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→Etymology: Zakynthos' spelling as "Zante" was already discussed in the second paragraph. None of the other Venetian names were repeated.
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{{short description|Group of islands in Greece}}
{{About|the group of islands west of Greece|the administrative unit|Ionian Islands (region)|the ancient region in western Anatolia|Ionia}}
{{Infobox settlement
| name = Ionian Islands
| typeofficial_name =
| type = [[Geographic regions of Greece|Traditional region of Greece]]
| image_blank_emblemimage_skyline = CapeDrastisCorfuJuly122022 = 02.jpg
| image_caption = Cape Drastis (Corfu)
| native_name = {{lang|el|Ιόνιοι Νήσοι}}▼
| image_blank_emblem =
| image_map = Location map of IonianIslands (Greece).svg
▲| native_name = {{lang|el|Ιόνιοι Νήσοι}}{{br}}<small>''Iónioi Nísoi''</small>
| established_title = [[Cession]]▼
| established_dateimage_map = Location =map of IonianIslands 1864(Greece).svg
▲| established_title = [[Cession]]
| coordinates = {{coord|38|40|N|20|20|E|type:isle_region:GR_dim:200000|display=inline,title}}▼
| subdivision_type established_date = Country1864
▲| coordinates = {{coord|3837|4048|N|20|2042|E|type:isle_region:GR_dim:200000|display=inline,title}}
| subdivision_name = [[Greece]]
| subdivision_type1 subdivision_type = Country
| subdivision_name1 subdivision_name = [[Greece]]
| leader_title subdivision_type1 =
| leader_name subdivision_name1 =
| leader_party leader_title =
| parts_type leader_name = Islands
| p1 leader_party = [[Corfu]]
| p2 parts_type = [[Ithaca]]Islands
| p3 p1 = [[KefaloniaCorfu]]
| p4 p2 = [[KythiraIthaca (island)|Ithaca]]
| p5 p3 = [[LefkadaKefalonia]]
| p6 p4 = [[PaxiKythira]]
| p7 p5 = [[ZakynthosLefkada]]
| seat_type p6 = Capital[[Paxi]]
| seat p7 = [[Corfu (city)|CorfuZakynthos]]
| area_total_km2 seat_type = 2306.94Capital
| population_totalseat = 207855[[Corfu (city)|Corfu]]
| population_as_of area_total_km2 = 20112306.94
| population_density_km2 population_total = auto207855
| population_as_of = 2011
| population_demonym = Heptanesian, Septinsular▼
| population_density_km2 = auto
| population_footnotes = <ref name=2011census>{{cite web|publisher=[[Hellenic Statistical Authority]] |title=Demographic and social characteristics of the Resident Population of Greece according to the 2011 Population - Housing Census revision of 20/3/2014 |date=12 September 2014 |url=http://www.statistics.gr/portal/page/portal/ESYE/BUCKET/A1602/PressReleases/A1602_SAM01_DT_DC_00_2011_03_F_EN.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150908142240/http://www.statistics.gr/portal/page/portal/ESYE/BUCKET/A1602/PressReleases/A1602_SAM01_DT_DC_00_2011_03_F_EN.pdf |archive-date=8 September 2015 }}</ref>▼
▲| population_demonym = Heptanesian, Septinsular
| timezone = [[Eastern European Time|EET]]
▲| population_footnotes = <ref name=2011census>{{cite web |publisher=[[Hellenic Statistical Authority]] |title=Demographic and social characteristics of the Resident Population of Greece according to the 2011 Population - Housing Census revision of 20/3/2014 |date=12 September 2014 |url=http://www.statistics.gr/portal/page/portal/ESYE/BUCKET/A1602/PressReleases/A1602_SAM01_DT_DC_00_2011_03_F_EN.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150908142240/http://www.statistics.gr/portal/page/portal/ESYE/BUCKET/A1602/PressReleases/A1602_SAM01_DT_DC_00_2011_03_F_EN.pdf |archive-date=8 September 2015 }}</ref>
| utc_offset = +2
| timezone_DST timezone = [[Eastern European Summer Time|EESTEET]]
| utc_offset_DST utc_offset = +32
| iso_codetimezone_DST = [[Eastern European Summer = GR-FTime|EEST]]
| utc_offset_DST = +3
| website = {{url|http://www.pin.gov.gr}}▼
| official_name iso_code = GR-F
▲| website = {{url|http://www.pin.gov.gr}}
}}
 
The '''Ionian Islands''' ([[Modern Greek]]: {{lang|el|Ιόνια νησιά}}, {{lang|el-Latn|Ionia nisia}}; [[Ancient Greek]], [[Katharevousa]]: {{lang|grc|Ἰόνιαι Νῆσοι}}, {{lang|grc-Latn|IonioiIoniai Nēsoi}}) are a [[archipelago|group of islands]] in the [[Ionian Sea]], west of mainland [[Greece]]. They are traditionally called the '''Heptanese''' ("Seven Islands"; {{lang|grc|Ἑπτάνησα}}, ''Heptanēsa'' or {{lang|grc|Ἑπτάνησος}}, ''Heptanēsos''; {{lang-it|Eptaneso}}), but the group includes many smaller islands asin welladdition asto the seven principal ones.
 
As a distinct historic region, they date to the [[Venetian rule in the Ionian Islands|centuries-long Venetian rule]], which preserved them from becomingthe partMuslim conquests 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]].
 
==Geography==
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==Etymology==
<!-- Throughout this article the islands will be called by their Modern Greek names. -->
In [[Ancient Greek]], the adjective ''Ionios'' ({{lang|grc|Ἰόνιος}}) was used as an epithet for the sea between [[Epirus]] and Italy in which the Ionian Islands are found, because, according to myth, [[Io (mythology)|Io]] swam across it.<ref>LSJ, ''A Greek-English Lexicon'' s.v. [http://artflx.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/philologic/getobject.pl?c.35:3:172.LSJ.640026 Ἰόνιος] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190912101415/http://artflx.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/philologic/getobject.pl?c.35:3:172.LSJ.640026 |date=2019-09-12 }}.</ref> Although they have the same Latin transliteration and [[Modern Greek]] pronunciation, the Ionian Sea and Islands are not related to [[Ionia]], an Anatolian region; in Greek, the Ionian Sea and Ionian Islands are spelled with an [[omicron]] (Ιόνια), whereas Ionia has an [[omega]] (Ιωνία), reflecting a classical difference in pronunciation. The two words are still distinguished by stress: the western "Ionia" is accented on the [[antepenult]] ({{IPA-el|iˈonia|IPA}}), and the eastern on the [[penult]] ({{IPA-el|ioˈnia|IPA}}). In English, the adjective relating to Ionia is ''[[Wiktionary:Ionic|Ionic]]'', not ''Ionian''.{{citation needed|date=June 2019}}
 
The islands themselves are known by a variety of names. During the centuries of rule by [[Venice]], they acquired [[Venetian language|Venetian]] names, by which some of them are still known in English (and in [[italian language|Italian]]). Kerkyra was known as [[Corfù]], Ithaki as [[Ithaca (island)|Val di Compare]], Kythera as [[Cerigo]], Lefkada as [[Santa Maura]] and Zakynthos as [[Zante]].
 
A variety of spellings are used for the Greek names of the islands, particularly in historical writing. Kefallonia is often spelled as [[Cephallenia]] or [[Cephalonia]], Ithaki as [[Ithaca (island)|Ithaca]], Kerkyra as [[Corcyra]], Kythera as [[Cythera (island)|Cythera]], Lefkada as [[Leukas|Leucas]] or [[Leucada]] and Zakynthos as [[Zacynthus]] or [[Zante]]. Older or variant Greek forms are sometimes also used: [[Kefallinia]] for Kefallonia and [[Paxos (island)|Paxos]] or Paxoi for Paxi.
 
==History==
[[File:Achilles in Corfu.jpg|thumb|The statue of [[Achilles]] in the gardens of the [[Achilleion (Corfu)]].]]
 
The islands were settled by Greeks at an early date, possibly as early as 1200&nbsp;BC, and certainly by the 9th century BC. The early [[Eretrian]] settlement at Kerkyra was displaced by colonists from [[Corinth]] in 734&nbsp;BC. The islands were mostly a backwater during Ancient Greek times and played little part in Greek politics. The one exception was the conflict between Kerkyra and its mother-Citycity Corinth in 434&nbsp;BC, which brought intervention from [[Athens]] and triggered the [[Peloponnesian War]].
 
Ithaca was the name of the island home of [[Odysseus]] in the epic [[Ancient Greek]] poem the ''[[Odyssey]]'' by [[Homer]]. Attempts have been made to identify Ithaki with ancient Ithaca, but the geography of the real island cannot be made to fit Homer's description.{{Dubious|date=May 2024}}{{citation needed|date=June 2019}} Archeological investigations have revealed findings in both Kefalonia and Ithaca.
 
===Roman and Byzantine rule===
{{main|Cephallenia (theme)}}
By the 4th century BC, most of the islands were absorbed into the empire of [[Macedon]]. Some remained under the control of the Macedonian Kingdom until 146&nbsp;BC, when the Greek peninsula was gradually annexed by [[Roman Republic|Rome]]. After 400&nbsp;years of peaceful rule, the islands continued under the control of the [[Byzantine Empire|Eastern Roman or Byzantine Empire]] after the fall of the [[Western Roman Empire]].
 
Under Byzantine rule, from the mid-8th century, they formed the [[Theme (Byzantine district)|theme]] of [[Cephallenia (theme)|Cephallenia]]. The islands were a frequent target of [[Saracens|Saracen]] raids and from the late 11th century, saw a number of [[Normans|Norman]] and Italian attacks. Most of the islands fell to [[William II of Sicily]] in 1185. Corfu and Lefkas remained under Byzantine control.
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===Venetian rule===
{{main|IonianVenetian Islandsrule underin Venetianthe ruleIonian Islands}}
[[File:Lion St Mark Corfu.jpg|thumb|200px|The [[Lion of St. Mark]], symbol of the [[Venetian Republic]], at the [[New Fortress, Corfu|New Fortress of Corfu]], the longest-held of Venice's [[Stato da Mar|overseas possessions]].]]
 
From 1204, the [[Republic of Venice]] controlled Corfu and slowly all the Ionian islands fell under Venetian rule. In the 15th century, the [[Ottoman Empire|Ottomans]] conquered most of Greece, but their attempts to conquer the islands were largely unsuccessful. Zakynthos passed permanently to Venice in 1482, KefalloniaKefalonia and Ithaki in 1483, Lefkada in 1502. Kythera had been in Venetian hands since 1238.
 
The islands thus became the only part of the Greek-speaking world to escape Ottoman rule. CorfuDuring wasthis time, large numbers of Greeks moved to the onlyIonian Greekislands islandto neverescape conqueredOttoman bypersecution. Smaller numbers of Albanian, Aromanian and Slavic-speaking Christians also fled to the Turksislands, though they quickly assimilated into the Greek majority.
 
[[Venetian language|Venetian]] was the official language of the islands during this period, and many Greeks adopted the Venetian language for social advancement. This was bolstered by the arrival of thousands of settlers from other parts of the Venetian Republic, forming the basis of the [[Corfiot Italian]] community.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://6612springbottomway.blogspot.com/2018/12/blog-post.html |title=History of the Corfiot Italians |date=11 December 2018 |access-date=2019-03-18 |archive-date=2019-12-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191230113951/https://6612springbottomway.blogspot.com/2018/12/blog-post.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The majority of the island, however, remained ethnically, linguistically and religiously Greek. Many Corfiot Italians later Hellenised, adopting the Greek language and religion, such as [[Ioannis Kapodistrias]].
Under Venetian rule, [[Corfiot Italians|many of the upper classes]]<ref>[https://6612springbottomway.blogspot.com/2018/12/blog-post.html History of the Corfiot Italians]</ref> spoke Italian (or Venetian in some cases) and converted to [[Roman Catholicism]], but the majority remained Greek ethnically, linguistically, and religiously.
 
In the 18th century, a Greek national independence movement began to emerge, and the free status of the Ionian islands made them the natural base for exiled Greek intellectuals, freedom fighters and foreign sympathisers. The islands became more self-consciously Greek as the 19th century, the century of romantic nationalism, neared.
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===Napoleonic era===
{{main|French rule in the Ionian Islands (1797–1799)|Septinsular Republic|French rule in the Ionian Islands (1807–1814)}}
[[File:Flag of the Septinsular Republic.svg|thumb|200px|The flag of the [[Septinsular Republic]] (1800-1807), the first self-governed Greek state since the Middle Ages]]
[[File:Kapodistrias2.jpg|thumb|200px|[[Ioannis Kapodistrias]] from the [[Corfu|Island of Corfu]] island, founder and first governorGovernor (1828-1831) of the modern Greek state.]]
 
In 1797 the French general [[Napoleon I of France| Napoléon Bonaparte]] conquered [[Venice]]. By the [[Treaty of Campo Formio]] of October 1797 the islanders found themselves [[French rule in the Ionian Islands (1797–1799)|under French rule]], thewhich islandsorganised beingthe organisedislands as the [[Département in France|départments départements]] ''[[Mer-Égée]]'', ''[[Ithaque]]'' and ''[[Corcyre]]''. In 1798,-1799 a Russian-Ottoman fleet under the command of the Russian [[Admiral Ushakov]] evicted the French,; andthe victors established the [[Septinsular Republic]] of 1800-1807 under joint Russo-Ottoman protection—the first time Greeks had had even limited self-government since the [[fall of Constantinople]] in 1453.<ref>
Μεγάλοι Έλληνες, τόμος Ά, του Παναγιώτη Πασπαλιάρη, Ιωάννης Καποδίστριας, σελ. 45, {{ISBN|978-960-6845-32-1}}</ref>
In 1807, the Ionian[[Treaty Islandsof wereTilsit]] between France and Russia ceded againthe Ionian Islands to the French inagain, and the [[TreatyFirst ofFrench TilsitEmpire|French Empire]] and [[French rule in the Ionian Islands (1807–1814)|occupied]] by the [[First French Empire|Frenchtook Empirepossession]].
 
===British rule===
{{main|United States of the Ionian Islands}}
In 1809, the [[Royal Navy|British Royal Navy]] defeated the [[French Navy|French fleet]] in Zakynthos (October 2, 1809) captured Kefallonia, Kythera and Zakynthos, and took Lefkada in 1810. The French held out in Corfu until 1814. The [[Treaty of Paris (1815)|Treaty of Paris]] in 1815 turned the islands into the "[[United States of the Ionian Islands]]" under British protection (November 5, 1815). In January 1817, the British granted the islands a new constitution. The islanders elected an Assembly of 40 members, who advised the British High Commissioner. The British greatly improved the islands' communications, and introduced modern education and justice systems. The islanders welcomed most of these reforms, and took up afternoon tea, [[cricket]] and other English pastimes.{{citation needed|date=DecemberThe 2020}}British also brought thousands of Maltese to the Ionian Islands to work as builders and artisans, forming the basis of the [[Corfiot Maltese]] community.
 
Once [[Greek War of Independence|Greek independence]] was established after 1830, however, the islanders began to press for ''[[Enosis]]'' &ndash; union with Greece. The British statesman [[William Ewart Gladstone]] toured the islands and recommended that having already [[Crown colony of Malta|Malta]], giving the islands to Greece would not hurt the interest of the [[British Empire]]. The [[Government of the United Kingdom|British government]] resisted, since like the Venetians they found the islands made useful naval bases. They also regarded the [[Kingdom of Bavaria|Bavarian]]-born king of Greece, [[Otto of Greece|King Otto]], as unfriendly to Britain. However, in 1862, Otto was deposed in a coup by the [[Hellenic Parliament#History|Great National Assembly]] and a new king, [[George I of Greece|George I]] from Denmark, was elected in his place.{{citation needed|date=December 2020}}
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In 1862, Britain decided to transfer the islands to Greece, as a gesture of support intended to bolster the new King's popularity (probably as a counterbalance to the newly established Italian state).
 
On May 2, 1864, the British departed and the islands became three provinces of the Kingdom of Greece, though Britain retained the use of the port of Corfu. On 21 May 1864 the Ionian Islands officially reunited with Greece.<ref name="Ionian U.">{{cite web |title=ΚΕΡΚΥΡΑ, ΜΝΗΜΕΙΟ ΕΝΩΣΕΩΣ |url=http://tab.ionio.gr/culture/activities/projects/epigraphs/viewer.php?id=195 |website=Ionian U. |publisheraccess-date=Ionian2015-05-20 U|archive-date=2016-03-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305135725/http://tab.ionio.gr/culture/activities/projects/epigraphs/viewer.php?id=195 |url-status=live }}</ref> Prince Philippos of Greece and Denmark was born in [[Corfu]] in 1921 and grew up to become Britain's [[Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh]]. In 1923, following orders by Mussolini, the Italians temporarily [[Corfu incident|occupied Corfu]].
 
===World War II===
{{Further|Axis Occupation of Greece}}
 
In 1941, when [[Axis powers of World War II|Axis]] forces occupied Greece, the Ionian Islands (except Kythera) were handed over to the Italians. Long a target of [[Italian irredentism|Italian expansionism]], the Greek civil authorities were replaced by Italians in preparation for a post-war annexation.
 
In 1943, the Germans replaced the Italians, and deported the centuries-old [[Jew]]ish community of Corfu to their deaths. By 1944, most of the islands were under the control of the [[National Liberation Front (Greece)|EAM]]/[[Greek People's Liberation Army|ELAS]] resistance movement, and they have remained in general a stronghold of left-wing sentiment ever since.
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===Today===
[[File:CorfuTownView.JPG|thumb|200px|[[Corfu (city)|The City of Corfu]].]]
[[File:Zakintos - panorama.jpg|thumb|200px|[[Zakynthos (city)|The City of Zakynthos]].]]
 
Today, all the islands are part of the Greek [[modern regions of Greece|region]] of the [[Ionian Islands (region)|Ionian Islands]] (''Ionioi Nisoi''), except Kythera, which is part of the region of [[Attica (region)|Attica]]. Kerkyra has a population of 103,300 (including Paxoi), Zakynthos 40,650, Kefallonia 39,579 (including Ithaca), Lefkada 22,536, Ithaki 3,052, Kythera 3,000 and Paxi 2,438.
 
In recent decades, the islands have lost much of their population through emigration and the decline of their traditional industries, fishing and marginal agriculture. Today, their major industry is tourism. Specifically Kerkyra, with its harbour, scenery and wealth of ruins and castles, is a favourite stopping place for cruise liners. British tourists in particular are attracted through having read [[Gerald Durrell]]'s evocative book ''[[My Family and Other Animals]]'' (1956), which describes his childhood on Kerkyra in the 1930s. The novel and movie ''[[Captain Corelli's Mandolin]]'' are set in KefalloniaKefalonia, in which Captain Corelli is part of the Italian occupation force during the Second World War.
 
==Demographics==
The Ionian Islands' official population, excluding Kythera, in 2011 was 207,855, decreased by 1.50% compared to the population in 2001. Nevertheless, the region remains the third by population density with 90.1/km<sup>2</sup> nationwide, well above the national of 81.96/km<sup>2</sup>. The most populous of the major islands is Corfu with a population of 104,371, followed by [[Zakynthos]] (40,759), [[Kefalonia]] (35,801), [[Lefkada]] (23,693) and [[Ithaca (island)|Ithaca]] (3,231).<ref>{{cite web |script-title=el:ΔΕΛΤΙΟ ΤΥΠΟΥ |url=http://www.statistics.gr/portal/page/portal/ESYE/BUCKET/A1602/PressReleases/A1602_SAM01_DT_DC_00_2011_02_F_GR.pdf |access-date=18 July 2014 |language=el |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140710154514/http://www.statistics.gr/portal/page/portal/ESYE/BUCKET/A1602/PressReleases/A1602_SAM01_DT_DC_00_2011_02_F_GR.pdf |archive-date=10 July 2014 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all}}</ref> The foreign-born population was in 2001 19,360 or 9.3%, the majority of which was concentrated in Corfu and Zakynthos. Most of them originate from [[Albania]] (13,536).<ref>{{cite web |script-title=el:Πίνακας 3: Αλλοδαποί κατά υπηκοότητα, φύλο και λόγο εγκατάστασης στην Ελλάδα Σύνολο Ελλάδος και νομοί |url=http://www.statistics.gr/portal/page/portal/ESYE/BUCKET/A1602/Other/A1602_SAM07_TB_DC_00_2001_03_F_GR.pdf |access-date=18 July 2014 |language=el |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140830083524/http://www.statistics.gr/portal/page/portal/ESYE/BUCKET/A1602/Other/A1602_SAM07_TB_DC_00_2001_03_F_GR.pdf |archive-date=30 August 2014 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all}}</ref> The fertility rate for 2011 according to Eurostat was 1.35 live births per woman during her lifetime.<ref name="europa">{{cite web |url=http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/tgm/table.do?tab=table&init=1&language=en&pcode=tgs00100&plugin=1 |title=Eurostat – Tables, Graphs and Maps Interface (TGM) table |publisher=epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu |access-date=2014-04-11 |archive-date=2014-04-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140413143236/http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/tgm/table.do?tab=table&init=1&language=en&pcode=tgs00100&plugin=1 |url-status=live }}</ref>
 
==Culture==
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[[File:Zante currant drying in Tsilivi.jpg|thumb|200px|Sun-drying of [[Zante currant]] on Zakynthos.]]
 
The regional gross domestic product for 2010 was 4,029&nbsp;million euros. The GDP per capita for the same year was 18,440&nbsp;euros per capita which was lower than the national median of 20,481. However, the GDP per capita of Kefalonia and Zante, 23,275 and 24,616 respectively, was much higher than the national figure.<ref name="statistics">{{cite web |url=http://www.statistics.gr/portal/page/portal/ESYE/PAGE-themes?p_param=A0703 |title=PAGE-themes |publisher=statistics.gr |access-date=2014-04-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140710105424/http://www.statistics.gr/portal/page/portal/ESYE/PAGE-themes?p_param=A0703 |archive-date=2014-07-10 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Additionally, unemployment for 2012 was 14.7, the lowest among all Greek regions, and much lower compared to the national unemployment of 24.2.<ref name="europa2">{{cite web |url=http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_STAT-13-78_en.htm |title=EUROPA – PRESS RELEASES – Press release – Unemployment in the EU27 regions in 2012 Regional unemployment rates ranged from 2.5% in Salzburg and Tirol to 38.5% in Ceuta and 34.6% in Andalucía |publisher=europa.eu |access-date=2014-04-11 |archive-date=2017-07-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170728202342/http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_STAT-13-78_en.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>
 
===Tourism===
[[File:Carnival in Kerkyra by Pachis.jpg|thumb|200px|''Carnival in Kerkyra'' by [[Charalambos Pachis]].]]
 
The region is a popular tourist destination. The airports of Corfu, Zante and Kefalonia were in the top ten in Greece by number of international arrivals, with 1,386,289 international arrivals for 2012, with Corfu being the sixth airport by number of arrivals nationwide. While Kefalonia Airport had the biggest increase nationwide by 13.11% compared to 2011, while Corfu had an increase of 6.31%.<ref>{{cite web |title=Greek Tourism: Facts and Figures 2012 |url=http://sete.gr/files/Media/Ebook/2012/Facts%20%20Figures%202012%20teliko.pdf |access-date=18 July 2014 |language=en, el |archive-date=27 April 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150427111549/http://sete.gr/files/Media/Ebook/2012/Facts%20%20Figures%202012%20teliko.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>''''<ref>{{cite web |title=INTERNATIONAL TOURIST ARRIVALS AT THE MAIN AIRPORTS, JAN-DEC 2012/2011- PROVISIONAL DATA |url=http://www.tovima.gr/files/1/2013/01/09/stoixeia%20setedec12.pdf |access-date=18 July 2014 |language=en, el |archive-date=13 April 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140413154742/http://www.tovima.gr/files/1/2013/01/09/stoixeia%20setedec12.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>
 
==Major communities==
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*[[Homer's Ithaca]]
*[[Italian irredentism]]
*[[Ionian mode]]
 
==References==
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ionian_Islands"