La Locanda Del Postino Salina

La Locanda del Postino is a small accommodation facility with 10 rooms furnished according to the Eolian style, located in the plateau of Pollara, a district of Malfa, that 13.000 years ago hosted the biggest crater of the Eolian Islands, with a diameter of more than 1 km. The farmstead, faithfully restored, on West, faces on the sea and as far as the eye can see you can catch sight of the beautiful outlines of Alicudi and Filicudi.

The access to the beach of Pollara is at the moment forbidden. It’s possible to reach the sea by a staircase, that leads you to “Balate”, a very small fishing village built on the rock. Here it has been shot the movie “Il Postino” with Massimo Troisi and Philippe Noiret.

La Locanda del Postino has the Ecolabel certification, released by the European Union, for the environmental policy adopted during the construction of the structure and the environmental care in daily management. Indeed here we use local typical products for every preparation, plastic packagings have been forbidden, the electricity is produced by sustainable energetic sources and rain water is used for irrigation and drain.

INTERIORS
“La Locanda del Postino” is a small family-run hotel, situated in the island of Salina, in the Eolian islands archipelago. It was born by the faithful and conservative restoration of an ancient Eolian dwelling, the biggest of the small district of Pollara, directed to keep unchanged the original structure, and enhance the architectural and stylistic peculiarities.

You can breathe its history in every location, from the ancient “Palmento” to the living room, that holds a library for the book sharing and a large collection of ancient small bottles of liqueurs. All the finds discovered during the restoration have been shown in a shelving in the Palmento doorway, allowing you to take a leap in the local populations’ ancient lifestyles, mostly devoted to agriculture and fishing.

The familiar, but discreet, atmosphere of the hotel will allow you to feel at home, absorbed in the silence and quietness, that characterize life in the small district of Pollara, even in the crowded month of August.

Everywhere you can enjoy one of the most extraordinary sunset of the world, with the background of Alicudi and Filicudi outlines, and the imposing cliff (faraglione), what is left of the frontal wall’s sink of Pollara’s crater.

Light colours, dry stone walls built according to the skilful Eolian technique, rays of light from above, contribute to increase the charm that timeless places, like the hotel “La Locanda del Postino”, provoke in those people who stay here, leaving an unforgettable mark in their heart.

You will be received with friendliness by the Leva family, devoted for years to welcoming, and they will be able to satisfy all your needs, make your staying unforgettable and change every departure into a promise for a future trip.

PALMENTO
Inside the structure there is the Palmento, recognised as an important ethno-anthropological site by the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage. The Palmento is a large and not so deep basin with concrete walls, used for grapes pressing and must fermentation.

In ancient times, the whole village of Pollara carried there their grapes to press, because it was the biggest Palmento in the area. People tell that during the pressing ritual, drinking glasses of young wine, the priest, who was the original owner, fell in love with a young girl, and had two children.

Since then the house began declining and was abandoned by the heirs not to be pointed out as children of sin, in the Sicily of the early ‘900, when these stories had to be hidden and omitted in order not to fall into gossip.

On the contrary, we love telling this story, showing to our guests the basin turned into a corner bar, the old wrought iron beds decorated with delicate tempering drawings, the prisa, that’s a large rock of igneous stone with a hole above just to tie it at the wooden beam, hanging at the ceiling, used to press Malvasia grapes.

In front of the basin used for the pressing grapes, there is another collection basin, located below the decking level and illuminated to show the various processing phases. You can also see the cannizzi used to dry the shoot of grapes in the sun, and then turning them into scented and sweet Malvasia, or the dried tomatoes in oil. You can taste all this delicious food at the restaurant in our hotel.

GARDEN
Every house, in the Eolian islands, has got its own garden. This is the way they love to live, surrounded by the scent of curative and aromatic herbs, the bright colours of seasonal fruits and the fresh air of the evergreen trees’ leaves .

We want to give to our guests the same lifestyle and the same olfactory sensations. We have to invite them to massage their wrists and neck with a lemongrass twig that is very perfumed and a very good antidote against insects stings.

Or to taste our restaurant dishes, enriched with the seasonal spices of our garden: mint, rosemary, sage, capers, laurel, thyme, oregano, basil, etc… and then the lavender, perfumed and luxuriant during summertime, used as natural fragrance for rooms and environments. Lemon trees, whose fruits we can collect and eat in the rooms patio. Lemons become jams you can taste during breakfast, on a crumbly slice of twice-baked bread.

Salina hosts more than the 30% of the Mediterranean arboreal species and you will come across many of them having a walk along the walkway of the hotel, close to the relax area where you can read a good book, surrounded by the green of the centenarian palms wood, more than ten meters high.

SUPERIOR ROOMS
The Superior room is situated on the top floor of the structure and it is an independent and comfortable room, with a private bathroom and a sea view balcony. It’s furnished in an easy and sober way, according to the Eolian style, and decorated with ancient and handcrafted majolicas, recovered, during the restoration, from the floors and the abandoned courtyards (bagghi).

Outside there is a large, private and panoramic terrace, with a hammock, a deckchair, a sun bed, tables and chairs, just to relax and enjoy the magical sunset of Pollara. The natural amphitheatre of the crater mountains surrounding Pollara’s bay, clearly seen from the room patio, during the sunset acquires iridescent colours, changing from green to red, in an explosion of strong and warm feelings, enchanting anyone who stays here.

RESTAURANT
The buffet breakfast is available from 8.00 to when you want to get up! Our jams are made with fresh seasonal fruit, local products, homemade cakes and biscuits are our specialties.

The salty breakfast is served on request, as the specific products for any possible intolerance, you have to communicate at your arrival. Gluten free products are always available. We have created a collection of recipes, above all recipes of cakes and biscuits that were more appreciated by our guests, for those ones who want to try them at home.

At the restaurant we serve meals of the typical Eolian and Sicilian tradition, mainly based on fish and seasonal vegetables, wisely cooked by our chef, clever to mix the nouvelle cuisine with the respect for the raw materials, true strong point of our culinary offer.

At lunch you will find a reduced menù, for a pleasant light lunch based on taste and refinement. The restaurant is open every day, both for our guests and those ones who are curious about our delicious dishes.

THE ISLAND
Salina has an extension of about 26,8 kmq, and it is the second largest island after Lipari. There are the two highest mountains of the Eolian archipelago, Fossa delle Felci and Monte Porri, extinguished volcanoes, and from that it took its ancient name Didyme, that means Twins.

Salina has several archeological sites, where have been discovered relics of the Eolian Neolithic. Portella, Barone and Mastrognoli are all settlements that date back to the bronze age; Mastrognoli is situated along one of the ancient paths that ventures into the Monte Fossa delle Felci flanks and represents one of the most beautiful naturalistic path of the island.

Many paths lead to the Monte Fossa delle Felci and Monte Porri peaks, from where it’s possible to admire all the Eolian islands, immersed in a flourishing vegetation that hold the 30% of the Mediterranean arboreal species. In the trekking section you will find the main paths to explore.

To the Eolian art lovers we suggest to visit the Civic Museaum of Lingua, dedicated to the history, habits, lifestyle and traditions of the island of Salina, and the Eolian Emigration Museum, in Malfa, that contains publications, images, photographs, old cardboard suitcases and relics about the emigration and the Eolian communities in America and Australia.

Another point of reference, for those people who want to keep in contact with the identity of the country, the Eolian and Sicilian culture and the historical memory of the communities abroad, it is the Library- Art gallery of Malfa, that contains an important books and audiovisual heritage.

Salina is the most fertile of the Eolian islands. Here there is the collection of the esteemed grapes, from which we get the production, among other respectable wines, of the Malvasia delle Lipari, a dessert sweet wine. The cultivation of capers has also a remarkable importance, and they are exported all over the world.

In Pollara The church and the small square of Sant’Onofrio are meeting points. Here, on the first Sunday of June, takes place the Caper Festival, an enogastronomic event, where all the women of the village are busy to prepare rigorously capers-based dishes, put on tables set along the street and in the square. Live music, local wine, dances and typical dessert make this event something unique.

THE SEA
The access to the beach has been forbidden because of the frequent falls of the rock flank around the bay. It’s possible to reach the sea by a staircase, more or less 150 steps, that leads you to Balate, a very small fishing village built on the rock of the creater.

Here it has been shot the movie “Il postino” with Massimo Troisi. Here, it’s possible to see Punta del Perciato, a huge arch in igneous stone created by the strength of the sea in the promontory, uncontested symbol of the island.

The sea of Salina has a changing colours, from the green near the shore, to the cobalt blue in the abyss, that blends with the light blue of the sky, a real paradise for snorkeling and diving.

The uneven coast is the perfect frame for the extraordinary sequence of small coves, sink walls, caves built in the lava, intimate small bays made with pebbles and black sandy beaches, awarded by the famous Blue Guide of Lega Ambiente for their panoramic value.

The main sea accesses of the island are the ancient beach of Scario, with its big pebbles smoothed by the weather, the suggestive Pollara bay, where you can feel the magical feeling of having a swim in a submersed prehistorical crater, the suggestive Black beach of Rinella, the beaches of Santa Marina and Lingua, to enjoy, in an unforgettable way, the Eolian sea.

EXCURSIONS BY BOAT
The excursion around the island by boat is an experience that you can’t miss. The excursions start from the three ports of the island: Malfa, S. Marina and Rinella. Running along the shore, they stop in the most suggestive places, to enjoy the crystal clear sea. For the real lovers, in Salina there are several scuba diving centers, in the most suggestive and hidden places of the island and the whole archipelago.

On the depth it will be possible to observe the actinias, sea anemones, yellow sponges and gorgonias’ colonies. Among the ravines it’s possible to meet groupers, morays, sea stars, sarago fishes and an extraordinary variety of species.

If you are lucky, a bit more in the open sea, you can see beautiful dolphins and sea turtles, and completely enjoy the Mediterranean magic. The island of Salina is in the middle of the Eolian Archipelago, and it’s the perfect starting point to visit by boat the other six sisters.

The are several navigation companies that organize tours in the nearby islands, and here following we report you the main excursions: Filicudi-Alicudi, starting at about 11.00 am and coming back at 6.00 pm; Vulcano-Lipari, with a stop in the most suggestive points of the coast and in the main residential areas; Panarea-Stromboli, to admire the Stromboli’s sciara del fuoco by sea.

Another very suggestive excursion is Stromboli by night, starting about at 6.00 pm and coming back about at 11.00 pm, to admire the bursts of Stromboli at the moonlight. On the boats it’s possible to bring your breakfast in a bag, or to taste a delicious dish of pasta, cooked on board by the staff. The excursions and the immersions can be scheduled and booked directly in hotel.

TREKKING
Even if it is a small island, Salina offers many things to see along the many naturalistic paths through the relaxed and lush trails that characterized it. If you are walk-lovers, you will be immersed in a lush nature, and you will be amazed by the perfumes and the enchanted and magical colours of the island.

Along the way, the Mediterranean colours and perfumes mix themselves with the white Eolian houses, and then you will end up again on the mountains, among an explosion of nature, between silence and quietness, in the sea breeze and always with the watchful gaze on the sparkle of the sea.

For the trekking-lovers, we could suggest the excursion that’s more suitable to our guests’ needs or we could organize a walking excursion with an expert guide, for those ones who prefer to be cuddled and want to walk away from the usual paths. Following you will find the main naturalistic paths of the island.

HOW TO ARRIVE
For people who prefer travelling by plane, the nearest airports are Catania, Reggio Calabria and Palermo. From Catania, you need to take a bus, there are also private ones, towards Messina, or preferably to Milazzo, that offers more routes. The hydrofoils, from the end of June to the middle of September, start also from Naples.

There are private companies that organize on request transfers by helicopter and large boats. If you want to travel by car, the departure port is in Milazzo. Please, communicate us every difficulty you can meet and we will help you to organize your transfers as best as possible.

Rooms: 10

Price: from 89 EUR per night

Source: www.locandadelpostino.it