Lampedusa, the Italian outpost

A very small island with only 6,000 inhabitants, Lampedusa was colonized by Italy only in the XVII century, when the King of Spain granted the island as a fief to the Italian family Tomasi. Sometime after, probably in the XIX century, the Tomasis handed over the island to the King of the Two Sicilies. It was finally annexed by the Kingdom of Italy in 1872.

In 1943, Lampedusa became the first corner of Italian metropolitan territory occupied by the Allies, despite the massive fortifications of the island.

Today, the island is sadly famous as a target of illegal immigration by boat across the Sicily Channel, and as a theater of the related tragedies.