1. Sea - Well, that one was kind of obvious - the Mediterranean sea lends it's name to an entire region.
2. Cuisine - The general perception of Mediterranean cuisine is that it consist of stuff like fruit, vegetable, seafood and chicken, with ingredients like olive oil, pasta, tomatoes, and other fresh produce.
Whilst this is largely true, I think people have a bit of an overly stereotypical idea of what constitutes "Mediterranean food".
Actually the cuisine can vary greatly from country to country, and even region to region!
3. Holidays, sunbathing and tanned skin - I think it's hard to think 'Mediterranean" and not think sunshine.
Let's just say that movie was so bad it left an impression on me. But what could be more Mediterranean than Italian soldiers in Greece? Right?? Look, he even does the "Mediterranean hand gestures":
