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The greatest asset of the Mediterranean Islands is landscape. In its broadest definition, landscape comprises physical resources, being natural, semi-natural and human, as well as cultural resources expressed in local perceptions and identity, traditional management practices, socio-economic and political systems. Mediterranean Island landscapes encapsulate a character of place that is quintessentially Mediterranean. They are microcosms of the basin's geomorphological, biological and cultural diversity, and equally a reflection of the historical coexistence of people and environment, as well as a reflection of insularity. The broad, integrative understanding of landscape underpins the essence of a strategy based on both conservation and management. Accordingly, a landscape strategy acknowledges the twofold character of Mediterranean Island landscapes as (a) the context for evaluating environmental, ecological and cultural resources and (b) the framework for ensuring a sustainable future. Equally, landscape strategies become a roadmap to evaluate concerns, to recognise resource limitation and aspirations, to develop a future vision, to articulate objectives, and to propose the principles and framework for an equitable and sustainable future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Maltese Islands are a group of small, relatively low islands situated in the central Mediterranean some 96 km south of Sicily and 290 km north of the coast of Libya. Their total land area is c.316 km2. This island group consists of three inhabited islands: Malta (246.5 km2), Gozo (65.8 km2) and Comino (2.9 km2) together with a number of small, uninhabited islets each less than 10 ha. Collectively, the islands have a coastline of 189.6 km. Amongst the Mediterranean Islands, the Maltese archipelago has received least attention, possibly because it is so close to Sicily and the Italian mainland, and because it has a limited habitat diversity. There are no mountains on any of the Maltese Islands and therefore none of the climatic, edaphic or biotic phenomena associated with such landforms. However, the biogeography of the Maltese Islands is interesting, not least as a case study of how the present day biota has been assembled and has changed as a result of climatic and edaphic changes, and particularly as a consequence of human-induced perturbations to the local environment. The islands also support a number of endemic forms which are of intrinsic scientific interest for the light they throw on the phylogeny and biogeography of their group, and for the wider evolutionary processes they reflect. Such forms are also important culturally since they are unique to the Maltese archipelago and therefore form a valuable part of local, regional and global natural heritage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Mediterranean Basin is often considered to be a uniform entity ecologically and culturally. However, any examination at the local level reveals one of the most diverse ecologically, politically and culturally areas in the world. The Mediterranean islands are just such examples of this diversification and complexity. The islands are truly microcosms of the larger entity of which they are part, and are in addition laboratories of biological and cultural processes in evolution. In geological time natural forces set the scene, but since the early Holocene onwards, another force majeure that of an intensifying human presence, has influenced geological, biological and climatic forces to shape the landscapes in evidence today. These natural and cultural forces operate at different temporal and spatial scales. However, disentangling the roles of the various components is almost impossible, as demonstrated by the Mediterranean Island landscapes examined in this volume. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Balearic Islands comprise 151 islands and islets (counting all of those of more than 100 m in maximum length) with a total area of 5,061.3 km2 and a coastline length of 1,238.9 km. The four inhabited islands, Mallorca, Minorca, Ibiza and Formentera, represent more than 99% of the total surface area. Ibiza and Formentera are close lying neighbours, and form the Pityusic sub-archipelago. The ancient Greeks called Mallorca and Minorca the Gymnasiae or the Balyares Islands, and Ibiza and Formentera the Pityusic Islands; later, the Romans referred to these four main islands and their outlining islets as the Balearics. Currently the name of Balearics is applied to the entire archipelago, and the name Pityusic to Ibiza and Formentera. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Crete at 8,400 km2 is the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean. It is much longer than its width, which nowhere exceeds 60 km. It has 15 mountain ranges, three of them more than 2,000 m high. Like other islands in this book, Crete once had a great independent civilisation, the Minoan in the Bronze Age (2900-1150 BC); although related to neighbouring islands it is distinct from mainland Greece, Anatolia, or Egypt. From the late Bronze Age onwards Crete became subsumed into the Greek world, though it retained some distinctiveness: it had its own gods who were different from those on Mount Olympus in mainland Greece. The next most conspicuous period in Cretan archaeology is the early Byzantine (AD 300-600), in which it differed less from other provinces of the Empire. In the Middle Ages, Crete was an imperial province of Venice (AD 1200-1650), and developed a hybrid of Byzantine and Venetian culture, different from other Venetian islands, though related to that of Kythera. In Ancient Greek times (700-100 BC) Crete was a collection of independent ‘city-states'; since then it has been part of the Roman, Byzantine, Arab, again Byzantine, Venetian, and Turkish empires, and since 1913 part of the Greek state. Crete has often not been self-sufficient but at times it has exported olive oil, cereals, wine and cheese. For centuries it had a mixed economy. Most individual households grew cereals, legumes, vines and olives, kept sheep and goats (mainly for cheese) and often a donkey, cow and pig. Wine and oil were cash crops. Over the last three centuries oil production has gradually increased and now dominates the agricultural economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

What is meant by political landscapes? All landscapes, because they have been moulded by human action, are to some extent political. This is particularly evident in the Mediterranean Basin, a crossroad where civilisations have coalesced and often clashed. Although the larger of the Mediterranean Islands have been the home centres of great civilisations (Chapters 3 and 5) during prehistoric times, they have been unable to resist the repeated invasions of mainland-based powers that battled successively for political and commercial authority. The strategic location of the islands meant that they were ideal for defence, trade and exploitation of natural resources and therefore an attraction to outsiders. The Mediterranean Islands discussed herein have been used as temporary and/or permanent bases of world powers, a practice that continues today given that the USA and the UK still retain military bases there. For most of their histories the larger Mediterranean Islands have been in a position of political subservience to an outside power. Some remain powerless in political terms because they have little autonomy from mainland governments (Royle 2001). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Corsica is the fourth largest Mediterranean Island; it is c.183 km north-south, and 83 km east-west and covers 8,682 km2. It is situated in the western part of the Mediterranean Sea (6°12-7°13 East, 41°9-43° North), at about 90 km west of continental Italy, 14 km north of Sardinia, and 170 km south-east of continental France, its metropolitan attachment. While being part of an initial geological structure which included southern France and Sardinia for millennia, it became isolated at the end of the Miocene era. Corsica is distinct insofar as it is the most northern, the wettest and the most mountainous Mediterranean Island with many peaks over 2,000 m. Most of the island is composed of granite, with a rough cliff and peak topography on its west coast. In its north-east, schists predominate giving a smoother topography (1,767 m maximum at San Pedrone). These two major units are subdivided by a corridor creating not only distinct geological/morphological but also cultural units. Still, today, the north-east part is differentiated from the south-east into two administrative substructures (called ‘départements'), namely Haute-Corse (Capital City: Bastia) and Corse-du-Sud (Capital City: Ajaccio) (Fig. 10.1). The former is more agricultural and community based, while the latter is less modified by human activity. A peculiar Quaternary deposition plain covers the east side of the island along the coast and, in the west side, the lower plains of the rivers such as Figarella, Liamone and Gravona are situated.The varied topography gives rise to several different microclimates and vegetation communities depending on altitude, from typical Mediterranean on the coast to alpine above 1,500 m. Summers are usually hot and dry and last from May till October. Winters can be cold and there is generally snow on the highest peaks until June, but by then the ambient temperature on the coast is in the mid-20s °C and the July-September average is 27 °C. The annual average is 12 °C. Annual precipitation varies from 600 mm on the coast to 2,000 mm on the highest peaks and occurs mainly in spring and autumn, with recurrent heavy storm events; up to 400 mm can fall within 24 h, leading to destructive flash-flooding events. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sardinia is the second largest island in the Mediterranean after Sicily, with a surface area of 23,833 km2 inland, a total of 24,089 km2 including the minor islands. Its landscape mosaic confirms a position of transition between Africa and Europe, as Sardinia is almost the same distance from the coast of both continents, and is separated from Corsica by c.10 km of sea. The island is mainly mountainous with several isolated groups of mountains such as Limbara, Sette Fratelli and Gennargentu, the highest of all at 1,834 m, but also with hilly lands, plateaus and a few plains The long presence of humans on the island has been of vital importance in shaping the landscape. The most ancient human remains are traced back to the Lower Palaeolithic and have been found in the North, namely in Perfugas. However, the most imposing prehistoric native culture has been the Nuragic, the remains of which are still visible today everywhere on the island, and in particularly in areas with high settlement concentration such as Campeda and Planargia. Yet, culturally and politically Sardinia has been often influenced by its neighbours. In historic times Phoenicians, Carthaginians and Romans succeeded one another as the island's ‘masters'. Following the eclipse of the Roman Empire, Vandals and Byzantines held the island before it became a protectorate of Pisa, Genoa and then Spain. Finally, after a period as independent kingdom (1718-1861), Sardinia joined the unified Italy in 1861. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cyprus, the third largest Mediterranean Island in size, is situated in the north-eastern part of the Mediterranean Sea, 33° east of Greenwich and 35° north of the Equator and has an area of 9,251 Km2, of which 1,733 are forested. Distance from the mainland ranges from 75 km from Turkey in the north to 150 km from Syria in the east and 380 km from Egypt in the south, while in the west the closest shores are the Greek islands of Karpathos and Rhodes at 380 km. The population of Cyprus is 755,000 of whom 643,000 are Greek Cypriots, 88,000 are Turkish Cypriots and 24,000 are foreigners residing in Cyprus. Since the Turkish invasion and occupation of over a third of the island, the demographic balance has changed dramatically as a result of Turkey's policy. There are around 115,000 illegal Turkish settlers in the occupied area, while a considerable number of Turkish Cypriots have emigrated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sicily is the largest (25,708 km2) island in the Mediterranean with 1,039 km of coast and is surrounded by satellite islands of the archipelagos of Aeolian, Egadi and Pelagie. The coasts of Sicily have diverse characteristics depending on which sea they face. In the north there are high and ragged cliffs with gulfs and small pebble beaches, in the west and the south the coasts are flat with sand dune systems. In the eastern part of the island the coast can be divided in two different parts: above Catania it is similar to the northern coast while to the south it is low lying with gulfs and small bays. The history of the island is also linked to that of its active volcanoes such as Etna and Stromboli (part of the Aeolian islands). In the past eruptions and earthquakes and fairly recently immigration had their toll on the island's population which is currently c.5 million inhabitants. This makes Sicily the most populated island in the Mediterranean and the fourth more populated region in Italy with an increase in population of 1.7 per thousand inhabitants due to more births and fewer deaths and recent immigration. The population density of the region is 189 inhabitants per km2 compared to average 192 for Italy, although there are notable variations between the coastal zones and the hinterland. For example, the area of Enna the only non-coastal province of Sicily has a density of 69 inhabitants per km2 compared to 292 for Catania (Regione Sicilia 2002). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During glacial cycles the level of the Mediterranean, like other seas, fell by 120-150 m: enough to join Sicily to Italy, Corsica to Sardinia, and Mallorca to Minorca. Most of the other islands are surrounded by deep sea and would not be much affected unless by tectonic movements at the same time. In the early Holocene absolute sea level rose to approximately what it is now, creating jagged capes and drowned valleys. These have gradually adapted to the new sea level, as rivers have brought down sediment and filled in bays, forming deltas and sandy beaches. On the mainland this continued into historic times, choking ancient harbours and creating agricultural land. On islands this has not happened to the same extent, owing to the lack of big rivers and of badlands to act as abundant sources of sediment. Islands still have jagged promontories. Some have lagoons. Sardinia has the finest lagoon coasts in southern Europe; the presence of the algal concretions called stromatolites indicates that there were similar lagoons in previous interglacials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

MacArthur and Wilson's theory (1967) set out to identify and measure the variables involved in the colonisation of islands by biota and their subsequent evolution or extinction. The key biogeographical variables identified by their theory were island size and distance from the mainland. They suggested that an island's biodiversity is proportionate to the island's size (i.e. the larger the island the higher the species number) and inversely proportionate to its distance from the mainland (i.e. more remote islands tend to support less species). Equally significantly they argued that the number of species on an island is in a state of dynamic equilibrium - diversity eventually stabilises but turnover remains high as species continually colonise and go extinct. Dynamism is a defining concept when attempting to understand the biogeography of islands and, in the Mediterranean in particular, the impact of human activity over millennia has resulted in very high levels of dynamism with profound consequences for the biota. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

‘Everything about human history is rooted in the earth, which has meant that we must think about habitation' (Said 1994, p. 7). Edward W. Said might have used the above phrase within a context of analysis of the relation between geography and imperialistic power, but he managed to summarise in 18 words what others analysed in volumes: the past, the present and the future of anthropos (the Greek word for human) was, is and will be always depicted on the landscape. The landscape is a result of the interaction between humankind and nature. It is also the lived context experienced and perceived by human beings. Therefore, in essence, all landscapes are cultural. This particular perception and experience is extremely valuable in determining human attitudes towards the continuum of space and time. Consequently, the landscape gains its structure from the human activities, which are carried out within a given environment and through the landscape itself, and therefore it is as much a process as it is an entity (Zedeño 2000). The term cultural landscape has been used in a variety of ways from different disciplines and in different continents (for a review, see Jones 2003). In the Mediterranean Basin, Naveh (1990, 1998a, b) pioneered the holistic landscape paradigm (see Chapter 14) in the context of cultural landscapes. For Naveh (1995) cultural landscapes are ‘… a tangible meeting point between nature and mind'. When analysing the concept of cultural landscape further, the physical and the symbolic interconnection between culture and landscape becomes evident. First, landscape is more or less the space where people perform their everyday tasks. Second, land, the ancient Greek topos, may be considered to embody ancestral energies, spiritual forces, memories, dreams and identities. It is possible that the same location may effectively be a different place for two different persons, especially if they originate from different cultural backgrounds. Cultural landscapes, which comprise a mixture of everything that goes with a living space, are to be found everywhere in the world. Even areas of exceptional natural beauty that were until recently thought to be untouched by humans have often proved to have long been inhabited and altered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Mediterranean Sea was once part of a much larger ocean which encircled the Earth. This was the Tethys Ocean which existed c.200 × 106 years ago and which subsequently diminished in extent due to the convergent movement of the African and Eurasian plates. By c.65 × 106 years ago Tethys had contracted to become the Mediterranean Sea. Since then there have been episodes of drying and flooding, low and high salinity, low and high sea levels, and cold and warmth, as well as volcanic activity and earthquakes. Many of these events are linked with climatic change and/or tectonic activity. This dynamism is reflected in the ecological changes within the sea itself and in its encircling landmasses as well as its many islands. The environment of the last 65 × 106 years has thus been anything but uniform or stable. A particularly turbulent period of environmental change occurred during the last 2 × 106 years, approximating to the Quaternary period. As high latitudes experienced major advances of ice sheets and glaciers interspersed with warm interglacial stages, the Mediterranean Basin experienced substantial temperature changes on a similar cyclical basis. Forests, grasslands and shrublands, with associated fauna, underwent continual reassembly as temperatures rose and fell. As the present interglacial, the Holocene, opened c.12 ×103 years ago, temperatures ameliorated and the ecosystems which characterize the present began to assemble. However, the Holocene is unique insofar as a new agent of environmental change began to transform landscapes. The population of modern humans (Homo sapiens) was expanding from ice-age refugia (Sykes 2001) and appropriating the resources of the Mediterranean Basin first as huntergatherers and later as agriculturalists. The environment and ecosystems of this region hardly had time to reassemble their interglacial characteristics before there was an onslaught by this new, cultural driver of environmental change. This onslaught continues today as agriculture, industry, tourism, pollution, urbanization, rural depopulation and introduced plants and animals exact their tolls. All of these natural and cultural factors have affected the Mediterranean Islands to some degree. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

All Mediterranean Islands resemble each other; each island is different in its own way. Apart from their distinctive differences Mediterranean Islands share many characteristics with islands in general. Places of romance, excitement and adventure or just escape from the pressures of busy lifestyles, islands worldwide have always held a particular fascination for people. Those of the Mediterranean Basin have a special place in human and environmental history. Due to their position, Mediterranean Islands are among the most visited, studied and exploited. They also feature prominently in subjects such as mythology, literature, radio, television and travelling material. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]