686 



MALTA AND GOZZO. 



Ithaca or TheaJd lies between Cephalonia and the continent It is 50 miles in circumference, 

 and is rocky and mountainous. Population, 8,000. 



Zante, the ancient Zacynthus-, lies near the Morea, 17 miles southeast of Cephalonia. It is 

 24 miles long and half as broad. It is pleasant and fertile. Its chief production is currants, 

 of which it exports annually 7,000,000 or 8,000,000 pounds, being somewhat more than half 

 the quantity produced in all the Ionian islands. Here is a spring of bitumen which aflbrds 

 100 barrels yearly. The population of the island is 50,000. Zanie^ the capital, is the only 

 arge town ; it has a good harbor and 20,000 inhabitants. 



Cerigo, the ancient Cyt/iera, lies on the southern coast of the jNIorea. It is 17 miles long 

 and 10 broad. It is mountainous, and abounds with hares, quails, turtle, and falcons. Large 

 flocks of sheep and goats are reared here. Population, 10,000. The capital is Capsali. 



These islands, after having been under the sway of the Greeks, Romans, Venetians, and 

 French, were taken by the British, in 1810, and remained in their hands till 1815, when they 

 were declared an independent State under the protection of Great Britain. 



Malta, Gozzo^ and Comino. These islands belong to the British. They lie about 50 



miles south of Sicily. 

 Malta is 20 miles 

 long and 12 broad, 

 and was originally 

 nothing but a barren 

 rock, but such quan- 

 tities of soil have 

 been carried to it from 

 Sicily and Africa, 

 that it is now fertile 

 and well cultivated. 

 Oranges, lemons, figs, 

 cotton, and wine are 

 produced. Here is 

 still pointed out the 

 scene of St. Paul's 

 j.^5ggTO^ shipwreck, on his 

 voyage to Rome, al- 

 though some writers 

 think, that the island 

 of Melita mentioned 

 in Scripture, is in the 

 Adriatic Sea. The 

 population is 80,000 ; 

 they are of Arabian 

 descent, mixed with 

 Italians and Greeks. 

 Their language is a 

 medley of different 

 tongues, among which 

 Arabic is predomin 

 ant 



Catholic. 



The capital, Valet- 

 ta, is remarkable for 

 the magnificence of 

 its buildings, and the 

 strength of its fortifi- 

 cations. The church 



of St. .Tohn, and the palace of the grand-master of the knights of St. .lohn, are noble, build- 

 ings ; the latter contains a magnificent armory. The hotels of the knights, the great hospital, 

 with its accommodations for 2,000 patients, who were attended by the knights, and its vessels 

 of solid silver, and the immense granaries, cut out of the rock, and capable of containing corn 



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aJ y 

 (0, 



The religion is 



St. Paul's Bay. 



