PANTELLARIA, Pδntalaria, or officially Panted· leria (the ancient Cossyra or Cosyra), an island in the Mediterranean, which, though only 45 miles from the African coast to the south of Cape Bon, and 75 miles from the coast of Sicily, is included in the Italian province and circondario of Trapani. It is of volcanic origin, and its area is estimated at 58 square miles. Its principal summit reaches a height of 2440 feet. Hot sulphur springs occur in various places, and there is a small salt-lake of somewhat high temperature; but there is a lack of fresh water. The principal town, Oppidolo or Pantellaria, on the north-west, lies round a port protected by two redoubts and a citadel now used as a prison. Trade is carried on with Algeria, Tunis, and Malta. From 131 vessels (12,917 tons) in 1863 the movement of the port had by 1880 increased to 923 vessels (83,524 tons). In 1881 the population of the town was 3167, that of the island 7315.

The Phoenician name DJ"⅛ξ, Iranim, on coins has led Renan to identify the island with the Inarime of the Latin poets. The capture of Cosyra by Μ. Aemilius and Servius Fulvius in the First Punic War was thought worth mentioning in the triumphal fasti, though the Carthaginians recovered possession in the following year. In modern times the island has formed a principality in the hands of the Requesens family. The bastard Italian spoken by the inhabitants shows Arabic influence.