Pelagie Islands
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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.
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