Republic of Rose Island
From Lomwiki, the micronation encyclopaedia
| Republic of Rose Island | |
 Pennant |  Arms |
| Motto: ?
(English: ?) | |
| |
| Location: | Adriatic Sea, 11.5 km off the coast of Rimini, Italy |
| Co-ordinates: | 44º10'49"N 12º37'20"E |
| Area: | 0.0004 km2 |
| Capital: | None |
| Membership: | < 10 |
| Date of foundation: | 24 June 1968 |
| Leadership: | President Giorgio Rosa |
| Organisational structure: | Republic |
| Language: | Esperanto |
| Currency: | Mill |
The Republic of Rose Island (Esperanto: Respubliko de la Insulo de la Rozoj) was a short-lived micronation situated on a purpose-built structure in the Adriatic Sea, 11.5 kilometres off the coast of Rimini, Italy - a short distance outside what were then Italian territorial waters.
In 1967, Italian engineer Giorgio Rosa designed and funded the construction of a 400 m2 steel and concrete platform supported by nine pylons, and furnished it with a number of commercial establishments, including a restaurant, bar, nightclub, souvenir shop and post office.
The platform declared independence on 24 June 1968, under the Esperanto name Insulo de la Rozoj, with Rosa as self-declared President. Both Esperanto rozo (plural rozoj) and Italian rosa mean "rose." Soon afterwards Rose Island issued a number of stamps, including one design showing its approximate location in the Adriatic. The purported currency of the republic was the Mill and this appeared on the early stamp issues, although no coins or banknotes are known to have been produced. Mill was translated into Esperanto as Miloj on later stamp issues. It is unrelated to the Esperantist proposed world currency the spesmilo.
Rosa's actions were viewed by Italian authorities as a tax-avoidance scam, and the official response was swift and heavy-handed: a group of four police and tax inspectors landed on the platform and assumed control. Rose Island's Council of Government sent a telegram to the Italian government to protest the "violation of its sovereignty and the injury inflicted on local tourism by the military occupation", but this was ignored.
Soon afterwards the Italian Navy used explosives to destroy the facility, an act later portrayed on stamps issued by Rosa's "government in exile."
Contents |
References
- Rose Island - A Dream of Freedom by Fabio Vaccarezza, The Cinderella Philatelist, January 2007, ISSN 0009-6911, pp 42-46
- How to Start Your Own Country by Erwin S. Strauss, pub. Breakout Productions, Port Townsend, WA, 2nd ed. 1984, ISBN 1-893626-15-6, pp 129-130.
- "Republics of the Reefs": Nation-Building on the Continental Shelf and in the World's Oceans, California Western International Law Journal, vol. 25, no. 1, Fall, 1994, pp 105-06.
- Italian language website discussing the history of Rose Island and its postage stamps. Includes a scan of part of a contemporary newspaper article.
- Some pictures of Rose Island (including pictures of its destruction) and comments from the daughter of one of the people responsible for the destruction (Italian language)
- Republic of Rose Island - Isola delle Rose - Insulo de la Rozoj - English/Italian language fan site
External links
Gallery
 Giorgio Rosa in 2007. |
 Raising the pylons for Rose Island. |
 Rose Island under construction. |
 Giorgio Rosa and friends in 1967. |
 Water sports near Rose Island. |
 Police patrol near Rose Island. |
 Destruction of Rose Island. |
See also
- Principality of Sealand
- Republic of Minerva - a short-lived micronation in the Pacific Ocean created by land reclamation.
- Seasteading Institute http://www.seasteading.org/
