Tyrrhenian Sea

The southern Tyrrhenian Sea opens between the Italian mainland, Sardinia and Sicily. North of Sicily, the Aeolian Islands rise in a volcanic arc, with Stromboli and Vulcano among their most distinctive peaks. The wider sea takes its name from the Tyrrhenians, the people known to the Romans as Etruscans. Its islands and straits break the boundaries of the basin into several passages leading to neighbouring parts of the Mediterranean.