Un place frequently visited can still hide surprising stories, as in the case of the Isle of Roses a Curiosity history brought back to the fore thanks to a film Netflix. Let's find out the true story of this island that emerged briefly off the coast of Rimini.
The Isle of Roses: an independent republic in 1968
In 1968, a year of intense movements of political protest in Europe and Italy, on May 1st the Isola delle Rose is inaugurated and proclaims itself Independent Republic. The island, actually one stilt house of 400 square meters on a framework of steel pipes, it stood 6,27 nautical miles off the coast of Rimini, 500 meters beyond Italian territorial waters.
The flag and the language. Inspired by San Marino
The Isola delle Rose wanted be a micro-nation ideal and free, totally independent from Italy, with a flag, Esperanto as an auxiliary language (original name: Insulo de la Rozoj), a coin (the Mill) and an autonomous philatelic line.
Its creator, the engineer from Bologna Giorgio Rosa, aimed to found an autonomous state on the model of San Marino, capable of self-financing thanks to restaurants and souvenir shops for tourists and visitors.
The Italian State destroyed the Isola delle Rose
I newspapers of the time they spread la news, fueling legends about casinos, brothels, radio stations pirate, international espionage and even Soviet submarine bases on the island.
Despite none of these items was confirmed, the ideal proclaimed by the island represented a problem for the Italian state. Rosa's dream was short-lived: the 25 June 1968, neither two months after the inauguration, the harbor master's office and the financial police they blocked access to the island by imposing a real naval blockade.
In February 1969, the divers of the Italian Navy began the operations of demolition of the island, which was blown up with several kilos of explosives. But only a storm the 26 February 1969 managed to make it sink permanently.
This "freedom experiment" it was almost forgotten for years, but today it is being rediscovered thanks to documentaries, books and especially the recent global blockbuster on Netflix.
The Netflix film: The incredible story of the Isle of Roses
The astonishing story ofIsle of Roses is narrated in film available Netflix, Directed by Sydney Sibilia and produced by Greenland. The feature film tells the daring enterprise of a man who tried to create a new world. Perhaps due to the historical period marked by numerous restrictions, this idealistic and libertarian dream is extremely engaging and touching, while appearing extraordinarily fascinating and radically surreal.
The film is based on real events, as it brings to light a surprising episode of the Italian history of the 60s. It is about Esperantist Republic of the Isle of Roses, founded by the Bolognese engineer named Giorgio Rosa on a steel platform of 400 square meters, built in international waters, six nautical miles off Rimini.
The film also aired on Rai 2 on 10 April 2023 at 21 pm.
