Journal · Aeolian Islands
Where Nolan filmed The Odyssey
The two sea stacks that appear as Homer's Wandering Rocks are not a visual effect. They stand a few hundred metres off the south-western tip of Lipari, they are called Pietra Lunga and Pietra Menalda, and you can sail between them.
Where was The Odyssey filmed in Sicily?
Four places, across two archipelagos at opposite ends of the island. Three of them are Aeolian, off the north coast; the fourth is Egadi, off the west. All are reachable, though not all by ferry.
| Place | Role in the film | Archipelago | How to get there |
|---|---|---|---|
| Faraglioni di Lipari | The Wandering Rocks | Aeolian | By boat from Lipari — best seen from the water |
| Vulcano | Aeolia, kingdom of the winds | Aeolian | Ferry or hydrofoil from Milazzo or Lipari |
| Basiluzzo | Aeolia | Aeolian | Private or organised boat from Lipari or Panarea |
| Favignana | Ithaca, with Castello di Santa Caterina | Egadi | Ferry from Trapani, at the other end of Sicily |
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The Wandering Rocks: Faraglioni di Lipari
The Faraglioni di Lipari are two vertical columns rising straight out of the sea off the island's south-western coast. They are the eroded cores of old volcanoes — the softer rock weathered away and left the solidified magma standing.
In the film they are the Wandering Rocks that Odysseus has to pass. Nolan shot them as they are, with no digital work, which is why the light and the water look the way they do.
Approach them from the sea and Vulcano's crater sits directly behind, still smoking. It is one of the few places where a landscape genuinely looks mythological rather than merely beautiful.
Aeolia: Vulcano and Basiluzzo
The islands stood in for Aeolia, the floating kingdom of Aeolus, keeper of the winds — who hands Odysseus a bag containing every gale except the one that would carry him home.
That is not an arbitrary casting choice. The archipelago is named after Aeolus, and the association is thousands of years old. The production went to the place the myth was already attached to.
Vulcano supplies the sulphurous crater, the black sand and the mud pools. Basiluzzo is an uninhabited islet facing Stromboli, whose volcano erupts in small bursts around the clock, so the horizon flickers all night. There are no ferries to Basiluzzo — you go by boat from Lipari or Panarea, or not at all.
Ithaca: Favignana and Castello di Santa Caterina
The home Odysseus spends the film trying to reach was filmed at the other end of Sicily, on Favignana in the Egadi Islands.
The fifteenth-century Castello di Santa Caterina sits on the island's highest point with no road up to it, so the crew climbed every day for weeks of shooting and the equipment went by helicopter.
Getting married in the Aeolian Islands
We plan weddings in the Aeolian Islands, and a ceremony at sea here is a real format rather than a novelty — we have done it, along this coast, aboard a private yacht with nothing on the horizon.
Practically, this is a small-numbers proposition. Boats hold what boats hold, Basiluzzo has nowhere to land a party, and the day is shaped by the forecast rather than by a venue's timetable. What you get in exchange is a setting no venue can sell you, and now one that people recognise.
For couples who want the islands without the boat, Milazzo and the Messina coast opposite hold castles and estates with the archipelago in view.
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How to visit The Odyssey filming locations
The gateway is Milazzo on Sicily's north coast, about an hour and a half from Catania airport. Hydrofoils reach Lipari in under an hour and run year-round, more often in summer.
Stay on Lipari — it has the range of accommodation and the connections to everywhere else. Vulcano is a day trip or one night. The Faraglioni are best seen from a boat rather than the shore, and a half-day charter around the south-western coast covers them properly.
Go in May, June, September or early October. In August the islands are busy and the hydrofoils fill up.
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Questions
Where was The Odyssey filmed?
Across six countries. The Sicilian sequences used the Aeolian Islands — Lipari, Vulcano and Basiluzzo — as Aeolia, and Favignana in the Egadi as Ithaca. Other units filmed in Greece, Morocco, Iceland, Scotland and Malta.
Can you visit The Odyssey filming locations?
Most of them, yes. Lipari and Vulcano have regular ferries from Milazzo, Favignana from Trapani. Basiluzzo is uninhabited with no scheduled service, so it takes a boat from Lipari or Panarea.
How long do you need to see them?
Two or three days for the Aeolian locations if you base yourself on Lipari — one day for Vulcano, half a day by boat for the Faraglioni and Basiluzzo. Favignana is a separate trip from the other side of the island.
Where exactly are the Wandering Rocks?
Just off the south-western tip of Lipari in the Aeolian Islands. They are called Pietra Lunga and Pietra Menalda, together known as the Faraglioni di Lipari, and they are visible from the coast road but properly seen from the water.
When is the best time to visit the Aeolian Islands?
May, June, September and early October. The sea is warm enough, the hydrofoils run often and the islands are not full. August works but everything is booked and the crossings fill up. In winter the service thins out and some boat trips stop entirely.
Can we get married there?
Yes, and we do. A ceremony at sea is symbolic rather than legal, which suits the format: no comune timetable and no fixed room. Numbers stay small, and the plan is built around the forecast with an alternative held in reserve.
Why did Nolan choose the Aeolian Islands?
The archipelago takes its name from Aeolus, keeper of the winds, and the connection to the poem predates the film by millennia. The production also shot without digital effects, so it needed landscapes that already looked the part.
A ceremony in these waters?
Tell us the date and roughly how many people. We will tell you what is possible by boat and what the weather realistically allows.