A Greek settlement, from the fourth century BC through to the times of Imperial Rome, once lay on the modern-day site of the small town of Santa Marina. A number of tombs from this era have been discovered further inland. Several traces of Greek and Roman culture have been found on the island.
In the Hellenic Age the island was named "Didyme" (Δίδυμη), a Greek name which refers to the two mountains as "twins". The island was inhabited as far back as the Bronze Age and has been developed and then abandoned many times over the subsequent millennia.
In 1544, when Spain declared war on France, king Francis I of France asked the Ottoman Sultan Suleiman for help. The latter sent a fleet headed by Khair ad Din (also known as Barbarossa) who was victorious over the Spaniards and managed to retake Naples from them. In the course of the battle, the Eeolian Islands were depopulated. Later, former citizens that had been ransomed in Messina and immigrants from mainland Italy, Sicily and Spain re-established communities on Salina.
Areas on the island, including the two mountain peaks, were designated as a natural reserve in 1981
