Venetian rule in the Ionian Islands of raisins from the islands. Another measure was the ", a heavy export tax for foreign ships. The currency of the islands during Venetian rule was the Venetian lira, as in Venice. There was a special issue for the Islands; the observe side of it has the complete or shertened inscription CORFU/CEFALONIA/ZANTE in three lines. The reserve depicts the winged and haloed lion of Saint Marc in a front view, holding the book of the Gospel in his fore-paws. The Ionian Islands formed part of the Venetian maritime trade route to the Orient. When the central Ionian Islands were captured
Venetian rule in the Ionian Islands language they want and especially the Italian as it's the language with the greatest preference on the Ionian Islands". These cultural remnants of the Venetian period were the pretext of Mussolini's desire to incorporate the Ionian Islands into the Kingdom of Italy. Even before the outbreak of World War II and the Greek-Italian War, Mussolini had expressed his wish to annex the Ionian Islands as part of his wider plans for an Italian Empire centered around the Mediterranean Sea. On 15 October, in a meeting in the Palazzo Venezia, he made the final decision to invade Greece. His initial goal