Seborga ( lij, A Seborca) is a small

village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...

and self-proclaimed principality in the region of

Liguria Liguria (; lij, Ligûria ; french: Ligurie) is a Regions of Italy, region of north-western Italy; its Capital city, capital is Genoa. Its territory is crossed by the Alps and the Apennine Mountains, Apennines Mountain chain, mountain range and is ...

near the French border. Administratively, it is a ''

comune The (; plural: ) is a local administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions ('' regioni'') and provinces ('' province''). The can ...

'' of the Italian

province of Imperia The Province of Imperia ( it, Provincia di Imperia, french: Province d'Imperia, Ligurian: ''Provinsa d’Imperia'') is a mountainous and hilly province, in the Liguria region of Italy, situated between France to the north and the west, and the L ...

. The main economic activities are horticulture and tourism. It is known for being the 'territory' of the self-proclaimed

micronation A micronation is a political entity whose members claim that they belong to an independent nation or sovereign state, but which lacks legal recognition by world governments or major international organizations. Micronations are classified s ...

the

Principality of Seborga The Principality of Seborga ( it, Principato di Seborga) is an unrecognised micronation that claims a area located in the northwestern Italian Province of Imperia in Liguria, near the French border, and about from Monaco. The principality is c ...

Economy

Seborga is known in the region for its agricultural activity: in particular, cultivation and collection of

olive The olive, botanical name ''Olea europaea'', meaning 'European olive' in Latin, is a species of small tree or shrub in the family Oleaceae, found traditionally in the Mediterranean Basin. When in shrub form, it is known as ''Olea europaea'' ...

s and

floriculture Floriculture, or flower farming, is a branch of horticulture concerned with the cultivation of flowering and ornamental plants for gardens and for floristry, comprising the floral industry. The development of new varieties by plant breeding ...

crops. Thanks to Seborga's publicity as a principality, tourism has expanded in recent years. The principality's historic town centre was also restored, ensuring that its charms were protected from commercial overdevelopment.

Culture

An important cultural event in Seborga is the annual festival of Saint Bernard, the town's patron saint, held on August 20. Seborga's twin city is

L'Escarène L'Escarène (; oc, L'Escarèa) is an ancient commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in southeastern France. It was part of the historic County of Nice until 1860, named ''Scarena''. It was a main stop along the Route de Sel during the 14th, ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

. The festival includes a procession of citizens and the carrying of a statue of Saint Bernard.

Transport

Seborga is situated along Provincial Road 57 in Imperia. The nearest motorway access is at the

Bordighera Bordighera (; lij, A Bordighea, locally ) is a town and ''comune'' in the Province of Imperia, Liguria (Italy). Geography Bordighera is located from the land border between Italy and France, and it is possible to see the French coast with a nak ...

exit on the A10. The nearest railway station is also the one in

, on the Ventimiglia-Genoa line.

Principality of Seborga

In the early 1960s,

Giorgio Carbone The Principality of Seborga ( it, Principato di Seborga) is an unrecognised micronation that claims a area located in the northwestern Italian Province of Imperia in Liguria, near the French border, and about from Monaco. The principality is ...

, then head of the local flower growers'

co-operative A cooperative (also known as co-operative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically-control ...

, began promoting the idea that Seborga and its surrounding territory should become independent from Italy. 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 The Holy Roman Empire was a political entity in Western, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars. From the accession of Otto I in 962 ...

. According to Carbone's claims, Seborga was not included in the 1861

Italian unification The unification of Italy ( it, Unità d'Italia ), also known as the ''Risorgimento'' (, ; ), was the 19th-century political and social movement that resulted in the consolidation of different states of the Italian Peninsula into a single ...

, and that it should be recognised as a sovereign principality. In 1963 the people of Seborga held an informal vote and elected Carbone as their ostensible head of state. He then assumed the self-styled title ''His Tremendousness (Sua Tremendità)'' Giorgio I, Prince of Seborga. Carbone remained in office until his death in 2009. A successor,

Marcello Menegatto The Principality of Seborga ( it, Principato di Seborga) is an unrecognised micronation that claims a area located in the northwestern Italian Province of Imperia in Liguria, near the French border, and about from Monaco. The principality is ...

, was elected in 2010. Menegatto resigned in 2019 from his position, and he was succeeded by his ex-wife,

Nina Menegatto Princess Nina Daniela Menegatto (born Nina Daniela Döbler, 6 November 1978) is a German businesswoman who currently reigns as the head of state of the Principality of Seborga, a micronation encompassing the Italian city of Seborga, from 10 Nov ...

, who has styled herself ''Her Serene Highness'' Princess Nina. Supporters of the independence claim promote the Principality with the trappings of a state, including the creation of a flag, minting of coins, the formation of a "border guard" and the installation of

sentry box A sentry box is a small shelter with an open front in which a sentry or person on guard duty may stand to be sheltered from the weather. Many boxes are decorated in national colours. Compare: In literature The sentry box at the entrance to ...

es on the unofficial border crossing on the main road into Seborga. An official ''Principato di Seborga'' website asserts the historical arguments put forward by Carbone. The independence claims of a "Principality of Seborga" have not been recognised internationally, and Seborga remains officially part of Italy.

References

External links