While it might not have the location advantage of other towns in eastern Liguria, such as the Cinque Terre or Portofino, there’s quiet beauty in Seborga. And a very accessible monarch.
The yr was 2019 , and Nina Menegatto did n’t think she stood a prospect against her competitor .
The prince of Seborga had just undergone a midlife crisis , abdicated the throne , and left two women vying to put back him . As his wife , Menegatto was one of them . The other was the daughter of the first - ever person to hold up the title — a beloved local trope who first discovered Seborga technically was n’t part of the Italian State Department and began the tradition of electing a monarch . Nominally , the person bear this amateur position was meant to bring attending to Seborga ’s pursuance for recognition as an sovereign principality , but really , it was a glorify popularity contest .
“ you could do some candidature , but really , it ’s not about policy or what you ’re going to do for the minuscule or big picture , it ’s about whether they care you , ” as Menegatto puts it .
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But apparently the 46 - year - old ’s vexation were baseless . On a mild , other autumn day , we meet at Trattoria San Bernardo , where the internal walls are paint with two lifetime - sized sword - carry White Knights of Seborga . I ’d arrived before her and watched as she made a turn of a bustle crossing the Piazza Martiri Patrioti , flanked by her Counsel for Foreign Affairs and a photographer . Princess Nina , as she ’s now known , was wearing a periwinkle blue summer apparel and white sneakers — along with an official - face satin sash featuring Seborga ’s pelage - of - weapon .
Posted high in the nautical mountains in theregion of Liguria , in northwest Italy , the township of Seborga peer down into neighborsFranceandMonaco , with glimpses of the Tyrrhenian Sea between the undulating green . Visitors coming from the sea-coast , snaking along a road lined with low - key expensive homes , might glimpse a multilingual ‘ welcome ’ sign stomach Seborga ’s royal crest — the first indication that this is more than just another picturesque Italian hill townsfolk .
In the early sixties , a local flower exporter named Giorgio Carbone start research his Ithiel Town ’s history . Here ’s what he find : Seborga became an autonomous state in 954 , after Count Guidone of Ventimiglia gifted it to the Benedictine monks of the Abbey of Lérins . In 1079 it became a principality ruled by a prince - archimandrite . But that was before being sold in 1729 by the Thelonious Sphere Monk to Victor Amadeus II of Savoy . finally , the Ithiel Town was annexed to the Kingdom of Italy in 1861 , becoming part of the Italian Republic in 1946 .
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But in the course of his research , Carbone distinguish a startling fact : the sale by the monk to the Savoys was never legally registered , nor were there record of monies pay . That think of the annexation of Seborga by Italy was technically illegal .
So begin a legal battle for Seborga ’s recognition as a principality independent from the Italian state . The last entreaty , held in 2012 , was unsuccessful in revolutionize a 2008 judgment , rule the question of constituent legitimacy as inadmissible . Luca Pagani , Seborga ’s crown counselor for finance , legislative activity and communications tell me that they are “ working on pucker all the old documents and get up a raw dossier , ” with an eye to another potential try .
But in the interim , Seborga functions almost as two entity ; thecityof Seborga , lawfully representing Italy and distribute the hamlet , and theprincipalityof Seborga , which has no legislative powers but is still the pride of the mass who live there .
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It was in 1963 , that Carbone accepted the deed of Prince Giorgio I , or Seborga ’s first “ monarch for living . ” And during his reign , the new minted prince set about reinstate some ancient institutions , like the coat - of - arms , which features a pennant derived from the House of Savoy , and the flag , with its nine blue bands symbolizing the first nine Templar Knights , who were ordained in Seborga .
In 1995 , Giorgio I reestablished Seborga ’s currency , the Luigini ( named for the French King , Louis ) which had been minted for the first sentence in 1666 but discontinued in 1686 . He also enclose election to appoint a element government and extremity of the Crown Council , the executive dead body of the principality . He established a Corps of Guards , write a national anthem ( " La Speranza " or " The Hope " ) , and commissioned permit home base for local car . The former flower bargainer ’s farseeing reign was , by all accounts , marked by sheer action and an uncompromising military position .
“ He adjust up a roadblock at the entering to Seborga to cue visitors and the Italian government that they were enter a freestanding principality , ” Princess Nina say . “ He also removed the Italian license plates from his car , leaving only the Seborgan I , and in one vitrine he refused to pay the VAT ( goods and service revenue enhancement ) to the Italian state , all of which also get him some effectual problems . ”
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The much - love prince died in 2009 . And the following year , Menegatto ’s husband Marcello fly the coop for the situation . And in May 2010 he was crowned the prince of Seborga , after shoot down his opponent by a bare 22 voter turnout .
Princess Nina has a feverish life . Born Nina Döbler in Kempten , Germany , she attended embarkation schoolhouse in Switzerland , and completed her higher teaching in Monaco . These day , she ’s mammy to a five - year - previous and maintains home both in Seborga and Monaco , commuting from one tiny princedom to another .
Then there ’s her work as monarch . As it reverse out , being the princess of Seborga is akin to being an ambassador , advertize the village as a tourist address , as well as publicizing its battle to be recognize as a princedom . As she show up me around , we were oft stopped by visitors who want to have their photos taken with a real , bouncy princess . Without fail , she ’d be absolutely civilized while still maintaining a Princess Grace - like reserve .
After personate for a snapshot with a couple of excited German woman , we ducked under the stone header to see the collection of Luigini , include a rare coin from 1669 said to be deserving around 25,000 Euro . This currentness is minted largely for token , although it ’s accepted at some shops in the town . ( The exchange pace is fixed to the US dollar sign at 1 Luigini to 6 USD . ) Last yr Seborga adopted three Luigini in a banker’s bill shape , have a portrayal of Princess Nina . And in August of this year , the village strike a new one Luigini coin , one of which she kindly gifted me .
Meanwhile , a souvenir shop in the small Piazza Liberta , where flowers cascade down from wrought Fe Juliet balconies , sells the coins , along with other Seborgan ephemeral . On top of the obligatory coffee berry mug , auto sticker , and postcards , I also picked up a Seborgan “ passport ” and some stamps . Like the town itself , these are not lawfully spot . “ It ’s usually ask to also put an Italian stamp , ” the owner order me .
At the Belvedere , a lookout at the high decimal point of the town , the princess of Seborga motion towards the cyclorama — hill all the way to the ocean , that , come early fountain , will be carpeted in lustrous jaundiced mimosa . “ You just have to wait at the persuasion , ” she says . “ It ’s just magical . Serborga could be a real tourer hotspot . ”
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While it might not have the location vantage of other towns in eastern Liguria , such as the Cinque Terre or Portofino , there ’s a hushed ravisher about Seborga . The old town is enclosed within the leftover of thick gate walls . Its architecture is well - preserve and its history is obviously intriguing . As someone with a marketing degree , this chance is n’t lost on Menegatto ; she ’s extremely invest in amping up touristry . To that end , she and her ex - husband instigated the sale of a piece of acres overlooking the township , where a luxury 80 - room hotel will finally be build . The investors in the labor , she told me , are Saudi-Arabian champion from her college twenty-four hours who confabulate Seborga and value its appealingness .
The plan , she said , is to desegregate this property “ into nature ” by preserving the surrounding verdure , using local materials and edifice in a room that will minimize its environmental impact .
aside from Trattoria San Bernardo , there ’s only one other eating house in the village , which is known for swear out the regional speciality of rabbit . Princess Nina hopes , however , that the building of the hotel — detain initially due to the pandemic ( but also always due to how long the notoriously slow - moving Italian bureaucracy ) will spur the growth of more lowly business enterprise soon .
We forget the piazza and walked down narrow-minded lane flanked by tall Lucy Stone houses flying the Seborgan flag and inscribe a small burrow . Princess Nina used a vast iron key to spread the old prison , where big chains were still attach to a wooden bench . Two hundred prisoners have been held there throughout Seborga ’s chronicle ( and while monastic had the right to bring out the end penalty , they chose not to . ) We also toured the church of St. Martino , which dates from 1615 and features a Baroque colonnaded and frescoed outside , as well as a procession of the Ithiel Town ’s many painted doorway and wall , and an outdoor gallery that includes references to the Knights Templar , who reportedly used Seborga as a pedestal .
On Sundays throughout July and August , Princess Nina tell me , there are village parties with food and dancing . And August 20 cross Seborga ’s biggest holiday : villager dress in historic costume , march through the town , light off fireworks , and have dinner in the square .
And , of course of action , Princess Nina open a manner of speaking .
Previously felicitous working in the background to support her husband , Princess Nina insists she never essay the spot . But when Prince Marcello abdicated — and with boost from supporters — she began to turn over what she might have to contribute on her own . Her prince might have grow into a frog , but that did n’t stand for Seborga could n’t have a real fairytale ending .
“ It was n’t about power or care , but about continuing the piece of work of previous princes , specially Giorgio I , and leading Seborga into a new geological era , ” she said . “ It ’s true , this is an unpaid position and require significant time and effort , but my love for Seborga and its people motivated me to pace up . I realized that I could aid preserve our traditions and navigate the principality into the future tense . ”
