Islands: The Mediterranean

Groups

Mallorca, Minorca, Ibiza, Formentera, Cabrera		Balearic Islands
Over two hundred islands in the southern Aegean sea, forming a department of Greece; the largest is Naxos, others include Mykonos, Paros, Andros, Milos		Cyclades
Rhodes, Kos, Patmos (etc.)		Dodecanese
Series of islands in the Venice lagoon, where the city's glassmaking industry moved because of the fire risk		Murano
Also known as the Heptanese, because of the seven main islands: Kefallonia, Corfu, Zakynthos, Lefkada, Kythira, Ithak and Paxi; Kythira is off the south Pelopponesian coast, the others off Greece's south–west coast		Ionian Islands

Islands

Mediterranean island nations that are members of the Commonwealth		Cyprus
		Malta

Northernmost of the Dodecanese islands, famous for its wine; shares its name with the largest island in the Bahamas		Andros
Island in the Tyrrhenian Sea: due south of Naples, but twenty miles away and on the other side of the bay (gulf); features the Blue Grotto		Capri
Maltese islands: Malta, Gozo and		Comino
Second largest of the Ionian islands, and the most northerly of the seven major ones		Corfu
Known to its inhabitants as Kerkira
Birthplace of Prince Philip (1921)
Greek island that gave its name to a variety of vegetable (lettuce)		Cos
Largest Greek island; once ruled by Venice and known as Candia, natives Candiots; ancient palace and city of Knossos (the ruins of the Minoan civilization); largest town Heraklion		Crete
Samaria Gorge – Europe's longest (and deepest?)
Celebrated in antiquity for its copper mines (copper is named after it); Famagusta is its major port		Cyprus
Greek island, where (according to Greek mythology) Aphrodite emerged from the sea on a sea shell, which gave rise to her alternative name: the origin of an adjective that is (or was) used to refer to the planet Venus		Cythera
Italy's third largest island (after Sicily and Sardinia), off Tuscany, between the Tyrrhenian Sea (to the south and east) and the Ligurian Sea (to the north and west)		Elba
Fourth largest and most southerly of the Balearic islands (immediately south of the third largest – see below)		Formentera
Third largest of the Balearic islands, and most westerly of the three largest ones: known in Catalan as Evissa		Ibiza
Island in the Ionian Sea, regarded as the home of Homer's Odysseus; a city in New York State is named after it		Ithaca
Largest of the Ionian islands (22% larger than Corfu)		Kefalonia
Largest of the Pelagie Islands – situated between Tunsia and Malta, but belonging to Italy: Giuseppe Tomasi, author of Il Gattopardo (The Leopard, 1958) – the best–selling Italian novel in history – was its last Prince		Lampedusa
Largest of the Balearic Islands		Mallorca
Name comes from the ancient Latin or Greek word for honey		Malta
Greek island on which the Venus de Milo was found		Melos
Greek island on which St. John is said to have written the Book of Revelataion		Patmos
Largest island in the Dodecanese; the Knights of St. John moved to Malta in 1530 after the Turks expelled them from		Rhodes
Second largest island in the Mediterranean: capital Cagliari; Costa Smeralda, including the holiday resort of Porto Cervo		Sardinia
Largest island in the Mediterranean; Mt. Etna is on		Sicily
Ionian island, bought by Aristotle Onassis in 1963 for 3.5 million drachmas – equivalent to about £10,000; he married Jackie Kennedy there in 1968, and was buried there following his death in 1975; as of 2020 it's the property of his grand–daughter, Athina Onassis Roussel – his only living descendant		Skorpios
Island off Sicily, famous for its active volcano		Stromboli
Northernmost of the Greek islands		Thasos
Greek island, also known as Zante		Zakinthos

Countries

Cres, Krk and Brač are the largest islands of; Korčula, Vis, Pag and Rab are other islands (and popular holiday destinations) in

Croatia

© Haydn Thompson 2017–24