Villaggio preistorico di Capo Graziano

On a terrace above Filicudi’s eastern promontory, twenty-seven dry-stone huts preserve a Bronze Age settlement linked to the Mycenaean world. Archaeological investigations resumed in 2026 after nearly sixty years, alongside conservation of the exposed masonry.

Why it matters

Capo Graziano gave its name to a Bronze Age culture and is described by the Aeolian archaeological park as one of the archipelago’s most important prehistoric sites. Around 1700 BC, inhabitants of the coastal settlement at Filo Braccio moved to the Montagnola, likely seeking protection from seaborne raids. A later phase, associated with the Thapsos-Milazzese culture of eastern Sicily, dates to about 1500–1300 BC. Pottery and ornaments of Late Helladic I–III date attest to exchange with the Aegean.

What to notice

The village plan includes twenty-seven oval hut platforms, each about three to six metres across, with double-faced dry-stone walls roughly fifty to sixty centimetres thick. Hut VI has an outer facing of vertical slabs; an adjoining room, VII, entered by a descending corridor, may have served as a storeroom. Hut XII contained a rich ceramic assemblage, including vessels on a clay floor beside an inner bench. Incised zig-zag bowls from Huts I and II are characteristic of the Capo Graziano style. A paved area above Hut XIV marks another feature of the settlement.

Context and history

Excavations from 1952 to 1969 revealed the village and finds now held in the Aeolian archaeological museum in Lipari and the museum section at Filicudi. In June 2026, the archaeological park began a new campaign of investigation and conservation, directed by architect Rosario Vilardo with scientific direction by archaeologist Maria Clara Martinelli. The village stands on the Montagnola, a volcanic dome rising to 174 metres; its terrace is about 100 metres above sea level.