surrounding sicily are several island groups.
the isole eolie or lipari (aeolian islands), to which panaria, lipari, vulcano and stromboli belong, are a mass of extinct, or nearly extinct, volcanoes poking out of the sea off the coast of milazzo.
the isole egadi (egadi islands), off the coast of trapani, have a distinctly arabic flavour.
they include favignana, levanzo and marettimo-the smallest and most unspoilt. ustica, renowned for its marine life and popular among divers, lies north of palermo.
to the south are the remarkably tourist-free isole pelagie (pelagic islands)-lampedusa and linosa, which are north african in character.
remote pantelleria lies closer to tunisia than to sicily.