Principality of Seborga

The Principality of Seborga (Italian: Principato di Seborga) is an unrecognised micronation that claims a 14 km2 (5.4 sq mi; 3,500 acres) area located in the northwestern Italian Province of Imperia in Liguria, near the French border, and about 35 kilometres (22 mi) from Monaco.[1] The principality is in coexistence with, and claims the territory of, the town of Seborga.

This article is about the claimed micronation in Italy. For the town, see Seborga.
Principality of Seborga

Micronation
Flag
Coat of Arms
Motto: Sub umbra sedi
Anthem: La Speranza
Map the Province of Imperia, with the town of Seborga marked in red
LocationSeborga
Official languagesItalian
Religion
Roman Catholic
Demonym(s)Seborgan
Organizational structureElective monarchy
• Prince/Princess
Establishment
• Declared
1963
Area claimed
• Total
14 km2 (5.4 sq mi)
Population
• Estimate
297
• Density
21.2/km2 (54.9/sq mi)
Purported currencySeborga luigino (de jure)
Euro (de facto)
Time zoneUTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)
UTC+2 (CEST)

History
The "frontier" post on the road approaching Seborga

The claim of sovereignty for Seborga was put forward in 1963 by a Seborgan former flower grower named Giorgio Carbone. He claimed to have found documents from the Vatican archives which, according to Carbone, indicated that Seborga had never been a possession of the House of Savoy and was therefore not legitimately included in the Kingdom of Italy when it was formed in 1861 during Italian unification. Carbone claimed that Seborga had existed as a sovereign state of Italy since 954, and that from 1079 it was a principality of the Holy Roman Empire. Sovereignty claims assert that Seborga was overlooked by the Congress of Vienna in its redistribution of European territories after the Napoleonic Wars.[1][2]

Carbone promoted the idea of Seborgan independence as a principality, and in 1963 the town's inhabitants elected him as their putative head of state. Carbone assumed the style and title His Tremendousness (Sua Tremendità) Giorgio I, Prince of Seborga.[1][3] He formed a "cabinet" of ministers; minted a local currency, the luigino; introduced a Seborgan flag, a white cross on a blue background; and established a Latin motto, Sub Umbra Sede (Sit in the shade). Carbone's campaign has generally not been taken seriously and is widely viewed as a ruse to attract tourists to the town, although Seborgans claim that their small state has been recognised by Burkina Faso.[1][4]

Giorgio Carbone retained his ceremonial position until his death on 25 November 2009.[1] The position of the Serborgan "monarch" is not hereditary, and since Carbone's death, elections are held in Seborga every seven years.[5] Carbone was succeeded by businessman Marcello Menegatto, who was elected on 25 April 2010 and crowned on 22 May 2010 as His Serene Highness (Sua Altezza Serenissima or SAS) Prince Marcello I.[6][7][8] Menegatto was re-elected as Prince on 23 April 2017, after an unsuccessful challenge to the position by Mark Dezzani, a British-born radio DJ who had lived in Seborga for nearly 40 years.[5]

On 12 April 2019 Menegatto resigned from his position,[9] and he was succeed by his wife, Nina Menegatto, who was elected by the town as Her Serene Highness Princess Nina on 10 November 2019.[10]

TitleGiven nameReign beganReign ended
Prince Giorgio IGiorgio Carbone14 May 196325 November 2009
Prince Marcello IMarcello Menegatto25 April 2010[7][11]10 November 2019
Princess NinaNina Menegatto10 November 2019[10]incumbent

Pretenders to the "throne" of Seborga have included the self-styled "Princess" Yasmine von Hohenstaufen Anjou Plantagenet,[12][3] and Nicolas Mutte, a French writer.[13]

Serborga today

Serborga's independence claims continue today, and an official Principato di Seborga website asserts the historical arguments put forward by Carbone.[14] Seborga claims to maintain a volunteer defence force and border guard, the Corpo delle Guardie. Participants wear a blue-and-white uniform and during the tourist season they stand guard at sentry boxes on the unofficial border crossing on the main road into Seborga.[5][15]

A 15 centesimi Seborga luigino coin

Seborga's local currency, the Seborga luigino, is divided into 100 centesimos. Luigini coins circulate in Seborga alongside the euro, but no banknotes have been issued. The currency has no value outside of the town. The value of the luigino is pegged to the US dollar at SPL 1 = USD 6.00.[16]

Population

As of 1 January 2018, Seborga had a population of 297 people, with 146 males and 151 females.[17]

Notes
  1. "Obituary: His Tremendousness Giorgio Carbone". The Telegraph. 27 November 2009. Archived from the original on 1 December 2009. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
  2. Klieger, P. Christiaan. The Microstates of Europe: Designer Nations in a Post-Modern World. Lexington Books. p. 177. ISBN 978-0-7391-7427-2. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
  3. "Prince of Seborga fights on for 362 subjects | Liguria | ITALY Magazine". The Telegraph. 15 June 2006. Archived from the original on 19 November 2010. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
  4. Anneli Rufus (11 September 2014). "Seborga: The Micronation Inside Italy Where Time Stands Still". HuffPost. Retrieved 5 May 2018.
  5. Squires, Nick (18 March 2017). "Radio DJ from West Sussex vies to become next leader of tiny self-declared principality in Italy". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 11 November 2020. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
  6. Seborga Times, Article "Seborga will crown his new elected Prince: Menegatto I"
  7. Squires, Nick (27 April 2010). "Tiny Italian principality announces new monarch called 'His Tremendousness'". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 18 June 2010.
  8. "S.A.S. il Principe di Seborga". Principato di Seborga (in Italian). Archived from the original on 28 September 2019. Retrieved 28 September 2019.
  9. Letter of resignation on principatodiseborga.com
  10. Vogt, Andrea (10 November 2019). "'Her Tremendousness' elected leader of self-declared micro-nation on hilltop in Italy". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 11 November 2019.
  11. "The King of Nylon: 'kingdom' of Seborga ruled by hosiery heir". The Metro. London. 28 April 2010. Retrieved 18 June 2010.
  12. Moore, Malcolm (13 June 2006). "Battle rages for His Tremendousness's throne | Italy | Europe | International News | News | Telegraph". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 11 March 2007. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
  13. Squires, Nick (22 June 2016). "Ruler of self-declared principality on the Italian Riviera faces 'coup d'etat' from rival". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 22 June 2016. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
  14. "Storia". Principato di Seborga (in Italian). Governo del Principato di Seborga. Archived from the original on 9 January 2020. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
  15. "Le Guardie". Principato di Seborga (in Italian). Archived from the original on 17 January 2021. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
  16. "I luigini". Principality of Seborga (in Italian). Retrieved 9 January 2017.
  17. "Statistiche demografiche ISTAT". demo.istat.it. Imperia. Retrieved 2019-03-21.

Bibliography
  • Caïs de Pierlas, Eugène (1884). I Conti di Ventimiglia, il priorato di San Michele ed il principato di Seborga. Turin: G. B. Paravia.

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