"THE FREEDOM" OF THE ISLAND OF ROSES IS SCARY
The Isola delle Rose: the independent state off the coast of Rimini
In just 55 days the tiny micronation was born and died, becoming the island of mysteries.
The Isola delle Rose was born off the coast of RIMINI.
A real artificial islet of just 400 m2 just over 11.5 km away from Torre Pedrera (RN): carefully chosen position, exceeding the Italian border of the sea by 500 m, in order to be in international waters, therefore in a border area that does not belong to any state.
The Bolognese engineer Giorgio Rosa (who died in 2017 at the age of 92) had a real utopia: to create an independent state in which there were no rules and where the inhabitants could coexist in harmony on the basis of: FREEDOM.
The purpose of this enterprise of his was to create an autonomous state, untied from the Italian one, which could self-finance itself with restaurants and shops.
This story piqued the interest of European writers and chroniclers.
It was screened on Netflix in the film "The Incredible Story of the Rose Island" with Elio Germano as the engineer Giorgio Rosa, flanked by great actors such as Luca Zingaretti, Fabrizio Bentivoglio, Matilda De Angelis, directed by Sydney Sibilla.
It tells and reveals the incredible story and all the secrets of the micronation that lasted only 55 days and marked an important stage in the history of humanity.
The platform project was born as a business idea, which however collides with the Italian bureaucracy which does not welcome the creation of a free zone off the Adriatic coast and which cannot understand the intentions of the engineer.
The company that built the artificial island was S.P.I.C.: Società Sperimentale per Iniezioni di Cemento, which led to believe that it was a harmless study platform headed by the engineer Rosa and his wife Gabriella Chierici.
The engineer created a bit of bewilderment and mystery: someone hypothesized that it could be used by the Russians to put missiles on it, because then there were conspiracy theorists, others thought it could become a sort of Las Vegas of Europe and still others a place where perdition reigned: stripteases, naked women and prostitution.
A 5-storey stilt house, independent from the point of view of water: in fact, a drinking water aquifer was identified at a depth of 280 meters, with a souvenir shop, a bar, a bank and a post office as a tourist attraction for crowds of people who frequented the beaches of the Riviera Romagnola every day.
Only 3 people lived on the island: (a couple from Rimini who ran the bar and a gentleman from Città di Castello who was the caretaker) they rented the platform and had the mandate to manage the activities of the island.
The Harbor Master's Office of Rimini tried to stop the works because the submitted projects were not respected, but Rosa immediately replied: "I don't have to respect any rules, because my platform is located outside Italian territorial waters!".
Tourist boats depart from the nearby coasts, becoming a tourist attraction even before opening to the public…
On 20 August 1967 the island was opened to the public and prepared to welcome its inhabitants.
On May 1, 1968, he planted an orange flag with 3 red roses on a white background on his artificial island, declaring a platform off Italian territorial waters an independent state and giving birth to the myth of the Rose Island.
Its independence was declared, the presidency was entrusted to Antonio Malossi, the Internal Affairs to the politician Carlo Chierici, the Foreign ones to Cesarina Mezzini, the financial one to Maria Alvergna, the Relations department to Luciano Molè, the administration of Commerce and Industry to Luciano Marchetti.
It should be emphasized that 2 out of 5 politicians were female, which was not frequent in the 1960s and denoted how unconventional and revolutionary the new state was.
They adopted Esperanto as the official language to establish their sovereignty and independence from the Italian state, the Isola delle Rose had its own government, issued its own currency and stamps.
The ideologies broadcast on their radio were appreciated by all young people and it was feared they could fuel student revolutions.
The island became an uncomfortable reality at a political level, so the plainclothes police often visited the structure looking for a technicality with the aim of asking for its dismantling.
After just 55 days, on 25 June 1968, at 7 in the morning, dozens of pilot boats of the Italian police forces surrounded and militarily occupied the island: on the island of peace... the "war" broke out.
On 11 and 13 February 1969 the Navy took care of the demolition, with 2 tons of explosives, but despite the dynamite charges, the Isola delle Rose persisted in remaining standing.
It took a massive storm, on February 26, 1969, to make it sink and definitively decree his death.
Perhaps it is no coincidence that after this episode the nautical boundary was doubled, going from 6 to 12 nautical miles.
In 2009, remains of the metal structure and walls that supported the Isola delle Rose were found.
This whole story makes us understand that each of us is very powerful, if we don't like the world, we can make a new one!
And Rosa, he built it.
In just 55 days the tiny micronation was born and died, becoming the island of mysteries.
The Isola delle Rose was born off the coast of RIMINI.
A real artificial islet of just 400 m2 just over 11.5 km away from Torre Pedrera (RN): carefully chosen position, exceeding the Italian border of the sea by 500 m, in order to be in international waters, therefore in a border area that does not belong to any state.
The Bolognese engineer Giorgio Rosa (who died in 2017 at the age of 92) had a real utopia: to create an independent state in which there were no rules and where the inhabitants could coexist in harmony on the basis of: FREEDOM.
The purpose of this enterprise of his was to create an autonomous state, untied from the Italian one, which could self-finance itself with restaurants and shops.
This story piqued the interest of European writers and chroniclers.
It was screened on Netflix in the film "The Incredible Story of the Rose Island" with Elio Germano as the engineer Giorgio Rosa, flanked by great actors such as Luca Zingaretti, Fabrizio Bentivoglio, Matilda De Angelis, directed by Sydney Sibilla.
It tells and reveals the incredible story and all the secrets of the micronation that lasted only 55 days and marked an important stage in the history of humanity.
The platform project was born as a business idea, which however collides with the Italian bureaucracy which does not welcome the creation of a free zone off the Adriatic coast and which cannot understand the intentions of the engineer.
The company that built the artificial island was S.P.I.C.: Società Sperimentale per Iniezioni di Cemento, which led to believe that it was a harmless study platform headed by the engineer Rosa and his wife Gabriella Chierici.
The engineer created a bit of bewilderment and mystery: someone hypothesized that it could be used by the Russians to put missiles on it, because then there were conspiracy theorists, others thought it could become a sort of Las Vegas of Europe and still others a place where perdition reigned: stripteases, naked women and prostitution.
A 5-storey stilt house, independent from the point of view of water: in fact, a drinking water aquifer was identified at a depth of 280 meters, with a souvenir shop, a bar, a bank and a post office as a tourist attraction for crowds of people who frequented the beaches of the Riviera Romagnola every day.
Only 3 people lived on the island: (a couple from Rimini who ran the bar and a gentleman from Città di Castello who was the caretaker) they rented the platform and had the mandate to manage the activities of the island.
The Harbor Master's Office of Rimini tried to stop the works because the submitted projects were not respected, but Rosa immediately replied: "I don't have to respect any rules, because my platform is located outside Italian territorial waters!".
Tourist boats depart from the nearby coasts, becoming a tourist attraction even before opening to the public…
On 20 August 1967 the island was opened to the public and prepared to welcome its inhabitants.
On May 1, 1968, he planted an orange flag with 3 red roses on a white background on his artificial island, declaring a platform off Italian territorial waters an independent state and giving birth to the myth of the Rose Island.
Its independence was declared, the presidency was entrusted to Antonio Malossi, the Internal Affairs to the politician Carlo Chierici, the Foreign ones to Cesarina Mezzini, the financial one to Maria Alvergna, the Relations department to Luciano Molè, the administration of Commerce and Industry to Luciano Marchetti.
It should be emphasized that 2 out of 5 politicians were female, which was not frequent in the 1960s and denoted how unconventional and revolutionary the new state was.
They adopted Esperanto as the official language to establish their sovereignty and independence from the Italian state, the Isola delle Rose had its own government, issued its own currency and stamps.
The ideologies broadcast on their radio were appreciated by all young people and it was feared they could fuel student revolutions.
The island became an uncomfortable reality at a political level, so the plainclothes police often visited the structure looking for a technicality with the aim of asking for its dismantling.
After just 55 days, on 25 June 1968, at 7 in the morning, dozens of pilot boats of the Italian police forces surrounded and militarily occupied the island: on the island of peace... the "war" broke out.
On 11 and 13 February 1969 the Navy took care of the demolition, with 2 tons of explosives, but despite the dynamite charges, the Isola delle Rose persisted in remaining standing.
It took a massive storm, on February 26, 1969, to make it sink and definitively decree his death.
Perhaps it is no coincidence that after this episode the nautical boundary was doubled, going from 6 to 12 nautical miles.
In 2009, remains of the metal structure and walls that supported the Isola delle Rose were found.
This whole story makes us understand that each of us is very powerful, if we don't like the world, we can make a new one!
And Rosa, he built it.