Pityusic Islands

Pityusic Islands
*Pitiüses*
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Etymology	[Πιτυοῦσσαι] Error: {{Lang-xx}}: text has italic markup (help), Pityûssai: pine-covered (islands)
Geography
Location	Mediterranean Sea
Coordinates	38°42′N 1°27′E / 38.700°N 1.450°E
Archipelago	Balearic Islands
Area	655.8 km2 (253.2 sq mi)
Highest elevation	476 m (1562 ft)
Administration
	Spain
Demographics
Population	142,599
Pop. density	217.44/km2 (563.17/sq mi)

The Pityusic Islands,^[1]^[2] often referenced simply as the Pityuses (Catalan: Pitiüses [pitiˈuzəs], Spanish: Pitiusas; 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

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

In antiquity they were known as the Pityusa islands, listed in Claudius Ptolemy's Geography, under the names Ophiusis and Ebyssus, which had a town of the same name. The islands were used by Cilician pirates as a base. The Roman general Annius drove them out with a large fleet and with them the Roman renegade general Quintus Sertorius, who was seeking refuge there.

Administration

The Pine Islands are sometimes grouped together as part of the Balearic Islands, or else considered separate with the Balearics proper being Majorca and Minorca (which together with their islets, are forming 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.