ISOLA DELLE ROSE: "FREEDOM" THAT SCARES
The independent state off the coast of Rimini: Isola delle Rose
Within just 55 days, the tiny micronation was born and died, becoming the island of mysteries.
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): a carefully chosen position, crossing 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 where there were no rules and where the inhabitants could live together in harmony on the
basis of FREEDOM.
The purpose of his business was to create an autonomous state, detached from the Italian one, which could self-finance itself with restaurants and shops.
This story has attracted the interest of European writers and chroniclers.
On December 9 the film "The Incredible Story of the Rose Island" will be broadcast on Netflix with Elio Germano in the role of 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, but clashes with the Italian bureaucracy which does not look favorably on the creation of a free zone off the Adriatic coast and which fails to understand the
intentions of the engineer.
The company that built the artificial island was the S.P.I.C .: Experimental Society for Cement Injections, which suggested that it was a harmless study platform headed by 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 their missiles on it, since then there were conspiracy theorists, others thought it could
become a sort of Las Vegas of Europe and others. a place where perdition reigned: striptease, naked women and prostitution.
It is a 5-storey stilt house, independent from the water point of view: in fact, a drinking water table was identified at 280 meters deep, with a souvenir shop, a bar, a bank and a post office as a tourist attraction for the
thousands of people who every day frequented the beaches of the Romagna Riviera.
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, who rented the platform and had the mandate to manage the activities of the
island.
The Port Authority of Rimini tried to stop the works because the deposited projects were not respected, but Rosa immediately replied: "I don't have to respect any rules, because my platform is located outside the
Italian territorial waters!".
Conquer the limelight of the Italian press.
From the nearby coasts, tourist boats start to leave, becoming a tourist attraction even before opening to the public ...
On August 20, 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 this platform off the Italian territorial waters an independent state and giving birth to the myth of
the Isle of Roses.
Its independence was declared, the presidency was entrusted to Antonio Malossi, the Internal Affairs to the politician Carlo Chierici, the Foreign Affairs to Cesarina Mezzini, the financial one to Maria Alvergna,
the Department of Relations to Luciano Molè and the administration of Commerce and Industry from Luciano Marchetti.
It should be noted 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.
"Esperanto" was adopted as the official language to sanction its sovereignty and independence from the Italian state, Isola delle Rose had its own government, issued its own currency and its own stamps.
The ideologies broadcast on their radio were appreciated by all young people and it was feared that they could fuel student revolutions.
The island became an uncomfortable reality on a political level, so the plainclothes police often visited the structure looking for a quibble with the aim of asking for it to be dismantled.
After just 55 days, on June 25, 1968, at 7 am, dozens of pilot boats of the Italian police forces surrounded and militarily occupied the island: on the island of peace ... "war" broke out.
On 11 and 13 February 1969 the Navy took care of the demolition, with 2 tons of explosives, but despite the charges of dynamite the Isle of Roses persisted in remaining standing.
It took a massive storm, on February 26, 1969, to make it sink and finally decree its death.
Perhaps it is no coincidence that after this episode the nautical boundary was doubled, passing 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 create a new one!
And Rosa, he built it.