Malfa is a ''
comune
A (; : , ) is an administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions () and provinces (). The can also have the City status in Italy, titl ...
'' (municipality) on the island of
Salina, one of the
Aeolian Islands
The Aeolian Islands ( ; ; ), sometimes referred to as the Lipari Islands or Lipari group ( , ) after their largest island, are a volcanic archipelago in the Tyrrhenian Sea north of Sicily, said to be named after Aeolus, the mythical ruler of ...
, in the
Metropolitan City of Messina
The Metropolitan City of Messina () is a metropolitan city in Sicily, Italy. Its capital is the city of Messina. It replaced the province of Messina and comprises Messina and 107 other ''comuni'' (: ''comune'').
It has 595,948 inhabitants as o ...
,
Sicily
Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...
, southern
Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
. It is located about northeast of
Palermo
Palermo ( ; ; , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan province. The ...
and about northwest of
Messina
Messina ( , ; ; ; ) is a harbour city and the capital city, capital of the Italian Metropolitan City of Messina. It is the third largest city on the island of Sicily, and the 13th largest city in Italy, with a population of 216,918 inhabitants ...
.
Malfa derived its name from
Amalfi
Amalfi (, , ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Salerno, in the region of Campania, Italy, on the Gulf of Salerno. It lies at the mouth of a deep ravine, at the foot of Monte Cerreto (1,315 metres, 4,314 feet), surrounded by dramatic c ...
, after some families from that city established here during the 12th century.
The island of Salina is greenest and second largest of the seven islands in the archipelago. The main economic activities are agriculture, tourism and fishing. Cultivated products are grapes, capers, olives, figs and pricklypears.
Malfa is a production and exporting center of
Malvasia
Malvasia (), also known as Malvazia, is a group of wine grape varieties grown historically in the Mediterranean region and Macaronesia, but now grown in many of the winemaking regions of the world. In the past, the names Malvasia, Malvazia, ...
white wine. The fertile soil produces capers for export.
Malfa celebrates the festival of San Lorenzo (Patron Saint of Malfa) on 10 August each year, with a street parade, music and fireworks.
During the 20th century, many Malfitani migrated to Australia and to a lesser number to the United States.
The movie ''
The Postman
''The Postman'' is a Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction, post-apocalyptic dystopian science fiction novel by David Brin. It is about a man wandering the desolate Oregon countryside who finds a United States Postal Service uniform, which h ...
'',
Massimo Troisi
Massimo Troisi (; 19 February 1953 – 4 June 1994) was an Italian actor, cabaret performer, comedian, screenwriter and film director. He is best known for his works in the films '' I'm Starting back from Three'' (1981) and '' Il Postino: The ...
's last one, was filmed in the ''frazione'' of Pollara.
References
Cities and towns in Sicily
Towns and villages in the Aeolian Islands
{{Sicily-geo-stub