Channel: World Unearthed

Category: Entertainment

Tags: giorgio rosabizarrerepubblica dell'isola delle roseabandoned islandsan marino republicnetflixstrangestexplainedsan marinoriminifactsrose island nationrepublic of rose islandadriatic seaforgottenmicronationrimini italyforgotten historyitalydocumentaryunbelievablehistoryrealstrangeweirdworld uneartheditalian historytruerose islandesperanto

Description: Today we are going to look at the strange story of The Republic of Rose Island. A micronation that became an abandoned island. HEY YOU ! There are more awesome videos being made every week, like and subscribe to World Unearthed so you don't miss a beat ! INTRODUCTION What you are looking at right now is a platform in the Adriatic Sea, which was built by Giorgio Rosa, a man who was described by his son as “He was a very precise, detailed person, and very organised. An engineer in an almost German sense of the word. Except for this small vein of craziness that led him to want to build a platform for himself, and then make it a state outside of territorial waters, which kind of made him the prince of anarchists.” That “small vein of craziness” his son is referring to is the centerpiece of today’s video. It took Giorgio about ten years to finalize his plans for the construction of this 4,300 sq ft platform, which was supported by nine pylons, about 8 miles off the coast of the ancient city of Rimini. Rimini is, and has been, one of the most notable seaside resorts in Europe. It is also only a 10 minute drive from the Most Serene Republic of San Marino. Which might be where Giorgio got some inspiration from. In case you didn’t know, San Marino is a landlocked microstate established in the 4th century. It's also a riveting story, but maybe for another time. The Republic Before we continue, I would like to mention today’s sponsor, which is still no one. So smash that like button and share this video with the homies. The platform that was to be Rose Island was finished in 1967, even though it was only 4,300 sq feet, there was enough space to fit a number of commercial establishments, like a restaurant, bar, nightclub, souvenir shop, and of course, a post office. At one point the republic released an official periodical newspaper dubbed the Osservatore Domenicano. With Rosa as self-proclaimed president, the platform declared independence on May 1, 1968, under the Esperanto name Insulo de la Rozoj. Rose Island soon after released a series of stamps, one of which depicted Rose Island's approximate location in the Adriatic Sea. The Mill was the republic's purported currency, and it appeared on early stamp issues, though no coins or banknotes are known to have been issued. On later stamp issues, this denomination was translated into Esperanto as Miloj. Side note, esperanto is a language that was created in 1887 with the sole purpose of being a universal second language for international communication. However, Big English came around and fricked everything up. Somehow, there are an estimated 2000 native speakers, and 30 to 180 thousand second language speakers. Are you one of those elusive esperantists ? Don’t hide your talents, show em off in the comments below ! The platform, or island, however you want to see it, was designed to cater to the beautiful summer months that make this area of the Adriatic Sea one of the most desired destinations in the world. The first winter on the platform was… less than ideal. The high waves and cold weather made it extremely hard to do upkeep on the platform. Lest we forget, Giorgio had plans of adding an additional story to the platform every off season. BACKLASH The Italian government quickly caught on to the freedom and shenanigans that Rose Island provided for anyone adventurous enough to visit it. More so, the government viewed it as a ploy to raise money from tourists while avoiding national taxation. Whether or not this was the real reason behind Rosa's micronation, the Italian government's response was swift: By June 26th of its inaugural year, a group of four carabinieri and Guardia di Finanza officers landed on the island and assumed control. The platform's Council of Government is said to have sent a telegram, presumably to the Italian government, to protest the "violation of its sovereignty and the injury inflicted on local tourism by the military occupation",unsurprisingly, this was ignored. Later on, Giorgio Rosa bitterly declared this as “the only war that Italy has ever won”. It’s worth mentioning that throughout its short lived status, the Republic was never formally recognized by any country of the world. The pushback from the Italians was so severe that at one point, it was suggested the island was a safe harbor for Russian Spies and the water beneath was used to hide Russian submarines. Now that would make a good movie, wouldn’t it ? Before you know it, Giorgio was summoned to explain himself in front of different committees every day. He insisted that he had not broken any laws, and that there was no reason for the occupation of the tiny island. THE END Maybe after the water wars of 2034, but who knows. I hope you enjoyed this short summary of this incredible story. If you are interested in more, Netflix released a movie last December.