Pityusic Islands

(Redirected from Pitiusas) Island group in the Mediterranean Sea

Pityusic Islands
Islas Pitiusas • Illes Pitiüses

Etymology	Greek: Πιτυοῦσσαι, romanized: Pityûssai, lit. 'pine-covered' (islands)
Geography
Location	Mediterranean Sea
Coordinates	38°42′N 1°27′E / 38.700°N 1.450°E / 38.700; 1.450
Archipelago	Balearic Islands
Area	655.8 km (253.2 sq mi)
Highest elevation	475 m (1558 ft)
Highest point	Sa Talaiassa
Administration
Spain
Autonomous Community	Balearic Islands
Province	Balearic Islands
Largest settlement	Ibiza (pop. 49,783)
Demographics
Population	160,025 (1 January 2019)
Pop. density	244.0/km (632/sq mi)

The Pityusic Islands, often referenced simply as the Pityuses (Catalan: Pitiüses [pitiˈuzəs], Spanish: Pitiusas [pitiˈusas]; from the Greek πιτύα pitýa, pine tree), or commonly but informally (and ambiguously) as the Pine Islands, is the name given collectively to the Balearic Islands of Ibiza (Catalan: Eivissa), Formentera, S'Espalmador and other small islets in the Mediterranean Sea.

Geography

Enlargeable, detailed map of Eivissa and Formentera

The islands are situated approximately 100 kilometres (62 miles) southwest of the island of Majorca, and approximately 80 km (50 mi) east of the Cap de la Nau in the Iberian Peninsula.

History

The first known name of the islands was the Ancient Greek geonym Πιτυοῦσσαι Pityûssai ("covered in pine trees").

From about 200 BCE, the islands were used as a base by Cilician pirates. They and a renegade Roman general, Quintus Sertorius, who had formed an alliance with the pirates, were driven out by a large Roman fleet, commanded by Caius Annius Luscus.

The two largest of the islands, under the names Ebyssus (Ibiza) and Ophiusis (Formentera), were listed in Claudius Ptolemy's Geography (2nd century CE). Ptolemy noted that Ebyssus had a town by the same name.

Administration

The Pine Islands are sometimes grouped together as part of the Balearic Islands, or else considered separate with the Balearics proper being Mallorca and Menorca (which together with their islets form the Gymnesian Islands). Politically, they are part of the autonomous community of the Balearic Islands.

Initially, they were administratively part of the same insular council (of Ibiza and Formentera), but since 2007 they are now separated between the insular council of Ibiza and the insular council of Formentera (each one is also assimilated to a single comarca), which are two of the four main administrative subdivisions of the province (and autonomous community) of the Balearic Islands.

Gallery

Beach on Ibiza
Ibiza Town
Beach on Formentera

Flags and coats of arms

Flag of Ibiza
Flag of Formentera
Emblem of the Island Council of Ibiza
Coat of arms of Sant Antoni de Portmany
Coat of arms of Sant Joan de Labritja
Coat of arms of Santa Eulària des Riu
Coat of arms of Ibiza

External links

(in Spanish) Lagartija de las Pitiusas - Podarcis pityusensis (Boscá, 1883), Enciclopedia virtual de los vertebrados españoles, Alfredo Salvador, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Natural (CSIC), Madrid, published 20-06-2006.
A new species of rail (Aves, Rallidae) from the Upper Pleistocene and Holocene of Ibiza (Pitiusic Island, Western Mediterranean), McMinn M., Palmer M. & Alcocer J.A., Ibis journal (ISSN 0019-1019), volume 147, pp. 706-716, published 2005. Referenced by the Mediterranean Institute for Advanced Studies (IMEDEA).
Numerous places were given names like Pityûssai, Pityussa, Pityusa, or similar names by the Ancient Greeks,especially in Anatolia and Greece Archived 2009-08-30 at the Wayback Machine: the pre-Hellenic name of Miletus of the Leleges was also Pityussa (Strabo, 14.1.3); Spetses' ancient name was Pityoussa; during the Roman Civil Wars Sertorius with some Cilician pirates effected a landing at an island of Pityussa on the North African coast of Mauretania, and was driven off (Plutarch, Life of Sertorius 7).

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