Kingdom of Tavolara
The Kingdom of Tavolara Regno di Tavolara (italian) Rennu di Tavolara (sardinian) | |
|---|---|
 Flag
 Coat of arms
| |
| Capital | Tavolara |
| Recognised national languages | Italian |
| Recognised regional languages | Sardinian |
| Common languages | Sardinian |
| Ethnic groups | Italians |
| Religion | Christian Catholicism |
| Demonym(s) | Tavolarians |
| Government | Monarchy |
• King of Tavolara | Tonino Bertoleoni |
| Population | |
• Estimate | 350 |
| Currency | Tavolarian Lira |
The Kingdom of Tavolara is a micronation located near the Island of Sardinia, in the Italian Republic.[1] It is located precisely on the Island of Tavolara. Today there is a small family-owned cemetery, a restaurant of the Bertoleoni descendant and a NATO base.
History
The foundation of the kingdom
In ancient times, the feudal rights enjoyed by the Tavolara family were exercised on the island,[2] which subsequently abandoned the possession of the island due to the position and the difficulties connected with its use.
At the end of XVIII century, Giuseppe Bertoleoni (of Corsican-Genoese origin) arrived near the archipelago of La Maddalena, skirting the Corsica, aboard a small ship from pleasure craft from Genoa, looking for a land to live in; he first settled on the islet of Spargi, then moved further south, on the small Mortorio Island, but, driven by the search for a more generous and hospitable island, still sailing towards south, it reached the uninhabited island of Tavolara in 1806. Here he settled with his family, dedicating himself to the breeding of wild goats, very numerous in the area[3] and characterized by a particular golden color of the teeth, caused by food.[4]
The meeting with the Savoy
In 1836 the King of Sardinia Carlo Alberto of Savoy, passing through those places (he was on his way to hunt), noticed the unknown islet: he therefore asked his sailors for information, but , not getting enough answers, he decided to land there. Introducing himself to the residents as the king of Sardinia, it seems that Giuseppe Bertoleoni, surrounded by goats with golden teeth, perhaps convinced that the one in front of him was playing a joke, replied: "And I am the king of Tavolara!".[5][6][7]
Carlo Alberto he would have stayed with him for a week and, taking leave, gave him a gold watch as a gift and - according to the Bertoleoni[8] - gave consent to recognize the independence of Tavolara: not long after it would appear that a royal parchment, signed by the king, in which Joseph and his heirs were fiefdom, arrived at the prefecture of Sassari - not therefore, recognized as a sovereign state - of Tavolara.[9][10] Of this, however, the only verbal testimony of the family remains, as the Bertoleoni family does not appear in the official noble lists of the Kingdom of Italy. Consequently his nobility is not legally recognized in the monarchical period.[11][12]
British exploration of "Vulcan"
In the meantime Giuseppe Bertoleoni was "succeeded" by his son Paolo, known as Polo[13], who proclaimed himself "king" with the name of Paul I[14], he married a Sardinian woman, Pasqua Favale, and with her he had their son Carlo (I). According to the latter, the island was visited in 1896 by envoys of the Queen Victoria, aboard the ship "Vulcan", which would tacitly acknowledge the existence of the tiny "kingdom".[15] In a photograph in which Charles I appears in the center surrounded by collateral relatives, taken on the deck of the ship, you can see the writing "Vulcan" on the belt of the young woman in the foreground..[16][17]
The Bertoleoni narrate that in a room of Buckingham Palace, a London, the photo of the "royal family" of Tavolara is preserved, in the collection of portraits of the ruling dynasties of the whole earth, with the caption: «The royal family of Tavolara, in the gulf of Terranova Pausania, the smallest kingdom in the world»[18]. "In fact", the island became part of the territory of Kingdom of Italy, at the time of the proclamation of the latter, on March 17 1861.
The last descendant
Finally, it should be noted that only a few small houses in the Spalmatore di Terra and two restaurants licensed by the municipality of Olbia belong to the Bertoleoni, while the rest of the island was granted by the Italy to NATO as military servitude or is owned by the Venetian-Roman Marzano family.
The Bertoleoni are buried in Tavolara in the small cemetery of Spalmatore di Terra, where the historian also rests Girolamo Sotgiu.[5]
The last descendant of the family, Tonino Bertoleoni, gives himself the title of King of Tavolara.[19]
Republic of Tavolara
The Republic of Tavolara had a short life from 1886 to 1895.[20]
Sovereigns of Tavolara
| Title | Name | Mandate |
|---|---|---|
| King | Giuseppe Celestino Bertoleoni Poli | 1836 – 1845 |
| King | Paolo I Bertoleoni | 1845 – 1886 |
| King | Carlo I Bertoleoni | 1886 – 1927 |
| Queen | Mariangela Bertoleoni | 1927 – 1929 |
| King | Paolo II Bertoleoni | 1929 – 1962 |
| King | Carlo II Bertoleoni | 1962 – 1993 |
| King | Antonio (Tonino) Bertoleoni | 1993 - incumbent |
Symbols
Flag
The flag is a white rectangle with a red emblem in the center with a six-pointed yellow star. Above the coat of arms is the 13-pointed crown.
Coat of arms
The coat of arms is in the shape of old French shield, red with a six-pointed yellow star and a 13-pointed crown over it.
References
- ↑ Atlante delle Micronazioni’ di Graziano Graziani, uno sguardo ottimista sul mondo
- ↑ Massimo Pittau, I cognomi della Sardegna. Significato e origine di 5.000 cognomi indigeni, Delfino editore, 1989, 88-7138-003-7
- ↑ Geremia - p. 43
- ↑ Graziani - p. 88
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 [https://web.archive.org/web/20160304094312/http://www.tavolara.it/re.htm La favola del regno di Tavolara
- ↑ Graziani - p. 89
- ↑ La crisi del re di Tavolara
- ↑ Graziani p. 90
- ↑ Geremia p. 160
- ↑ Graziani p. 91
- ↑ Andrea Borella, "Annuario della Nobiltà Italiana", Edizione XXXI, Teglio (SO), 2010, S.A.G.I. Casa Editrice, vol. 1
- ↑ Elenco delle famiglie nobili italiane del Regno d'Italia
- ↑ "È morto il Re!" La Sardegna, 8 giugno 1886, p 1
- ↑ Giovanni Saragat, "Paolo I Re di Tavolara. Un principe per burla. Storia e aneddoti." Il Nuovo Giornale, 16-17 ottobre 1895
- ↑ Geremia p. 184
- ↑ Geremia p. 134
- ↑ Graziani p. 94
- ↑ The fact is not certain, as there has never been such a room in Buckingham Palace
- ↑ “Io, il re più povero del mondo
- ↑ Micronazionalismo. Libertà, identità, indipendenza
Bibliography
- Emanuele Pagliarin, Micronazionalismo. Libertà, identità, indipendenza, Youcanprint, 2017, ISBN 9788892687981
- Stefano Vascotto, Un Viaggio in Sardegna - La magia di un'isola, Youcanprint, 2020, ISBN 9788831679008
- Duilio Chiarle, MICRONAZIONI: storia dei più piccoli Paesi del mondo, Lulu.com, 2012, ISBN 9781471683275
- Marella Giovannelli, Piccole storie di Olbia dagli Anni Venti agli Anni Cinquanta, Youcanprint, 2016
- Viviano Domenici, Altri naufragi - Storie d'amore e d'avventura, De Agostini, 2012, ISBN 9788841879092
- Donatella Bianchi, Le 100 perle del mare italiano, Rizzoli, 2012, ISBN 9788858625538
- Franco Fresi, Guida insolita ai misteri, ai segreti, alle leggende e alle curiosità della Sardegna, Newton Compton Editori, 2015, ISBN 9788854185005
- Ernesto Carlo Geremia, Gino Ragnetti, Tavolara l'isola dei re, Mursia, 2005, ISBN 9788842534419
- Graziano Graziani, Stati d'eccezione cosa sono le micronazioni, Edizioni dell'Asino, 2012, ISBN 9788863570328
- Graziano Graziani, Atlante delle micronazioni, Quodlibet, 2015, ISBN 9788874627240
- Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale di Roma, L'illustrazione popolare, E. Treves, 1911, p. 451