Mediterranean Sea
Clockwise around the peninsula the Mediterranean is divided into the
Historically the Mediterranean has been important to Italy in several ways:
Trade. The Mediterranean was of major importance in allowing trade of both goods and ideas between the various cultures which lived around the borders of the sea: Phoenicians, Greeks, Arabs and others.
Migration/Invasion. The first major wave of migration were the Greeks who crossed into the south of the peninsula to establish Magna Grecia. Later there were waves of Arab invaders from North Africa taking advantage of established sea routes to invade southern Italy. And as recently as the Second World War an army crossed into Italy via the sea. But the traffic was not only inward: the Mediterranean provided a route whereby city-states such as Venice could extend and colonise the Balkans.
Fish. The sea also provides a major source of food for Italy in the fishing industry. As well as trawling there are also many fish farms around the coast.
Names
The term Mediterranean comes from the Latin mediterraneus, meaning "in the middle of earth" or "between lands". The Romans called it Mare Nostrum (Latin, Our Sea).
Territorial Waters
Italy has territorial limits over 12 nmi (22km or 14 miles).
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