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The Republic of Rose Island ( eo, Respubliko de la Insulo de la Rozoj; it, Repubblica dell'Isola delle Rose) was a short-lived
micronation A micronation is a political entity whose members claim that they belong to an independent nation or sovereign state, but which lacks legal recognition by world governments or major international organizations. Micronations are classified ...
on a man-made platform in the
Adriatic Sea The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Sea) to th ...
, off the coast of the province of
Rimini Rimini ( , ; rgn, Rémin; la, Ariminum) is a city in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy and capital city of the Province of Rimini. It sprawls along the Adriatic Sea, on the coast between the rivers Marecchia (the ancient ''Ariminu ...
, Italy. It was built by the Italian engineer Giorgio Rosa, who made himself its president and declared it an independent state on 1 May 1968. Rose Island had its own government, currency, post office, and commercial establishments, and the official language was
Esperanto Esperanto ( or ) is the world's most widely spoken constructed international auxiliary language. Created by the Warsaw-based ophthalmologist L. L. Zamenhof in 1887, it was intended to be a universal second language for international communic ...
. However, it was never formally recognized as a sovereign state by any country of the world. Viewed by the Italian government as a ploy by Rosa to raise money from tourists while avoiding national taxation, Rose Island was occupied by the Italian police forces on 26 June 1968, subject to naval blockade, and eventually demolished in February 1969. Since the first decade of the 2000s, Rose Island's history has been the subject of documentary research and rediscoveries based on the
utopia A utopia ( ) typically describes an imaginary community or society that possesses highly desirable or nearly perfect qualities for its members. It was coined by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book '' Utopia'', describing a fictional island soc ...
n aspect of its genesis.


Name

The entity that was to be established on the artificial platform took the name, in the
Esperanto Esperanto ( or ) is the world's most widely spoken constructed international auxiliary language. Created by the Warsaw-based ophthalmologist L. L. Zamenhof in 1887, it was intended to be a universal second language for international communic ...
language, of (in it, Libero Territorio dell'Isola delle Rose), which later became (Esperanto Republic of the Isle of Roses). It is believed that the Esperanto term (in it, rose, links=no) was borrowed from the surname of Giorgio Rosa, the designer and builder of the artificial platform, as well as the creator and inspirer of the state entity, as well as from his desire to "see roses bloom on the sea".


History

In 1967, the Italian engineer Giorgio Rosa funded the construction of a 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 1 May 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 A rose is either a woody perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred species and tens of thousands of cultivars. They form a group of plants that can be ...
". Soon afterwards, Rose Island issued a number of stamps, including one showing the approximate location of Rose Island in the Adriatic Sea. The purported currency of the republic was the
mill Mill may refer to: Science and technology * * Mill (grinding) * Milling (machining) * Millwork * Textile mill * Steel mill, a factory for the manufacture of steel * List of types of mill * Mill, the arithmetic unit of the Analytical Engine early ...
, and this appeared on early stamp issues, although no coins or banknotes are known to have been produced. It had equivalent value to the
Italian lira The lira (; plural lire) was the currency of Italy between 1861 and 2002. It was first introduced by the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy in 1807 at par with the French franc, and was subsequently adopted by the different states that would eventually ...
. The denomination's name was translated into Esperanto as ''milo'' (plural ''miloj'') on later stamp issues (it was unrelated to the Esperantist currency
spesmilo The ''spesmilo'' (, plural ''spesmiloj'' ) is an obsolete decimal international currency, proposed in 1907 by René de Saussure and used before World War I by a few Great Britain, British and Switzerland, Swiss banks, primarily the Ĉekbanko Espe ...
). Rosa's actions were viewed by the
Italian government The government of Italy is in the form of a democratic republic, and was established by a constitution in 1948. It consists of legislative, executive, and judicial subdivisions, as well as a Head of State, or President. The Italian Consti ...
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 The Carabinieri (, also , ; formally ''Arma dei Carabinieri'', "Arm of Carabineers"; previously ''Corpo dei Carabinieri Reali'', "Royal Carabineers Corps") are the national gendarmerie of Italy who primarily carry out domestic and foreign polic ...
and
Guardia di Finanza The ''Guardia di Finanza'' (G. di F. or GdF) () (English: literal: ''Guard of Finance'', paraphrased: ''Financial Police'' or ''Financial Guard'') is an Italian law enforcement agency under the authority of the Minister of Economy and Finance. ...
officers landed on the island and assumed control. 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 A government in exile (abbreviated as GiE) is a political group that claims to be a country or semi-sovereign state's legitimate government, but is unable to exercise legal power and instead resides in a foreign country. Governments in exile ...
. Only one death was counted but never confirmed: apparently, Rosa's dog was on the platform during the facility's detonation. Rosa died in 2017, having given his blessing for a film to be made about Rose Island. This was released in 2020.


In popular culture

* Rose Island is featured in the Italian comic book '' Martin Mystère'', n. 193. * '' Rose Island'', a 2020 film based on the story of the micronation, directed by
Sydney Sibilia Sydney Sibilia (born 19 November 1981) is an Italian film director, producer, and screenwriter. Filmography *''I Can Quit Whenever I Want ''I Can Quit Whenever I Want'' ( it, Smetto quando voglio) is a 2014 Italian crime comedy film directed ...
, was released on
Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a ...
on 8 December 2020.


See also

* REM Island, a platform towed into international waters for the purposes of
offshore radio Offshore radio is radio broadcasting from ships or fixed maritime structures. Offshore broadcasters are usually unlicensed but transmissions are legal in international waters. This is in contrast to unlicensed broadcasting on land or within a na ...
broadcasting. * Republic of Minerva, a short-lived artificial island micronation in the
Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the conti ...
. * Sealand, a declared principality near the United Kingdom, built on a World War II sea fort.


References


Further reading

* * *


External links


Italian-language website
- discusses the history of Rose Island and its postage stamps. Includes a scan of part of a contemporary newspaper article. * (including pictures of its destruction) and comments from the daughter of one of the people responsible for the destruction (Italian language) {{DEFAULTSORT:Rose Island, Republic of Micronations in Italy Artificial islands of Italy Esperanto Seasteading States and territories established in 1968 States and territories disestablished in 1969 Former unrecognized countries Micronations Short-lived governments and regimes Former republics