Kingdom of Tavolara

Kingdom of Tavolara
Regno di Tavolara
Micronation
Flag Coat of Arms
Status Inactive
CapitalLa Punta del Canone[1]
Official languages Sardinian, Italian
Ethnic groups Italian
Demonym Tavolaran
Organizational structure Monarchy
 •  King Giuseppe
 •  King Paolo II
Establishment
 •  Declared 1836 
Area claimed
 •  Total 5 km2
2 sq mi
Population
 •  estimate 57

The Kingdom of Tavolara was an imaginary state claiming independence in the 19th and 20th centuries in Tavolara Island, off the northeast coast of Sardinia. Set up by the Bertoleoni family, it claimed to be one of the smallest kingdoms in the world.

Giuseppe Bertoleoni claimed to be its monarch. When he died in the 1840s, his eldest son became "King" Paolo I.

Tavolara, the royal grave.

During his reign, in 1861 the Italian government paid 12,000 lire for land at the northeast end of the island to build a lighthouse, which began operating in 1868.[2][3]

After Paolo's death in 1886,[4] a number of newspapers published the report that according to his will, the island had become a republic. The New York Times described a government with president and council of six elected every six years by a vote of the people, male and female.[5] Others reported on Tavolara's alleged third presidential election in 1896.[6][7] These reports, however, did not end the Bertoleone "kingdom".[8]

The third "king" of Tavolara was Carlo I, who was succeeded upon his death in 1928 by his son "King" Paolo II.[9] Paolo went abroad, however, and left Carlo's sister Mariangela as regent in his absence. Mariangela died in 1934, leaving the "kingdom" to Italy.[10]

Her nephew Paolo II still claimed the kingdom until his death in 1962, a year that marked the installation of a NATO station on the island.

The present head of the Bertoleoni family is Tonino Bertoleoni, who runs "Da Tonino", a restaurant on the island. Politically, the interests of the micronation are represented in its external dealings by Ernesto Geremia of La Spezia, Italy, who has written a history of the island.[11]

The tomb of Paolo I is in the graveyard on the island, surmounted by a crown.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Meissner, Hans Otto (1963). Unknown Europe. trans. Florence and Isabel McHugh. London and Glasgow: Blackie & Sons. p. 27.
  2. ↑ "La République de Tavolara". A travers le monde aux pays inconnus. Paris: Librairie Hachette. 1896. p. 176.
  3. ↑ "Notice to Mariners," London Gazette, Aug 28, 1868, p 4734
  4. ↑ "E morto il Re!" La Sardegna, June 8, 1886, p 1
  5. ↑ "Smallest State in the World" (PDF). New York Times. June 19, 1896. p. 6.
  6. ↑ "Tiny Nation to Vote: Smallest Republic in the World to Hold a Presidential Election," Lowell Daily Sun, Sep 17, 1896
  7. ↑ "Nation of 55 People: Republic of Tavolara in Its Third Presidential Campaign" Boston Globe, Jan 10, 1897, p 34
  8. ↑ Meissner, Hans Otto (1963). Unknown Europe. trans. Florence and Isabel McHugh. London and Glasgow: Blackie & Sons. p. 23.
  9. ↑ "Tavolara's King Dies; Ruled Tiniest Realm; Charles Bartoleoni Was Monarch of Small Island Off Sardinia's Coast". New York Times. February 1, 1928. p. 27. Retrieved 7 September 2009.
  10. ↑ "Italy Gets Queen's Island of Tavolara," Hartford Courant, July 9, 1934, p 15
  11. ↑ Geremia, Ernesto Carlo, and Gino Ragnetti (2005), Tavolara - l'Isola dei Re, ISBN 88-425-3441-2

External links

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