Kingdom of Tavolara

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Kingdom of Tavolara
Regno di Tavolara
1836 – 1934 →
Flag Coat of arms
Location of Tavolara off Sardinia
Capital La Punta del Canone[1]
Languages Sardinian, Italian
Government Micronation
"King"
 -  1836-1845 Giuseppe
 - 1929-1962 Paolo II
History
 -  established 1836
 - Ceded to Italy 1934
 -  Disestablished 1934
Area
 -  1900 5 km² (2 sq mi)
Population
 -  1900 est. 55 
     Density 11 /km²  (28.5 /sq mi)
 -  1962 est. 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, however 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 "Prince" Ernesto Geremia di Tavolara 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
  • Fioretti, Ovidio, "La corona senza reame," Almanacco di Cagliari 1989
  • Geremia, Ernesto Carlo; Gino Ragnetti (2005). Tavolara - l'Isola dei Re. ISBN 88-425-3441-2. 

External links

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