Mediterranean
Follow Mediterranean on Notably News to receive short updates to your email — rarely!
We include updates on Roman Empire, Ancient Egypt, Umayyad Caliphate, Abbasid Caliphate, Phoenicia, Sicily, Evil eye, Ancient Carthage, Fatimid Caliphate, Hittites, Republic of Venice, Classical antiquity, Sea Peoples, Cradle of civilization, Fertile Crescent, Republic of Genoa ... and more.
| June 7 2025 | Current population data for Sicily's ten largest cities recorded, with Palermo leading at 625,956 inhabitants, representing a significant urban center in the region. |
| April 2025 | Construction of the Strait of Messina Bridge is set to begin. |
| March 31 2023 | The Messina Bridge project received presidential approval. |
| March 16 2023 | Prime minister Giorgia Meloni's government revived the Messina Bridge project through a decree. |
| February 28 2023 |
Cyprus
Nikos Christodoulides was sworn in as the eighth president of the Republic of Cyprus after winning the 2023 presidential election run-off.
|
| 2022 | Renato Schifani becomes the current President of Sicily, leading a centre-right coalition government. |
| August 11 2021 | A new highest temperature record for Europe was set near Syracuse, Sicily, demonstrating the region's intense summer climate characteristics. |
| 2019 |
Mediterranean Sea
End of a five-year period of consecutive marine heatwaves in the Mediterranean Sea, during which scientific studies documented extensive marine life mortality due to changing environmental conditions.
|
| June 2019 | A police investigation confirmed strong connections between the Sicilian Mafia in the Palermo area and American organized crime, particularly the Gambino crime family. |
| 2018 | Sicily recorded an unemployment rate of 21.5%, which was one of the highest rates in both Italy and Europe. |
| 2015 |
Mediterranean Sea
Start of a five-year period of exceptional marine heatwaves in the Mediterranean Sea, which would lead to widespread mass sealife die-offs, highlighting significant environmental impacts of climate change on marine ecosystems.
|
| 2013 | Mount Etna was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, recognized as one of the world's most active volcanoes with significant historical and mythological importance. |
| May 30 2013 | Comiso-Ragusa Airport was opened to commercial traffic and general aviation after being refurbished and converted from military to civil use. |
| February 28 2013 |
Cyprus
Nicos Anastasiades was sworn in as President of Cyprus after winning the 2013 election.
|
| February 26 2013 | The Messina Bridge project was again cancelled by prime minister Mario Monti's government due to budget constraints. |
This contents of the box above is based on material from the Wikipedia articles Sicily, Phoenicia, Mediterranean Sea & History of Cyprus, which are released under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.