Pelagie Islands
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The Pelagie Islands. |
Pelagie Islands (
Isole Pelagie in
Italian) consist of
Lampedusa, Linosa, and Lampione. They are small islands in the
Mediterranean Sea between
Malta and
Tunisia, south of
Sicily. They are part of the
province of Agrigento,
Italy.
The name Pelagie comes from the
Greek word "pelaghia", meaning high sea. The archipelago is the most southern part of Italy, and is part of the
African continent.
Despite pockets of agriculture, the islands are unnaturally barren due to wanton deforestation and the disappearance of the native olive groves, juniper and carob plantations. Fifty years ago much of the landscape was farmland bounded by dry stone walls but today, the local economy is based on fishing - sponge fishing and canning - supplemented by tourism in Lampedusa.
