How A Small Italian Village Became The World’s Most Peculiar Principality
Tucked behind the rolling hills, this coastal hamlet packs an outlandish history featuring medieval magical legends, “internet princesses” standing as pretenders, and an unimpressed Italian state
On the surface, Seborga seems like a quintessential Italian village. Small, charming, quaint, perched on the top of a hill in the coastal region of Liguria, an area famed for its glamorous holiday resorts and picturesque scenery. I can remember visiting it with my grandparents as a young child, and being taken aback by how it seemed so stuck in the past. Walking through its tiny cobblestone streets with their matchbox houses makes you feel like you’re in a miniature set, part of some Legoland exhibit. The architecture is mostly unassuming and demure, with the exception of its parish church, a glorious Baroque masterpiece tucked away in the smallest of squares.
Yet, a slightly closer glance will reveal that Seborga isn’t by any means a regular village. Flags bearing a white-on-blue cross as coat of arms can be seen waving on almost any corner. The local currency is a “luigino”, with coins looking more like Florins (or something out of Game of Thrones) than euros. And then the…
