Mare Nostrum Mare Nostrum Mare Nostrum (Latin for "Our Sea") was a Roman name for the Mediterranean Sea. In Classical Latin it was pronounced [ˈma.rɛ ˈnɔs.trũ], and in Ecclesiastical Latin it is pronounced [ˈma.ɾe ˈnos.trum]. In the years following the unification of Italy in 1861, Italian nationalists who saw Italy as the successor state to the Roman Empire attempted to revive the term. The term "mare nostrum" originally was used by Romans to refer to the Tyrrhenian Sea, following their conquest of Sicily, Sardinia and Corsica during the Punic Wars with Carthage. By 30 BC, Roman domination extended from the Iberian Peninsula
Air Nostrum was established on 23 May 1994 and started operations on 15 December. It was founded as Líneas Aéreas del Mediterraneo/Air Nostrum in Valencia. In May 1997, Air Nostrum signed an agreement with Iberia to become an Iberia franchise. It acquired Iberia subsidiary Binter Mediterraneo and absorbed its operations. Following Iberia's merger with Aviaco in 1999, additional domestic and international services were taken over by Air Nostrum. It acquired Dutch airline Denim Air in 1999, but disposed of its interest in the company in 2002. Air Nostrum is owned by Nefinsa (75%), Caja Duero (22%) and Air Nostrum management (3%) and