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The
plume of smoke spitted by Stromboli, a sign for the fishermen living
in the Eolian Islands to prognosticate the coming weather.
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Before putting
out to sea most fishermen look at the activity of the volcano : the intensity
of its projections, the colour and direction of its smokes, the force and
frequency of its explosions. Many proverbs explicit these practices : "Strummuli
non fa marinaru" : a sudden activity of the volcano is a sign of bad
weather. Or, when the Stromboli spits out tappi di fuoco (stony emissions
accompanied with flames anf explosions) : "Quando Stromboli fa fanalui
o sciroccu o mastraeli" : when the Stromboli shines like a lantern,
there will be sirocco or mistral. Travelers of previous centuries already
noted that fishermen of these islands had a strange tendency to connect
volcanism with meteorology (...). Weather prediction from the activity of
Aeolian volcanoes date back indeed to remote antiquity. Plinus, Strabo,
Diodores of Sicily mention it abundantly. They all refer more or less directly
to the Odyssey that presents Aeolus on its bronze island as the lord
of winds. Could this association of volcanic and atmospheric activities
in the sailors' consciousness, far from being crude, be the weak echo of
the knowledge accumulated by ancient Greek and Roman scholars ? Are not
the comments and proverbs we collected from modest fishermen the ultimate
version, still well organized, of the verses sung by Greek aedes on their
lyre ?
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