Flag for Africa's North-most Island
Mal Ventre
The Island of Mal
Ventre or rather in Italian -
Isola di Mal di Ventre is the proverbial Midway in between Africa and Europe. Its name means
Isle of Negative Winds. It is politically a part of Italy, and locally governed with
Sardinia.
The colours of this flag are black, yellow, red, and green. These pan-African colours are combined with a popular symbol with Europe: the
Fluer-di-lis.
The
Fluer-
di-
lis was employed because it symbolized the direction
North on old European maps, and the isle of Mal
Ventre is arguably the most northern point of Africa. Meaning, it is closer to Africa than it is Europe. Additionally, pan-African colours blended with a
traditionally European symbol reflect with two natures of
Isola di Mal Ventre as a land caught in between Africa and Europe.
Map of America - circa 1526Made by Juan Vespucci, Nephew of Amerigo Vespucci
America was named after Juan Vepucci's famous uncleNOTICE - North is indicated with a Fluer-di-lis on the compassMal
Ventre Isle is one of thousands of islands in the
Mediterranean Sea. The Mediterranean Sea is a cultural nexus for the Old World since it has a shoreline with Africa, Europe, and Asia. This puts all the islands in the Mediterranean up for grabs, as to which continent it should be associated with.
The basic rule is whichever continent it's closest too, gets dibs. With this logic Cyprus is an Asian Isle,
Corsica a European Isle, and Mal
Ventre an African Isle. But this rule
dosen't always work out so well. Examples being, the islands of
Crete,
Sicily, and Sardinia. These isles are geographically in between two continents. The east coast of Crete is closer to mainland Asia, while its west coast is closer to mainland Europe. With Sicily its eastern coast is closer to Europe while its western coast is closer to Africa, as with Sardinia its north shore is closer to Europe while its south shore is closer to Africa.
Isola di Mal di Ventre with flag
Geographically, an isle closest to Africa But with Mal
Ventre Isle, it is wholly closer to Africa - since all of its coastlines are closer to Africa. Thus it is the most northern isle of Africa. It stands at 40 degrees north - rounded up a few seconds. Mal
Ventre Isle is much smaller than
Midway, but like Midway has become a breeding ground for birds.
The Isle of Mal
Ventre is a lonely midway point and peaceful sanctuary between two continents.