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
2018 Ionian Sea earthquake suffered major damage from a 1953 earthquake. The event was felt in eight different countries, including in the Balkans, Italy, Malta as well as coasts of Africa and Turkey. The main shock was followed by multiple aftershocks in the following days, including undersea aftershocks of magnitude 4.4 and 5 over a week after the initial earthquake. The largest reported aftershock was of magnitude 5.6 the day of the initial earthquake. 2018 Ionian Sea earthquake A strong earthquake measuring magnitude occurred in the Ionian Sea near the coasts of Greece during the night between 25 and 26 October 2018 at 22:54:51