection Department (Protezione Civile) issued the highest alert level.
Settlements

Two villages, San Bartolo and San Vincenzo, lie in the northeast, while the smaller village Ginostra lies in the southwest. Administratively, they are one of the frazioni (unit of a commune and municipality) of Lipari, Messina.
In the early 20th century, a few thousand people inhabited the island, but after several waves of emigration, the population has numbered a few hundred since the mid-1950s. The population on the island was about 500 .
In addition to Italian, a derivative of the Sicilian dialect that is called Aeolian is generally spoken on this and the other Aeolian islands.
In popular culture
- In Journey to the Center of the Earth (1864) by Jules Verne, the conclusion of the novel is set on Stromboli.
- Author J. R. R. Tolkien identified his fictional volcano Mount Doom in Mordor with the volcano of Stromboli, according to scholar Clyde S. Kilby.
- Stromboli (1950), also known as Stromboli, Land of God, is an Italian-American film set on Stromboli, directed by Roberto Rossellini and starring Ingrid Bergman.
- Rising Appalachia's 2015 song "Stromboli" was written on and titled after the island. The studio version appears on Wider Circles (2015), and a live version appears on Alive.
- The lyrics of the Woody Guthrie song "Ingrid Bergman" (set to music & released on the 1998 album Mermaid Avenue by Billy Bragg & Wilco) focus on images of the actress in the Rossellini film Stromboli, and erotic references to the island's volcanic nature.
- An Italian-American savory pastry is named stromboli after the island.
- The novel The Book of the Dead, written by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child features the island as part of its conclusion.
References
References
- "Stromboli, Italy".
- Strabo. (1903). "The Geography of Strabo". Teubner.
- Tikkanen, Amy. "Stromboli Island, Italy".
- "Isola di Stromboli". Comune di [[Lipari]].
- (1980). "Natural Wonders of the World". Reader's Digest Association, Inc.
- (1892). "The Geography of Strabo". George Bell & Sons.
- (1856). "Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography". Walton and Maberly.
- "Global Volcanism Program {{!}} Stromboli".
- (11 October 2008). "The 2007 eruption of Stromboli volcano: Insights from real-time measurement of the volcanic gas plume CO2/SO2 ratio". Elsevier.
- (3 July 2019). "Stromboli: One dead as volcano erupts on Italian island". [[BBC News]].
- (3 July 2019). "Volcanic eruption rocks Italian island of Stromboli, kills 1 hiker". CNN.
- Andrews, Robin. "Deadly Explosions Just Rocked Italy's Stromboli Volcano – Here's What Happened". [[Forbes]].
- Isolino, Giovanni. (4 July 2019). "Stromboli clears up ash after deadly volcano eruption". Phys Org.
- INGVvulcani. "Comunicato di attivita' vulcanica del 2019-08-28 11:41:57 (UTC) – Stromboli.".
- "Stato di attività e livelli di allerta del vulcano Stromboli".
- "Sicily closes airport as Etna and Stromboli volcanoes erupt".
- Alean, Jürg. (21 May 2005). "Stromboli 1952–1953 – The village and the land". Stromboli online.
- Loschiavo, LindaAnn. "Return of the Native to Stromboli".
- Alean, Jürg. (21 May 2005). "Stromboli 1952–1953 – Stromboli in 1952 and 53". Stromboli online.
- Zampaglione, Francesca. (10 August 2015). "Lipari news e curiosita' dalle isole eolie". Lipari News.
- (1968). "Many Meetings with Tolkien: An Edited Transcript of Remarks at the December 1966 TSA Meeting". Niekas Publications, New Hampshire, United States.
- Wooldridge, Talia. (2017). "''Alive'' with Rising Appalachia: A Conversation with Leah Smith". The Spill Magazine.
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