Ionian Islands

The Ionian Islands (in ancient Greek: Ἰόνιοι Νῆσοι, Iónioi Nēsoi; in Greek: Ιόνια νησιά, Iónia nisiá; in Italian, Isole Ionie) is an archipelago of Greece located in the waters of the Ionian Sea, off the northwestern coast of mainland Greece and peninsular. They are traditionally called the Seven Islands (Ancient Greek Ἑπτάνησος, Heptánēsos; Greek Επτάνησα, Eptánisa; Italian Eptaneso), although the group includes many other islands. small, the main islands being Corfu, Paxos, Lefkada, Ithaca, Kefalonia, Cythera and Zante. The total extension of the archipelago is 2307 km².

Administratively, the archipelago of the Ionian Islands, with the exception of Kythera, integrates the homonymous periphery. The main urban center of the Ionian Islands is the city of Corfu.

Etymology

In ancient Greek, the Ionian adjective (Ἰόνιος) was used to refer to the sea that is located between Epirus and Italy because Io swam there. Although it has the same Latin transcription and is pronounced the same as in modern Greek, the Ionian Sea and its islands are not related to Ionia, a region of Anatolia; In Greek, the Ionian sea and islands are written with omicron (Ιόνια), while Ionia is written with omega (Ιωνία). Also, they are accented differently.

Geography

The archipelago is divided into three groups:

• Northern group, comprising the islands of Corfu (592.87 km2) and Paxos (30.12 km2) and the islets of Antipaxos (5 km2), Fano and Mathraki (3.53 km2).
• Central group, with the islands of Léucade (Leucada or Santa Maura) (325 km2), Kalamos (24,96 km2), Kastos (5,90 km2), Meganisi (22,35 km2), Ithaca (117,81 km2) (mencionada en la la Odyssey), Theaki, Cefalonia (Kefalonia) (906.5 km2) and Zante (406 km2), in addition to some small islets and scholas.
• Southern group, composed of the islands of Citera (Kythira or Cerigo), Cerigoto and some other small islands such as Anticitera and Elafonissos. This citerea group is quite distant, south of the Peloponnese.

The archipelago consists of linked islands almost parallel to the southern coast of the Balkan Peninsula. Being part of a mountain range, the islands have very rugged relief, with generally very steep coasts, as well as full of bays and capes. The only surface watercourses are small streams with very little flow that tend to stay dry during the summer. The highest altitude of the insular group is Aínos Oros (1628 m) located in the southern part of the island of Kefalonia.

The climate is Mediterranean, although in the Ionian Islands there is a microclimate given by the strong influence of the sea and by the alternation of the hot winds coming from Africa with the cold ones (Boreas wind) coming from from the northeast quadrant. In this way, the archipelago has a more humid climate than that of other Mediterranean coasts and, despite the cold winds, a warm climate that reinforces subtropical characteristics.

History

Until the Modern Age, the history of the Ionian Islands is practically the same as that of all of Greece. At the end of the Middle Ages they came under the control of Venice, which is why they escaped the Ottoman conquest. In 1797, with the dissolution of the Republic of Venice by the Treaty of Campoformio, the islands passed into the orbit of France ruled by Napoleon I until their occupation by Russian and Ottoman troops on March 3, 1799 during the Second Coalition.. The archipelago is placed under the joint protectorate of Russia and the Ottoman Empire, constituting in 1800 the "independent republic of the Seven Islands" who quickly falls under "protection" French in 1807 with the Treaty of Tilsit, on September 19 the Russian fleet withdrew from Corfu. The archipelago is part of a district of the Illyrian Provinces in 1809 of the so-called Napoleonic Empire.

In October 1809, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland expelled France from Kefalonia, Cythera, Ithaca and Zante and, in 1810, from Santa Maura. Meanwhile, Pafos and Corfu resisted until 1814. This year English sovereignty became official and was ratified in 1815, at the conclusion of the Congress of Vienna, creating the so-called United States of the Ionian Islands. Faced with the strong opposition of the inhabitants and the pressure of the other powers, the United Kingdom meets the Hellenic claims and returns the Ionian Islands to Greece in 1864 by the Treaty of London.

In 1916, during the First World War, French troops occupied the islands to contain an eventual expansion of the so-called Central Empires (German, Austro-Hungarian and Ottoman Empires). At the end of the First World War in 1918 the Ionian Islands were restored to Greece but in 1923 Italy tried to occupy them arguing that "historically they were Italian", during the Second World War, between 1941-1943 the islands fell under occupation of Italy and Germany (Occupation of Greece by the Axis Forces), in September 1943 after the massacres that German troops carry out against Italian troops remain in exclusive German power, the Ionian Islands are liberated and recovered by Greece in May 1945 For a more detailed history see the article Corfu.

Flora and fauna

The typical flora is the Mediterranean garrigue, dominated by cypresses, olive trees, myrtle, laurels and vines.

Currently, almost all of the major fauna is domestic, however Zante stands out due to the presence on its beaches of large marine turtles of the Caretta caretta species, which measure up to one meter and medium length.

Economy

In 2005 the main factor of the economy in the Ionian Islands is tourism, followed in importance by the shipbuilding industry, fishing, and the production of olive oil and wine.

Demographics

Most of the population is of Greek ethnicity, although many people from other parts of Europe (Albanians, Russians, Croatians, Italians, English, Germans, etc.) have settled. The number of inhabitants towards 2001 was around 200,000 people, living more than half in Corfu.