Saseno

Sazan

Sazan as seen from Vlorë
Sazan
Geography
Location	Bay of Vlorë; Adriatic Sea
Coordinates	40°30′N 19°17′E / 40.500°N 19.283°E / 40.500; 19.283Coordinates: 40°30′N 19°17′E / 40.500°N 19.283°E / 40.500; 19.283
Area	5.7 km2 (2.2 sq mi)
Highest elevation	342 m (1,122 ft)
Administration
Albania
County	Vlorë
Municipality	Vlorë
Municipal unit	Qendër Vlorë
Demographics
Population	0

Sazan (definite Albanian form: Sazani; Italian: Saseno, Ancient Greek: Σάσων) is a small island in Qendër Vlorë, Vlorë County in Albania. It is strategically located between the Strait of Otranto and the entrance to the Bay of Vlorë and has an area of 5.7 km² (2.2 sq mi) with no civil population. In addition to being the largest island in Albania, it is a military facility and sometimes in clear weather it may be seen by eye from the coast of Salento, Italy. More than half of the island's surrounding marine area forms part of the Karaburun-Sazan National Marine Park. In 2014, the Regina Blu ferry was established by a Radhime-based hotel owner making trips to Karaburun Peninsula and Sazan Island while stopping along the secluded beaches.[1] The island was open to the public in July 2015.

The island was known as Sason (Greek: Σάσων) in antiquity and was already mentioned by Polybius in a military episode taking place in 215 BC. Part of the Roman and Byzantine empires, it was captured by the Anjou of Naples in 1279, and was held by Albanian lords in the 14th century, often under the protection of Venice. The Ottoman Turks captured it around 1400, but it belonged to the Venetians by 1696. From then on, it follows the fate of the Ionian Islands, which were eventually given to Britain in 1815 as an autonomous republic under British protection.