Principality of Seborga
Principality of Seborga Micronation | |
---|---|
Motto: Sub umbra sedi[1] | |
Anthem: La Speranza[1] | |
Location | Seborga |
Official languages | Italian |
Religion | Roman Catholic |
Demonym(s) | Seborgan |
Organizational structure | Elective monarchy |
• Prince/Princess |
|
Establishment | |
• Declared | 1963 |
Area claimed | |
• Total | 14 km2 (5.4 sq mi) |
Population | |
• Estimate | 297 |
• Density | 21.2/km2 (54.9/sq mi) |
Purported currency | Seborga luigino (de jure) Euro (de facto) |
Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC+2 (CEST) |
Website www |
The Principality of Seborga (Italian: Principato di Seborga) is an unrecognised micronation that claims a 14 km2 (5.4 sq mi; 3,500-acre) area located in the northwestern Italian Province of Imperia in Liguria, near the French border, and about 35 kilometres (20 mi) from Monaco.[2] The principality is coextensive with the town of Seborga; assertions of sovereignty were instigated in 1963 by a local campaigner based on unproven claims about territorial settlements made by the Congress of Vienna after the Napoleonic Wars.
History
The claim of sovereignty for Seborga was put forward in 1963 by a Seborgan former
Carbone promoted the idea of Seborgan independence as a principality, and in 1963 the town's inhabitants elected him as their putative head of state. Carbone assumed the style and title His Tremendousness (Sua Tremendità) Giorgio I, Prince of Seborga.[2][4] He formed a "cabinet" of ministers; minted a local currency, the luigino; introduced a Seborgan flag, a white cross on a blue background; and established a Latin motto, Sub Umbra Sede (Sit in the shade). Carbone's campaign has generally not been taken seriously and is widely viewed as a ruse to attract tourists to the town, although his supporters in the town claim that their small state has been recognised by Burkina Faso.[2][5]
Giorgio Carbone retained his ceremonial position until his death on 25 November 2009.
On 12 April 2019, Menegatto abdicated from his position,[10] and he was succeeded by his ex-wife, Nina Menegatto, who was elected by the town as Her Serene Highness Princess Nina on 10 November 2019.[11]
Title | Given name | Reign began | Reign ended |
---|---|---|---|
Prince Giorgio I | Giorgio Carbone | 14 May 1963 | 25 November 2009 |
Prince Marcello I | Marcello Menegatto | 25 April 2010[8][12] | 10 November 2019 |
Princess Nina | Nina Menegatto | 10 November 2019[11] | incumbent |
Pretenders to the throne of Seborga include the self-styled "Princess" Yasmine von Hohenstaufen Anjou Plantagenet,[13][4] and Nicolas Mutte, a French writer.[14]
Seborga today
Seborga's independence claims continue today, and an official Principato di Seborga website asserts the historical arguments put forward by Carbone.[15] Seborga claims to maintain a volunteer border guard, the Corpo delle Guardie. Participants wear a blue-and-white uniform and during the tourist season they stand guard at sentry boxes on the unofficial border crossing on the main road into Seborga.[6][16]
The unrecognised micronation that claims Seborga Town understands that the town still falls directly within the laws and borders of Italy.[17]
Currency
Seborga's
Population
As of 1 January 2018, Seborga had a population of 297 people, with 146 males and 151 females.[20]
Flags
Notes
- ^ a b "Bandiera, stemma, inno" (in Italian). Principato di Seborga. 8 February 2014. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
- ^ a b c d e "Obituary: His Tremendousness Giorgio Carbone". The Telegraph. 27 November 2009. Archived from the original on 1 December 2009. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
- ISBN 978-0-7391-7427-2. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
- ^ a b "Prince of Seborga fights on for 362 subjects | Liguria | ITALY Magazine". The Telegraph. 15 June 2006. Archived from the original on 19 November 2010. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
- ^ Anneli Rufus (11 September 2014). "Seborga: The Micronation Inside Italy Where Time Stands Still". HuffPost. Retrieved 5 May 2018.
- ^ a b c Squires, Nick (18 March 2017). "Radio DJ from West Sussex vies to become next leader of tiny self-declared principality in Italy". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 11 November 2020. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
- ^ Seborga Times, Article "Seborga will crown his new elected Prince: Menegatto I"
- ^ a b Squires, Nick (27 April 2010). "Tiny Italian principality announces new monarch called 'His Tremendousness'". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 18 June 2010.
- ^ "S.A.S. il Principe di Seborga". Principato di Seborga (in Italian). Archived from the original on 28 September 2019. Retrieved 28 September 2019.
- ^ Letter of resignation Archived 2019-09-28 at the Wayback Machine on principatodiseborga.com
- ^ a b Vogt, Andrea (10 November 2019). "'Her Tremendousness' elected leader of self-declared micro-nation on hilltop in Italy". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 11 November 2019.
- ^ "The King of Nylon: 'kingdom' of Seborga ruled by hosiery heir". The Metro. London. 28 April 2010. Archived from the original on 16 November 2012. Retrieved 18 June 2010.
- ^ Moore, Malcolm (13 June 2006). "Battle rages for His Tremendousness's throne | Italy | Europe | International News | News | Telegraph". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 11 March 2007. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
- ^ Squires, Nick (22 June 2016). "Ruler of self-declared principality on the Italian Riviera faces 'coup d'etat' from rival". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 22 June 2016. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
- ^ "Why we are independent". Principality of Seborga.
- ^ "Le Guardie". Principato di Seborga (in Italian). Archived from the original on 9 January 2021. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
- ^ Jacopo Prisco. "Seborga: The Italian village that wants to be a country". CNN. Retrieved 2022-03-29.
- ^ "The luigini". Principality of Seborga.
- ^ "Festa di San Bernardo 2023 / Resoconto della giornata, rassegna stampa, foto, video – Presentata la prima banconota della storia del Principato di Seborga". Principality of Seborga.
- ^ "Statistiche demografiche ISTAT". demo.istat.it. Imperia. Retrieved 2019-03-21.
- ^ a b c "Seborga (Liguria, Italy)". www.crwflags.com. Retrieved 2021-04-05.
Bibliography
- Caïs de Pierlas, Eugène (1884). I Conti di Ventimiglia, il priorato di San Michele ed il principato di Seborga. Turin: G. B. Paravia.
External links
- (in Italian) Official website
- Official English-language blog
- (in Italian) La Gazzetta di Seborga