Venetian rule in the Ionian Islands to south, including their Greek and Italian names in parentheses: Cythera and Lefkada were additionally called ' or ' and " respectively by the Ottomans. During the Roman Empire, the Ionian Islands were variously part of the provinces of Achaea and Epirus vetus. These would form, with the exception of Cythera, the Byzantine theme of Cephallenia in the late 8th century. From the late 11th century, the Ionian Islands became a battleground in the Byzantine–Norman Wars. The island of Corfu was held by the Normans in 1081–1085 and 1147–1149, while the Venetians unsuccessfully besieged it in 1122–1123. The island of
Adriatic Ionian Euroregion Adriatic Ionian Euroregion The Adriatic Ionian Euroregion is a Euroregion comprising countries and their subdivisions bordering the Adriatic and Ionian Sea. The president of the organization is Nikola Dobroslavic, President of the Region of Dubrovnik. The Euroregion is formally established as a non-profit organization according to the law of Croatia. The Adriatic Ionian Euroregion was founded on June 30, 2006 in Pula, Region of Istria, Croatia. It represents a model of co-operation that includes trans-national and inter-regional co-operation between regions of the Adriatic and Ionian coastline. The Adriatic Ionian Euroregion is the institutional framework for jointly defining and solving important