Lampedusa

Lampedusa (Isola di Lampedusa in Italian) is the largest of the Pelagie Islands in the Mediterranean Sea, 205 km from Sicily and 113 km Tunisia. Politically and administratively it is a part of Italy, but geologically it belongs to Africa since the sea between the two is no deeper than 120 meters. The island's 20 sq.km. are arid, with no sources of water other than irregular rainfall. The island's population of 5300 subsists on fishing, agriculture and tourism.

Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa (1896 - 1957), the very private Sicilian aristocrat, wrote Il Gattopardo (The Leopard), which was published posthumously in 1958 (and filmed in 1963). The book is rated among the half dozen greatest Italian novels of all time, and figured as one of the hundred great books of the 20th century in all the various lists that appeared in 2000.

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