In 1693 , an earthquake destroyed all the towns in eastern Sicily , causing around 60,000 deaths . After the population invoked the protection of Saint Bartholomew during prayers in the cathedral , there was not a single victim on the Aeolian Islands . The economic conditions of the islands improved greatly during the 17th century with agricultural progress ( malvasia grapes , capers , and a variety of fruit , vegetables and fishing ) . With the Bourbons came the introduction of criminal and political prisoners to the islands . In 1916 , the penal colony was closed , but the Fascist regime unsuccessfully tried to reopen it in 1926 . The island population reacted by pulling down the remains of the ex-penitentiary in the castle . However , not long after , the castle was converted to accommodate anti-Fascist political prisoners in enforced exile . Liparians fraternized with these exiles until the Allies ' liberation . After the war , the same room that had housed the opponents of Fascism became the Aeolian Archaeological Museum
earthquake
1693 Sicily earthquake
Aeolian Islands