Editing Vulcano (section)

== History ==
[[File:Aerial image of the La Fossa crater (Vulcano).jpg|thumb|Aerial view of the Fossa cone]]
[[File:Aeolian Islands (17).jpg|thumb|The Gran Cratere]]
=== Classical period ===
The [[Ancient Greeks]] named this island ''Therasía'' (Θηρασία) and ''Thérmessa'' (Θέρμεσσα, source of heat). The island appeared in their [[Greek mythology|myths]] as the private foundry of the [[Twelve Olympians|Olympian god]] [[Hephaestus]], the patron of [[blacksmith]]s. Their myths noted two more of his foundries, at [[Mount Etna|Etna]] and [[Mount Olympus (Mountain)|Olympus]]. [[Strabo]] also mentions Thermessa as ''sacred place of Hephaestus'' (ἱερὰ Ἡφαίστου), but it is not certain whether this was a third name for the island, or merely an [[adjective]].<ref>Strabo Geographica 1.2.10</ref>

Similarly, the [[Roman people|Romans]] believed that Vulcano was the chimney of their god [[Vulcan (mythology)|Vulcan's]] workshop and, therefore, named the island after him. According to the Roman myths, the island had grown due to his periodic clearing of cinders and ashes from his forge. They also explained earthquakes that either preceded or accompanied the explosions of ash as being due to Vulcan making weapons for their god [[Mars (mythology)|Mars]] for his armies to wage war.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://vulcan.wr.usgs.gov/LivingWith/PopCulture/mythology.html |title=CVO Menu – Volcanoes in Historical and Popular Culture |publisher=Vulcan.wr.usgs.gov |access-date=2013-08-26}}</ref>

The Romans used the island mainly for raw materials, harvesting timber, and mining [[alum]] and [[sulfur]]. These were the principal activities on the island until the end of the nineteenth century.{{cn|date=February 2025}}

===Medieval===
The first ascent of the volcanic cone is documented for the 13th century. The Dominican friar [[Burchard of Mount Sion]], in his pilgrimage report to the [[Holy Land]], tells of his return journey via Sicily, which probably took place in 1284. On Vulcano he had climbed the summit "crawling on his hands and feet".<ref>Mehr, Christian: Vor Petrarca: Die Bergbesteigung eines Mönchs auf Vulcano. Archiv für Kulturgeschichte 101 (2019), pp. 317-346.</ref> His ascent can be considered authentic, as he reports in detail on his observations of the landscape and nature, for example describing the fumaroles or the diameter of the crater.{{cn|date=February 2025}}

The island of Vulcano as well as the Aeolian Islands are already known to [[Isidor of Seville]], the Gallic bishop [[Arculf]], who dictated his journey to the Holy Land to the Irishman [[Adomnan]] (before 680), or [[Bartholomew Anglicus]]. They are an integral part of medieval knowledge of the geography of the Mediterranean, but none of them wrote about Vulcano on their own initiative.{{cn|date=February 2025}}

Vulcano is also mentioned in the pilgrimage report (ca. 1350) by [[Ludolf von Sudheim]], who, however, claims that he did not dare to climb it. Unlike Burchard of Mount Sion, Ludolf expected to find the entrance to hell at the crater. The Provençal knight [[Antoine de La Sale]] tells of an excursion to the island in 1406. His text is a didactic textbook for his pupil John of Calabria, the son of Duke Rene I of Anjou.{{cn|date=February 2025}}

===Modern period===
After [[House of Bourbon|Bourbon]] rule [[Expedition of the Thousand|collapsed in 1860]], the Scottish industrialist and philanthropist [[James Croesus Stevenson|James Stevenson]] bought the northern part of the island. He then built a [[villa]], reopened the local mines, and planted [[vineyard]]s for making [[Malmsey|Malmsey wine]]. Stevenson lived on Vulcano until the last major eruption on the island, in 1888. This eruption lasted the better part of two years, by which time Stevenson had sold all of his property to the local populace. He never returned to the island. His villa is still intact.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/vulcano_(Enciclopedia-Italiana)/|title=Vulcano |website=Enciclopedia Treccani|access-date=21 October 2024}}</ref>
<ref>{{cite book|author=David L. Le Maitre|title=Eruptions that Shook the World|year=2013|publisher=Cambridge University Press|page=220}}</ref>