In Europe, 76 destinations off the beaten path - latimes.com

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Arezzo, ItalySalina, ItalyCrete, GreeceRoquefort, FranceKvarner Islands, CroatiaTaormina, ItalyBonn, GermanyMonschau, GermanyCanterbury Cathedral, Canterbury, EnglandSt. Albans, EnglandCambridge, EnglandBrighton, EnglandCarnac, FranceCotswold Way, EnglandIstanbul, TurkeyGiglio, ItalySpain's Basque CountryAlbaniaAndorraViennaArdennes, BelgiumHay on Wye, BritainGiant's Causeway, Northern IrelandScotland's Tweed ValleyBulgariaZagreb, CroatiaHvar, CroatiaOsijek, CroatiaKladska, Czech RepublicTallinnHelsinki, FinlandBarbizon, FranceVerdun, FranceLourdes, FranceBeaujolais, FranceLyon, FranceChâteau des Milandes, FranceMillau, FranceLacoste, FranceMunich, GermanyIceland's countrysideGalway City, IrelandSkibbereen, IrelandCampania region, ItalySiena, ItalySperlonga, ItalyCinque Terre, ItalyPuglia, ItalyGenoa, ItalyPiedmont, ItalySicily, ItalyLipari, ItalyCastel del Monte, ItalyRiga, LatviaJurmala, LatviaLiechtensteinVilnius, LithuaniaLuxembourgMoldovaMonacoMontenegroOslo, NorwayTransylvania, RomaniaDanube River Delta, RomaniaSt. Petersburg, RussiaSan MarinoBelgrade, SerbiaSloveniaCatalonia, SpainSegovia, SpainIcehotel, Jukkasjarvi, SwedenZurich, SwitzerlandVals Valley, SwitzerlandCappadocia, TurkeyLviv, UkraineVatican City

It's Salina, one of seven small Aeolian Islands (also known as the Lipari Islands) cast up by volcanoes in the Tyrrhenian Sea about 50 miles north of Sicily. They're accessible only by helicopter or boat, so that keeps crowds at bay. All of them are enchanting, including the main island of Lipari, where my Italian grandfather was born.<br /><br />

But Salina is divine, partly because it is just the right size, with a population of about 3,000 on 10 square miles, wrapped around two almost identical volcanic cones: 2,818-foot Monte dei Porri and 3,156-foot Fossa Delle Felci, the highest peak in the archipelago.<br /><br />

-- Susan Spano<br /><br />

Read more: <a href="/travel/la-tr-salina-20100411,3994833,5128803.story">North of Sicily, Salina erupts with calm beauty</a>

Salina

( Susan Spano / For The Times )

Leni, beneath Monte Fossa della Fleci, is the island's agricultural heart, growing capers, grapes, olives and tomatoes.

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