Il Principato di Seborga in Liguria - The Principality of Seborga - La Principauté de Seborga.                          

Giorgio 1, age 73 and self-declared Prince of Seborga, has succumbed to a long illness.

In a curious twist of fate, the small village of Seborga¹ and its 350 inhabitants, perched on a hill-top of Bordighera’s hinterland, have been claiming the status of independent Principality for their nation-town since the early 1960s.

It was a tall bearded and distinguished gentleman with the name of Giorgio Carbone, then head of the local flower-growers co-operative (one of the Italian Riviera’s main economic activities), who began pushing for Seborga’s independence as a principality. As a history buff himself, Mr. Carbone based his legal claim for the independence of Seborga on historic documents pertaining to his village that prove that, while Seborga had indeed been sold to the House of Savoy (the Savoy’s would later become the reigning house of the newly founded kingdom of Italy), the deed had never been recorded and there was no trace of Seborga in the official Italian land register until 1952!

By 1963, the people of Seborga were sufficiently convinced by these arguments to elect Carbone as their ostensible head of state. Carbone assumed the title of Giorgio 1, Prince of Seborga in 1993 with his new status as prince being further  supported by locals on 23 April 1995, when, in an informal referendum Seborgans voted 304 in favour, 4 against, for the principality's constitution and for indipendence  from Italy. Giorgio Carbone rode the new wave of independence to make a further break from its much larger neighbour by naming ministers among locals.

Mr. Carbone reigned until his death on 25 November 2009. Sua Tremendità ('Your Tremendousness'-as Prince Giorgio was known)’s legacy will go well beyond his life actions and the city’s claim of independence as the once unknown tiny village (although with its 14 km² it is still 7 times larger than the nearby famous Principality of Monaco!) now attracts between 50,000 and 100,000 visitors annually.

Seborga has been recognised by 20 nations and has established diplomatic and consular relations with no less than 9 European countries among which are: Germany, France, Belgium, Spain and even Italy (!) as well as with Indonesia. Seborga also boasts a national hymn, an online newspaper in Italian, English and French (The Seborga Times), an on-line television station (Seborga TV). Also, since 1998, Seborga has its own chamber orchestra composed of between 6 and 12 musicians.

Tourists flocking to Seborga can purchase the principality’s stamps, passports, license plates, local history books and CDs as well as enjoy a tasty Ligurian meal in one of the many excellent restaurants located in an area that is known for good food on both Rivieras.

What visitors are likely to be surprised by the most upon their visit to this charming yet tiny place though is that Seborga has been minting since 1666! The Luigino, Seborga’s official currency is presently tied to the USD (1 Luigino will get you 6 $). Luigino (SPL) exchange rates can be found on some foreign exchange websites² that show it is trading at about € 3.98 and £ 3.61.

Even though Italy has never taken Seborga’s claim to independence too seriously it hasn’t always turned a blind eye to its initiatives. As such, prince Giorgio has had at least one run in with Italian authorities in the form of a lawsuit from San Remo’s Inland Revenue officials.

Undoubtedly, all of Seborga’s inhabitants will be present to pay one last and emotional tribute to their Prince and Patriarch Giorgio1 during the memorial service that will be held for him at St. Bernard, Seborga’s Church, on Saturday, December 5, at 11 AM. However, shortly after the service Walter Ferrari, a hotel manager and Prince Giorgio’s heir apparent, will be chairing a meeting with all of Seborga’s ministers to decide on the course the principality should now stay.

Even though Mr. Carbone’s shoes will be tough ones to fill and Prince Walter’s name won’t quite have the same ring as Prince Giorgio 1, it is by ensuring that Seborga’s dream for freedom is perpetuated and that Prince Giorgio’s mission and work are continued that the greatest of all tributes will be paid to Giorgio Carbone.

¹Official Seborga Website              http://www.seborga.homeip.net/

²Luigino foreign exchange rates       http://www.seborga.homeip.net/luigino.html