Volcano Stories — Season 1, Episode 11: Aeolian Islands - From Hell to Paradise

Episode synopsis

Volcanoes have shaped the fate of the Aeolian Islands. The most famous one being Stromboli, which attracts thousands of visitors every year. Yet the island and its very active volcano weren’t always so popular ... If this island is renowned today, it is thanks to Rossellini's legendary film, Stromboli, featuring Ingrid Bergman, and their tumultuous love story during the film shooting. Before then, the Aeolian islands were poor and inhospitable. Only a few inhabitants lived there, like Pasquale, a modest olive grower. Only half a century ago, the island still harboured a prison ...

About Volcano Stories

No two volcanoes are alike; each one has its own distinctive landscape, climate, and geological context. Just as unique are the people we meet along the way who help us comprehend how greatly our planet – and our lives – have been shaped by volcanic phenomena. For the scientific aspect of each episode, we explore the very diverse range of questions raised by volcanic phenomena in such varied fields as earth sciences, climatology, biodiversity, oceanography, geography, agronomics, and archaeology. The cultural part of the show delves into mythology, religion, philosophy, folk and artistic traditions, cooking, and ways of life.

More episodes from Season 1

• E1Etna: The Mountain Mountain
• E2Bromo - The Sacred Volcano of Java
• E3Tanzania - A Volcano on Maasai Territory
• E4Westman Islands - The Volcanic Guardians of Iceland
• E5Unzen - Man Versus Giant
• E6Hawaii - The Lava of Kilauea
• E7Kawah Ijen: The Hell of Sulfur
• E8Auvergne: The Mysteries of Its Sleeping Giants
• E9Ecuador - Beneath the Cotopaxi Glacier
• E10Naples: A Volcano Can Hide Another
• E12New Zealand: Human Treasures
• E13Reunion Island: in the Heart of the Volcanoe