During a period between May 1st to June 26 1968, there was a rather strange “Conflict” between an Italian engineer named Giorgio Rosa who declared independence from Italy and proclaimed on a platform, that was small enough to fit in NPHS’s football field, was a nation named “Rose Island.” and the Italian Guardia di Finanza, which literally means “Financial Police”, over a suspected tax evasion scheme.
In 1958, Rosa funded the construction of a 400-square-foot-metre platform in the middle of the ocean which was finished in 1967, and on it was multiple commercial establishments, like a bar and restaurant. On the first of May, 1968, 10 years after Rosa funded the construction, He “Declared Independence.” from Italy and founded The Republic of Rose Island. The interesting thing about the nation was that it spoke Esperanto, a language invented by L. L. Zamenhof. It was a language built of European languages combined, meant to be a World Second Language. Only 55 days later, the Italian government concluded that it was a scheme to raise money from tourists by avoiding taxation, and sent the Financial Police to seize the platform on June 26th.
Once they seized the island, The Italian Navy and the Financial Police attempted to dismantle the platform, but it wasn’t possible. So instead, they resorted to bombing the platform. The first attempt failed, and the second attempt in 1969 damaged the platform, but it was still standing. Finally, a storm destroyed the platform once and for all.
Rosa passed away in 2017, and in 2020 there was a movie made about the conflict.
