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In the late 1960s, an Italian engineer named Giorgio Rosa oversaw the construction of an artificial platform in the Adriatic Sea about 4,500 square-feet in size. On this, he helped establish a restaurant, a nightclub, a bar, and a post office. On 24 June 1968, Rosa declared his platform the Republic of Rose Island (a play on his surname), and proclaimed himself the president. The Italian government was not at all amused; they saw Rosa as trying to make a profit while evading Italian tax laws. Deciding to shut down Rosa’s enterprise, the government sent soldiers over to the platform to seize control of Rose Island. Rosa and his own micronational government protested this ‘occupation’, but no one paid him any attention. Once the population of Rose Island had been relocated, the Italian government warned everyone to stand back and then blew the platform to bits. Rosa himself went on to declare himself the ongoing president ‘in exile’; however, with his micronation’s homeland obliterated, things aren’t looking so good for his cause.
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