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UpToWhere · Can you see it?

Can you see Stromboli from Tropea, Calabria?

Yes — you can

61.2 km line of sight toward the west-northwest (bearing -78°), computed on 30 m Copernicus terrain with Earth curvature and standard atmospheric refraction.

From Tropea's clifftop old town, the 'lighthouse of the Mediterranean' sits on the evening horizon — a live volcano whose eruptions flicker visibly after dark, sixty kilometres out at sea.

3D terrain view from Tropea, Calabria toward Stromboli
Straight-line distance61.2 km
Direction-78° west-northwest
Observer eye level92 m
Target elevation910 m
Curvature drop at the target256 m
Clearance margin+9 m

From Tropea, Calabria, at an eye level of 92 m, the sightline to Stromboli runs 61.2 km and clears every ridge in between. Over that distance Earth's curvature drops the target 256 m below a flat-earth line — but at 910 m, it still rises above the horizon. The view is geometrically real: whether you actually get it depends on haze, not terrain. The tightest squeeze is mid-path, where the sightline passes just 9 m above the terrain at km 61.1.

The line on the map

Satellite map with the sightline from Tropea, Calabria to Stromboli drawn in red
The 61.2 km sightline over satellite imagery, drawn as the great-circle path light would follow.

The terrain profile

-0 m500 m1,000 m sightlineTropeaStromboli 0 km61.2 km2040
Elevation profile from Tropea, Calabria to Stromboli. Like every elevation profile, the vertical axis is stretched (≈15× here) — but the geometry is real: mid-path, Earth's surface genuinely stands 73 m above the straight line between the two points (the dashed arc is sea level). Light bends only slightly around that bulge, so whatever it covers stays hidden.
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Frequently asked questions

Can you see Stromboli from Tropea, Calabria?

Yes. The terrain-limited line of sight is clear across 61.2 km, accounting for Earth's curvature and standard atmospheric refraction. Atmospheric haze is the only thing that can hide the view.

How far is Stromboli from Tropea, Calabria in a straight line?

61.2 km great-circle distance, on a bearing of -78° (west-northwest).

How much does Earth's curvature hide over 61.2 km?

At the target's distance the curvature drop is about 256 m: anything lower than that (relative to the observer's horizon plane) is hidden behind the bulge of the Earth. Stromboli is tall enough to rise above it.

How was this calculated?

UpToWhere walks the full terrain profile between the two points on 30 m-resolution Copernicus GLO-30 elevation data, applying Earth curvature and standard atmospheric refraction (k = 0.13) — the same physics surveyors use. You can run the same point-to-point check between any two places on Earth.

More famous sightlines

Wondering about a different pair?

The free calculator shows how far you can see from any point on Earth. Pro adds point-to-point checks — this exact analysis, between any two places you choose.

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