Republic of Rose Island

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Republic of Rose Island
Respubliko de la Insulo de la Rozoj
Flag
Coat of arms
Adriatic Sea between Cesenatico and Rimini, Italy
Official languagesEsperanto
GovernmentRepublic
• President
Giorgio Rosa
Establishment24 June 1968
Currencymilo (used in stamps; no coins or notes are known to have been printed)

The Republic of Rose Island (Esperanto: Respubliko de la Insulo de la Rozoj) was a short-lived micronation on a man-made platform in the Adriatic Sea, 11 kilometres (6.8 mi) off the coast of the province of Rimini, Italy.

History

In 1967, Italian engineer Giorgio Rosa funded the construction of a 400-square-metre (4,300 sq ft) platform supported by nine pylons, and furnished it with a number of commercial establishments, including a restaurant, bar, nightclub, souvenir shop and a post office. Some reports also mention the presence of a radio station, but this remains unconfirmed.[1]

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 (plural rose) mean "rose". Soon afterwards Rose Island issued a number of stamps, including a stamp showing the approximate location of Rose Island in the Adriatic Sea. 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. This denomination was translated into Esperanto as "Miloj" on later stamp issues (it is unrelated to the Esperantist currency spesmilo).

Rosa's actions were viewed by the Italian government as a ploy to raise money from tourists while avoiding national taxation. Whether or not this was the real reason behind Rosa's micronation, the Italian government's response was swift: a group of four carabinieri and Guardia di Finanza officers landed on the "Isola delle Rose" and assumed control. The platform's Council of Government is said to have sent a telegram, presumably 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.[2]

On 13 February 1969, the Italian Navy used explosives to destroy the facility, an act later portrayed on postage stamps issued by Rosa's self-declared Government in exile.[3]

Politics

Titolo Nominativo Mandato della carica
Presidente del Consiglio dei Dipartimenti Giorgio Rosa 1968 - 1969
Ministro degli Affari Esteri Cesarina Mezzini 1968 - 1969
Ministro delle Relazioni Luciano Molè 1968 - 1969
Ministro dell'Industria e del Commercio Luciano Marchetti 1968 - 1969
Ministro degli Affari Interni Carlo Chierici 1968 - 1969
Ministro delle Finanze Maria Alvergna 1968 - 1969
Capo Dipartimento della Presidenza Antonio Malossi 1968 - 1969

Symbols

The first flag

Flag

The flag is an orange rectangle with a white emblem with three roses in the center.

Coat at arms

The coat of arms is in the shape of a French shield, in white with a rose.

See also

References

External links