Republic of the Island of Roses
The Isla de las Rosas (in Esperanto, Insulo de la Rozoj), whose official name was Esperanto Republic of the Isla de las Rosas (eng. Esperanta Respubliko de la Insulo de la Rozoj), was the name of a 400 m² artificial platform that was located on the Adriatic Sea, 11,612 meters from the coast between Rimini and Bellaria -Igea Marina and 500 meters outside the Italian territorial waters; Conceived by the Bolognese engineer Giorgio Rosa in 1958 and completed in 1967, on May 1, 1968 it declared itself an independent state, but in reality it was a micronation.
Although it gave itself an official language (Esperanto), a government, a currency, and a postage stamp, it was never formally recognized by any country in the world as an independent nation. Occupied by Italian police forces on June 26, 1968 and subject to a naval blockade, it was demolished in February 1969. The episode was slowly forgotten, considered for decades only an attempt to "urbanise" the sea to obtain commercial advantages. Only since the first decade of the 2000s has it been the subject of investigations, documentaries and rediscoveries focused on the utopian aspect of its genesis.
Toponymy
The entity to be established on the artificial platform was initially named as, in Esperanto, Libera Territorio de la Insulo de la Rozoj (in Spanish, Free Territory of the Island de las Rosas), later becoming Esperanta Respubliko de la Insulo de la Rozoj (Esperanto Republic of the Island of Roses).
It is believed that the term Rozoj (in Spanish, rosas) was taken from the last name of Giorgio Rosa, designer and builder of the artificial platform, as well as the creator and inspiration of the state entity, and for his desire to "see how the roses bloom in the sea".
History
Construction of the island and opening to the public
In 1958, the Bolognese engineer Giorgio Rosa decided to build a structure of steel tubes welded to the ground, to be transported floating to the chosen point (outside Italian territorial waters) and installed. The company Cement Injection Experimental Society was then established, whose president was Gabriella Chierici, his wife and his technical director. The first inspection of the chosen point, off the coast of Rimini, some 11.5 kilometers out to sea, took place between July 15 and 16, 1958, using a sextant and lining up with the lighthouse of the city's skyscraper. For the base of his island, Rosa proposed the hypothesis of raising the seabed with a system of dredging the sand retained by the algae. The inspections were carried out on a ship, built of steel and powered by a Fiat 500 engine, and continued through the summer of 1960, twice a week, based in a cabin on the Rimini quay.
In the summer of 1962, however, due to technical and financial problems, construction was halted; Furthermore, in October of the same year, the Italian authorities ordered its removal for being an obstacle to navigation. On May 30, 1964, the port authorities of Rimini, Ravenna and Pesaro were contacted to opt for a space on the docks, for the supply of diesel and for the construction of the island structure in the shipyards and to publish a notice to mariners about the presence of structures.
During 1965 and 1966, the installation of the structure continued, but very slowly due to adverse weather and sea conditions, which prevented it from operating more than three days a week. On November 23, 1966, the Rimini Port Authority ordered the cessation of works without authorization, since the area was under concession to the Eni oil company. The following January 23, the police also took an interest in the matter and asked for confirmation that it was an experimental work. On May 20, 1967, a freshwater aquifer was found by drilling at a depth of 280 meters from the island's surface. On August 20, 1967, the island was opened to the public.
Meanwhile, the works continued on the island: a reinforced brick surface was built on the stilts at 8 meters above sea level, from which walls were built to delimit rooms. The available area was 400 m². The construction of a second floor began, with the idea of making five floors. The landing area (the Haveno Verda, in Spanish Puerto Verde) was improved - which was done through piers and stairs - with rubber tubes filled with fresh water (weighing less than that of salt water) to pool the space of water intended for landing; this solution had already been adopted on similar platforms in the UK.
The island unilaterally declared its independence on May 1, 1968, with Giorgio Rosa as president. Giorgio Rosa's statement was made public with a press conference on June 24, 1968.
Reaction of the Italian government
In the spring of 1968, the city saw maritime traffic from the Italian coast to the Isla de las Rosas and vice versa, causing growing concern on the part of the Italian police. Rosa's actions were seen by the Italian government as a ploy to collect tourist revenue without paying taxes, since the island was easily accessible from the Italian coast. Soon the government arranged for a patrol of boats from the Finance Guard and the nearest port authority to the platform, preventing anyone, including the builders, from docking there, carrying out a naval blockade.
At that time the Island of Roses had only one permanent inhabitant, Pietro Bernardini, who, having been shipwrecked in the Adriatic Sea during a storm, arrived on the platform after 8 hours at sea. He subsequently leased the platform for a year.
On June 21, 1968, Rosa had an interview with Captain Barnabà of the Defense Information Service, the Italian military secret service, after the government received information that the micronation had acquired (or intended to acquire) his own small medium wave radio station, allegedly in order to have a means of information that would sensitize the public to his own cause and counteract the repressive actions of the Italian government.
Whatever the real reason behind the platform, the Italian government responded quickly and decisively: 55 days after the declaration of independence, on Tuesday, June 25, 1968 at 7:00 a.m., a dozen Police boats with agents from DIGOS, the Carabineros and the Finance Guard surrounded the platform and took possession of it, without any act of violence. Any docking to the island was prohibited, so the guardian Pietro Ciavatta and his wife, the only people on the island at this time, were not allowed to disembark on land.
The Government of the Esperanto Republic of the Island of Roses sent a telegram to the President of the Italian Republic, Giuseppe Saragat, lamenting «the violation of their sovereignty and the wound inflicted on local tourism by the military occupation”, being ignored.
On July 5, 1968, the deputy for the Italian Social Movement, Stefano Menicacci, transmitted the following question to the Minister of the Interior Francesco Restivo:
"The undersigned asks the Minister of the Interior to know what the official position adopted in the matter by the Ministry regarding the construction called "Insulo de la Rozoj" existing in front of the coast of Rimini, and in particular the instructions given to the Italian maritime authorities against the existence of such large marine artifacts.In addition, the questioner would like to know whether it responds to the truth that the captainship of the port of Rimini already more than a year ago by order of the Minister had given the order of suspension of the works and the reasons for it, in contravention of the ministerial orders, not only continued, but gave rise to a construction with conditions of habitability, business lease, printing of stamps, placing of flag and coinage, until the existence of the Italian state.
The questioner also wants to know how he intends to intervene in the strongest terms for the timely compliance in this case of the Navigation Code and the laws of the Republic, as well as for the respect -within the national legal system - of the authority of the State also to not cause "after" economic and moral damages against the uncontrolled actions of third parties".Stefano Menicacci Parliamentary Question (3-00077) MENICACCI
On July 9, various purchase proposals for the island arrived in Rosa. On July 10, Deputy Nicola Pagliarani, from the Italian Communist Party, sent the following question to the Minister of the Interior:
“To the Minister of the Interior. In order to know the precedents and the official position in the Ministry's case regarding the construction called the Rozoj Insulo in front of the coast of Rimini, of which there has been extensive coverage of the national and foreign press. "Nicola Pagliarani Parliamentary Question (4-00473) PAGLIARANI
The following day, the Italian authorities allowed the guard Piero Ciavatta and his wife to disembark in Rimini.
Demolition of the platform
On August 7, 1968, Rosa was interrogated by Dr. Mariani from the Bologna police headquarters and the following day decree no. 519601/1.20 of the Ministry of the Merchant Marine of the Nation, addressed to the Captaincy of the Port of Rimini, with which it notified Rosa's company, SPIC, to proceed with the demolition of the structure built off the coast of Rimini, with the warning that otherwise the demolition would be carried out ex officio. The Italian government authorities estimated that the demolition of the island would cost around 31 million lire, about 264,000 euros per year 2006.
On August 27, Rosa filed a two-page appeal in court (n. 756/68), signed by Chierici, in her capacity as president of SPIC, and by lawyers Elvio Fusaro and Enzo Bruzzi, before the Port Authority of Rimini and the Office of Appeals of the Council of State in Rome with the request to suspend the decree.
On September 21 and 22, the members of the sixth section of the Council of State that was to judge the case were appointed: Vincenzo Uccellatore as president, the rapporteur Mario Gora, the councilors Carlo Anelli, Lorenzo Cuonzo, Alfano Quaranta and Mario Egidio Schinaia, and the secretary Pasquale Del Po. On September 24, the Commission issued a favorable opinion on a question posed by the Ministry of the Merchant Marine regarding the measures to be adopted for the eviction of the island. On September 27, the appeal was processed at the first hearing; a second session was held on October 8, where the appeal was rejected; later it was learned that two members, the rapporteur Mario Gora and the director Lorenzo Cuonzo, voted in favor of the appeal.
On October 6, the lawyer Praga proposed to Rosa to bring in Nicola Catalano, a former judge of the Court of Justice of the European Communities, for an appeal to the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, France. The assistant judicial bailiff Nello Vanini notified the Rimini Harbor Master's Office, for information, of a subsequent appeal filed with the court (n. 951/68), eight pages long, signed by Gabriela Chierici, Giorgio Rosa and by Fulvio Funaro, sent to the Appeals Office of the Council of State in Rome with the request to suspend the demolition decree. On November 18, Catalano decided to request a preventive technical evaluation of the island.
On November 26, Catalano had an interview with Renato Zangheri, from the Italian Communist Party, who (according to the "Memoriale" of Ing. Giorgio Rosa published in 2009 by Persiani Editore attached to the documentary DVD Cines on the Island) "maintains that behind me (by Giorgio Rosa) is a foreign power", rumoring that Soviet countries such as Enver Hoxha's Albania, at that time already outside the Warsaw Pact, were involved.
On November 29, an Italian Navy pontoon arrived in Rimini, disembarking on land everything that was transportable from the island. Explosive charges were prepared on the pontoon and placed on the island for demolition.
On December 1, Rosa had an interview with Luciano Gorini, councilor of the Rimini city council of the Christian Democrats, who presented an interpellation. Other telegrams of support for the island were sent, by a certain Mr. Rico, to Minister of Foreign Affairs Pietro Nenni, Minister of Labor Giacomo Brodolini, Minister of Public Works Giacomo Mancini, former Minister of Finance Luigi Preti and Minister of Industry Mario Tanassi.
On December 3, the preventive technical evaluation of Engineer Giuseppe Lombi from Rimini was sworn in, who requested five months to carry out the expert commission. The Port Authority of Rimini affirmed that the administrative act of demolition could not be stopped.
On December 17 there was a meeting between the lawyer Roma and Gozzi from the Bologna State Attorney's office which showed that "there are rumors that the Italian government makes a matter of principle". On December 19, Rosa also maintained talks with officials of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, who, however, judged the issue "now too compromised".
On December 21, 1968, a hearing was held before the Praetor of Rimini, who upheld the preventive technical evaluation decree, urging expert inspections. The inspection to the island took place on December 23 in the morning with the technical consultant Giuseppe Lombi, the surveyors Gaetano Vasconi from Rimini and Nobili (both as witnesses), as well as the Engineer Buono di Ravenna while in the afternoon at the port from Rimini the inventory of materials seized by the Italian Navy on November 29 was found. Several devices were missing, including the nautophone. On December 28, a new inspection of the island was carried out in which Lombi and Rosa participated.
On January 22, 1969, the Italian Navy pontoon sailed to Isla de las Rosas, to plant explosives for its destruction. While Rosa gave a very tough interview to Rimini's Amedeo Montemaggi from " Il Resto del Carlino", saying the following sentence: "I am ashamed to be Italian!".
Finally, on February 11, 1969, divers from the Italian Military Navy (of the GOS -Underwater Operational Group belonging to COM.SUB.IN.- Underwater Raids Command "Teseo Tesei"), demolished the work of masonry, wood and other materials between the steel posts of the Isla de las Rosas structure, with 75 kg of explosive per post (675 kg in total) to make it implode and recover the remains since they were dangerous for the fishing. Despite the charges that detonated, the island withstood the first explosion, because the pillars were built telescopically and with the explosion only a cavity was created. After two days, on February 13, 120 kg of explosive (1,080 kg in total) were applied to each post, but the new explosion only deformed the structure of the island, without causing it to fall. Finally, on Wednesday, February 26, 1969, a storm submerged what was left of Isla de las Rosas.
Mourning signs were put up in Rimini reading:
"At the time of the destruction of the Island of the Roses, the merchants of the Adriatic coast, are associated with the wrath of the sea, the owners of hotels and all the workers along the Adriatic coast condemning the act of those who are unable to viable solutions to the problems of substance, have tried to distract the attention of the Italian people with the destruction of a solid useful and divine tourist operation. "
After the sinking
The sinking and subsequent dismantling lasted about forty days, until mid-April 1969. On June 6, 1969, Giorgio Zagari, of the State Attorney General's Office, wrote his memorandum to the Council of State, which should have decided definitely.
On June 17, 1969, the sixth section of the Council of State met in audience. The claims of sovereignty, independence and international rights acquired by the platform owners were unfounded, since Italian citizens, even outside of Italy, must be subject to state laws (this in a nutshell can be deduced from the essay in the 1968 International Law Review).
In July 2009, some remains of the metal structure and walls were found on the seabed off the coast of Rimini.
In 2011, American Peter Thiel, one of the creators of the PayPal payment system, relaunched the idea of offshore platforms, planning to build lawless artificial islands for the world, in international waters, to establish himself as a sovereign state with ten million inhabitants, divided by a maximum of 270 inhabitants per island.
Geography
The platform was located 6.27 nautical miles (11.61 km) off the Italian coast, near Torre Pedrera, in the municipality of Rimini, 500 meters outside Italian territorial waters.
The island bordered exclusively on international waters, with the exception of the southwestern side which bordered on the territorial waters of Italy. The surface of Isla de las Rosas was 400 m² (0.0004 km²), while that of its "territorial waters" it was 62.54 km². Currently in a similar position about 16 km from the coast are the methane platforms of the Eni company, "Azalea A" (44°10′16″N 12°42′52″E / 44.17111, 12.71444) and "Azalea B" (44°9′50″N 12°43′12″E / 44.16389, 12.72000).
Organization
Government
The Isla de las Rosas established its own government, made up of the Presidency of the Council of Departments and five departments, divided into divisions and offices:
- Presidential Department: Antonio Malossi
- Department of Finance: Maria Alvergna
- Department of Internal Affairs: Carlo Chierici
- Department of Industry and Trade: Luciano Marchetti
- Department of Relations: Luciano Molè
- Department of Foreign Affairs: Cesarina Mezzini
National symbols
The Island of Roses adopted a coat of arms depicting three red roses, with green leaf stems, gathered in a white field of a modern French coat of arms, as described in its Constitution. It should be noted that the coat of arms was reproduced on the upper edge of the postage stamps and took on the same colors (green, white and red) as the Italian flag, but instead of representing four roses forming a bouquet, it only had three.
An orange flag was also made whose center was adorned with the coat of arms. It was also adopted as a hymn Steuermann! Laß die Wacht! (in English, Helmsman, leave the watch!), that is, the Chor der Norwegischen Matrosen of the first scene of the third Act from The Flying Dutchman by German composer Richard Wagner.
The national motto was Far crescere le rose sul mare (Roses grow in the sea).
Official language
The Island of Roses adopted Esperanto as its official language, to clearly establish its sovereignty and independence from the Italian Republic, and to highlight the international character of the new republic.
Giorgio Rosa was not an Esperantist and the choice of Esperanto as the official language was recommended to him by a Bolognese Esperantist, the Franciscan Father Albino Ciccanti, who was very active in Rimini.
It should be remembered that from September 18 to 23, 1965, the 36th National Congress of the Italian Esperanto Federation (FEI) was held in Rimini. This event should have been the communicative spring for the choice (guided by careful marketing) of Esperanto.
The only other example of the adoption of Esperanto as the official language of a territory was the Free Territory of Moresnet, a neutral condominium (located in present-day Belgium) established between 1816 and 1919, which would become the State Amikejo Independent Esperanto.
Currency
The Island of Roses adopted a currency for its stamps: the Mill (the plural, Mills), which was translated into Esperanto as Milo i> (the plural, Miloj).
The value of the Mill, at that time, had an exchange rate of 1:1, on a par with the Italian lira: the lowest value of the stamps for ordinary mail was 30 mills when in Italy it was 30 liras, and the sheets with 10 values of 30 mills, equivalent to 300 mills, were sold for 300 lire, while the individual 30 mill stamps franked in envelopes and canceled with stamp and date for 150 lire.
It also had another currency, the Ros, equivalent to 100 Mills/Miloj and therefore 100 lire. But this coin was never implemented.
The Island of Roses never "aired" coins and paper money, but there was an intention to mint commemorative metal coins.
Postmark
The Island of Roses "issued" a series of stamps (two series in five issues):
- 1.a Series / 1.a Emission (presumably from 1 May 1968 to 25 June 1968): 1 value of 30 Mills, with the station in Esperanto Post of the L.T. of the Rozoj Insulo (Postal service of the L.T. of the Island of the Rosesrepresenting the platform and geographical position of the island;
- 1.a Series / 2.a Emission (presumably from 1 May 1968 to 25 June 1968): 1 value of 30 Mills, with the station in Esperanto Post of the L.T. of the Rozoj Insulo (Postal service of the L.T. of the Island of the Roses), representing the platform and geographical position of the island, with a stain on the letters "L.T.";
- 1.a Series / 3.a Emission (presumably from 25 June 1968 to 11 February 1969): were used seals of the 1.a Series / 1.a and 2.a Emissions, overprints to the center of each seal with a square-handed rubber ring, with black ink, with the text in Esperanto Milita Itala Okupado (Italian Military Occupation);
- 1.a Series / 4.a Emission (presumably from 25 June 1968 to 11 February 1969): seals of the 1.a Series / 1.a and 2.a were used Emissions, linearly overprints with a rubber linear hand-stamp, with black ink, with text in Esperanto Milita Itala Okupado (Italian Military Occupation);
- 2.a Series / 5th Emission (presumably on 11 February 1969): 3 values of 30, 60 and 120 Miloj, with the station in Esperanto Positive Esperanta Respubliko Insulo Rozoj (Postal Service of the Esperantist Republic of the Island of Roses) - in exile - representing the explosion of the island, with a boat beating a red flag, with a black orla of mourning and the Latin text Hostium rabies diruit opus non ideam(The violence of the enemies destroyed the work, not the idea).
About 5,000 copies of the 1st and 2nd issues were issued, of which about 1,000 were sold. About a hundred copies of the 3rd and 4th issues were overprinted, and about 1,500 copies of the first and fourth issues were issued. Fifth edition. The Isla de las Rosas stamps were printed on paper with watermarks and gummed on sheets of 10 values (2 rows of 5 values) each. The postmark bore the inscription Verda Haveno (Porto Verde):
- Verda = "green", is the traditional colour that the Esperanto movement has taken as its own, as it is a symbol of hope;
- Haveno = "port", indicates the function that the platform actually had more than 10 kilometers from the coast. The post office was located in Via Georges Bizet n. 3 on Roses Island
In popular culture
- In 1998 the island is the protagonist of one of Martin Mystère's stories. An extract of the story, combined with some ideas, was part of the promotional album distributed on the occasion of the Riminicomix 2010.
- In 2008, Stefano Paganelli, owner of the Dive Planet Rimini, found the remains of the platform, after years of unsuccessful searches by many divers in the area.
- In 2009 the book written by Giorgio Rosa was launched L'Isola delle Rose (Persiani Editore) with a DVD attached to his video interview, then the documentary was released Isola delle Rose. Insulo de la Rozoj. Freedom is afraid, directed by Stefano Bisulli and Roberto Naccari, who reports testimonies of the people who visited the island, of the soldiers who participated in the demolition and of Rosa himself.
- In 2010, the homage radio programme L'Isola delle Rose by Giuseppe Govinda, who won the "Best format of the season" award at the University Radio Festival 2011.
- In 2012 the novel was published L'isola e le rose de Walter Veltroni, inspired by history.
- In 2020 a film was released on the Netflix transmission platform, entitled L'incredibile storia dell'Isola delle Rose, written and directed by Sydney Sibilia