Italian Islands of the Aegean

Italian Islands of the Aegean Isole italiane dell'Egeo (Italian) Ἰταλικαὶ Νῆσοι Αἰγαίου Πελάγους (Greek) Italiká nisiá tou Aigaíou Ege'deki İtalyan Adaları (Turkish)
1912–1945
Flag Coat of arms
Motto: Per l'onore d'Italia "For the honour of Italy"
Anthem: Giovinezza[1]
Status	Italian Colony
Capital	Rhodes
Official languages	Italian
Common languages	Greek (Aegean Greek), Turkish (Aegean Turkish)
Religion	Catholic (State) Greek Orthodox, Islam
Government	Colonial Administration
King
• 1912–1945	Victor Emmanuel III
Governor
• 1912–1913 (first)	Giovanni Ameglio
• 1943–1945 (last)	Iginio Ugo Faralli [it]
Historical era	Interwar / WWII
• Italian occupation	27 April 1912
• Italian annexation	24 July 1923
• Dodecanese campaign	8 September 1943
• German occupation	11 September 1943
• German surrender	8 May 1945
• Ceded to Greece	10 February 1947
Currency	Italian lira
Preceded by Succeeded by Sanjak of Rhodes Sanjak of Sakız Kingdom of Greece
Today part of	Greece

The Italian Islands of the Aegean (Italian: Isole italiane dell'Egeo; Greek: Ἰταλικαὶ Νῆσοι Αἰγαίου Πελάγους; Turkish: Ege'deki İtalyan Adaları) were an archipelago of fourteen islands (the Dodecanese, except Kastellorizo) in the southeastern Aegean Sea, that—together with the surrounding islets—were ruled by the Kingdom of Italy from 1912 to 1943 and the Italian Social Republic (under German occupation) from 1943 to 1945. When the Kingdom of Italy was restored, they remained under formal Italian possession (under British occupation) until they were ceded to Greece in 1947 under the Treaty of Paris.