ORIGINAL ANTIQUE MAP TERRITORY NAUTICAL CHART MEDITERRANEAN MALTA CAPE MALEA

Description

ANTIQUE ORIGINAL MAPTERRITORY NAUTICAL CHART
[Thismap is not a reproduction or from a scan, and it's printed on a thick papermatting surface. My Map collection, passed down by my grandfather, has beenstored flat and folded]
MEDITERRANEAN
ITALY, SICILY, GREECE, PELEPONNESUS
MALTA TO CAPE MALEA THE IONIAN ISLANDS
See Photos for condition.
The
Ionian Islands
(
Modern Greek
:
Ιόνια νησιά
,
Ionia nisia
;
Ancient Greek
,
Katharevousa
:
Ἰόνιαι Νῆσοι
,
Ionioi Nēsoi
) are a
group of islands
in the
Ionian Sea
, west of mainland
Greece
. They are traditionally called the
Heptanese
("Seven Islands";
Ἑπτάνησα
,
Heptanēsa
or
Ἑπτάνησος
,
Heptanēsos
;
Italian
:
Eptaneso
), but the group includes many smaller islands as well as the seven principal ones.
As a distinct historic region, they date to the
centuries-long Venetian rule
, which preserved them from becoming part of the
Ottoman Empire
, and created a distinct cultural identity with many Italian influences. The Ionian Islands became part of the modern Greek state in 1864. Administratively today, they belong to the
Ionian Islands Region
except for
Kythera
, which belongs to the
Attica Region
.
Malta
(
/
ˈ
m
ɒ
l
t
ə
/
(
listen
)
MOL
-tə
,
UK
also
/
ˈ
m
ɔː
l
t
ə
/
MAWL
-tə
,
[13]
Maltese:
[ˈmɐltɐ]
), officially known as the
Republic of Malta
(
Maltese
:
Repubblika ta' Malta
[rɛˈpʊbːlɪkɐ tɐ ˈmɐltɐ]
), is an
island country
in the
European Union
consisting of an
archipelago
in the
Mediterranean Sea
, and considered part of
Southern Europe
.
[14]
It lies 80 km (50 mi) south of
Sicily
(
Italy
), 284 km (176 mi) east of
Tunisia
,
[15]
and 333 km (207 mi) north of
Libya
.
[16]
The official languages are
Maltese
and
English
, and 66% of the current Maltese population is at least conversational in the
Italian
language.
Malta has been inhabited since approximately 5900 BC.
[17]
Its location in the centre of the
Mediterranean
[18]
has historically given it great strategic importance as a naval base, with a succession of powers having contested and ruled the islands, including the
Phoenicians
and
Carthaginians
, Romans,
Greeks
,
Arabs
,
Normans
, Aragonese,
Knights of St. John
, French, and British, amongst others.
[19]
With a population of about 516,000
[6]
over an area of 316 km
2
(122 sq mi),
[5]
Malta is the
world's tenth-smallest country in area
[20]
[21]
and
fourth most densely populated
sovereign country. Its capital is
Valletta
, which is the smallest national capital in the
European Union
by area and population. According to the data from 2020 by
Eurostat
, the Functional Urban Area and metropolitan region covered the whole island and has a population of 480,134,
[22]
[23]
and according to the
United Nations
,
ESPON
and EU Commission, "
the whole territory of Malta constitutes a single urban region
".
[24]
[25]
Malta increasingly is referred to as a
city-state
,
[26]
[27]
[28]
and also listed in rankings concerning cities
[29]
or metropolitan areas.
[30]
Malta is one of the two
island countries
in the Mediterranean, along with
Cyprus
.
Malta became a
British colony
in 1813, serving as a way station for ships and the headquarters for the British
Mediterranean Fleet
. It was
besieged by the Axis powers during World War II
and was an important Allied base for operations in North Africa and the Mediterranean.
[31]
[32]
The
British parliament
passed the Malta Independence Act in 1964, giving Malta independence from the United Kingdom as the State of Malta, with
Elizabeth II
as its queen.
[33]
The country became a republic in 1974. It has been a member state of the
Commonwealth of Nations
and the
United Nations
since independence, and joined the
European Union
in 2004; it became part of the
eurozone
monetary union in 2008.
Malta has had Christians since the time of
Early Christianity
, though was predominantly Muslim while under Arab rule, at which time Christians were tolerated. Muslim rule ended with the
Norman invasion of Malta
by
Roger I
in 1091. Today,
Catholicism
is the
state religion
, but the
Constitution of Malta
guarantees freedom of conscience and religious worship.
[34]
[35]
The
economy of Malta
is heavily reliant on tourism, and the country promotes itself as a
Mediterranean
tourist destination with its warmer climate compared to the rest of Europe, numerous recreational areas, and architectural and historical monuments, including three
UNESCO
World Heritage Sites:
Ħal Saflieni Hypogeum
,
[36]
Valletta,
[37]
and seven
megalithic temples
which are some of the oldest free-standing structures in the world.
[38]
[39]
[40]