The surveyor who became a prince by making his name to an island in the Red Sea | Milena Gabanelli
Once upon a time there was a surveyor from Ravenna who wanted to become a prince. One day from the Red Sea, between Yemen and Eritrea, he sprouted a little one volcanic island completely new and then he claimed it with the deed of a notary of San Marino, baptizing it San Bernardino. Thus the surveyor became «His Serene Highness Gianni Rolando Prince of San Bernardino ». After almost 10 years, with about ninety appointments among ministries, ambassadors and chaplains, His Serene Highness, 69, former rider of the 500 world championshipit is always there it is at the top of the principality “founded on practical acts”, governed by one Constitutionwith one of his currencyThe PaxAnd diplomatic offices. Including the Consulate GenresLAnd in Italy in via Barberini 11 in Rome.
A parallel world
Since it’s all true, it’s not a fairy tale and has been going on since 2013, we went to via Barberini but even before the origin of the facts, the submarine volcanic eruption. From then on between real notaries and fake deeds, foundations, non-profit organizations, donations via PayPal, alleged lords and unlikely countesses, you travel in a parallel world: a fusion of true (little), likely (much) and grotesque (everything). While we were wondering how to get it citizenship: fill in a form attaching documents e the receipt of a “humanitarian donation” of 250 euros to the Fias-International Social Assistance Foundation on an account of a Bulgarian bank. After our phone call for clarification, the donation on the site has become “free”.
When the island came up
The story begins on December 19, 2011 when several fishermen witness the spasms of an underwater volcano spitting out a lava island in the Red Sea off the western coasts of Yemen, in the Zubair archipelago, on the ridge between the African and Arab plates.
Gianni Rolando starts off like when he was racing with Giacomo Agostini and Barry Sheene: the claimant who is orphaned in international waters. Then he will say: «I did like Christopher Columbus, but planting a virtual flag». Christopher on 12 October 1492, Gianni on 30 September 2013.
He argues that the Principality enjoys “jurisdictional and tax immunities”that “the provisions of your Courts have the nature of judicial measures of a foreign State”. In the meantime, however, Columbus was in America, Rolando never on his island. But it is not important because “we will have territories and commanderies on all five continents”, essentially “a network state”. Meetings actually occurred and suggested by photos with consular representatives and embassy officials, mostly Africans, would show the initiation of diplomatic relations, a sort of recognition of the Principality in the formalization phase. As well as courtesy correspondence. When years ago Rolando wrote to Queen Elizabeth about the end of year holidays, the colleague replied to him on headed paper in Buckingham Palace through her personal secretary, David Ryanwith a letter addressed to «HSH Gianni Rolando Principe di San Bernardino – Office for Europe»: «The Queen has asked me to thank you and sends her best wishes». A triumph for the surveyor.
The Prince of the League
May 24 is a national holiday in the Principality because it is the Prince’s birthday, convinced to boast quarters of nobility. Of the «Real Casa», as stated in the official government website(experience not to be missed) also includes the son of His Highness, the Crown Prince Gianfilippo Nicola Rolando43 years old, son of His Highness, installer at the Master Clima in Faenza e for years he has been councilor of the League in the Municipality of Ravenna.
In the video of wishes for 2022 Gianni I announced “Relations established with about thirty states, all willing to recognize the Principality”. And he reaffirmed the goal: “To help people in need.” The Constitution (deposited, for some reason, in Budapest) shows the way: 68 articles, one of which states that “The Person of the Prince is inviolable and is not subject to liability”.
The other micronations
Ihe most volcanic kingdom in the world is reminiscent of other geopolitical utopiaspop micronations likeIsola delle Rose off the coast of Rimini (1968). Or Sealand, the platform of the Bates family a few miles from the English coast, 27 inhabitants, as large as Berlusconi’s villa in Sardinia (park excluded). Only those have been inhabited.
Rolando, on the other hand, rules in modality smart government on a tiny strip of lava rock from which a pharaonic political-institutional superstructure rises with a diplomatic corps that the great nations envy
A brilliant way of hisbut the smoke is such that it is hard to see the roast.
The Consulate and the Foundation
But the headquarters of the Secretariat of State and the Consulate General in Italy, in via Barberini in Rome, really exist. “HE Lord Rocco Milano – Secretary of State” (business card) opens us. He guarantees they are handling “several years” of citizenship applications. The offices are shared with the Fias foundation on the first floor of an elegant building. On the wall of the room stand out the coat of arms of the Principality and the photo of Gianni Rolando, in a Rococo ceremonial outfit, looking down on us. On a blackboard graphics and notes of a previous meeting where the Fias, chaired and directed by the number two of San Bernardino, Rocco Milano, is indicated as the treasury of the Principality. A close bond born about 4 years ago. There Fia is a non-profit organization also based in Romania and a gigantic organization chart, inversely proportional to the activity carried out (or rather, declared): 56 professionals including 6 to the legal office and then to the food division, research office, insurance division, European project development center, etc. Despite four reviews, one treasury manager and two in the accounting office, there are no financial statements available or serious reporting on the activity. The axis with the prince is made of iron. So much so that the potential income for citizenship goes to the Fias accounts while the registrations to the hospital orders of San Bernardino (2,500 euros, with the purpose of “humanitarian donation”) pass through an account of the Prince at the German online bank N26. Even if everything would be frozen for now. His Excellency Milan says that many ambassadors from other nations have passed through those rooms, that “the mission of the Principality is to operate in the social sector through the international relief corps”, that the official currency, the Paxit will be a cryptocurrency and that “the first thing to do is to help Italy, which has no autonomy and is subject to Europe which decides its fate”. All presumably preceded by a Rolando-Mattarella summit.
The Grand Chaplain
The official organization chart shows the name of Mons. Vittorio Formenti as «Grand Chaplain of the Principality of San Bernardino and of the Dynastic Orders». He is not just any priest, he has passed 36 years in the Vatican Secretariat of State with important administrative roles. We call him on the phone: «I am simply the spiritual father – he says – after all I am 78 years old and I am retired. They are organizing themselves quite well, they already have an internal hierarchy. They sent a letter to Secretary of State Paro to involve the Vatican in an organization of microstates and secretaries in the audience. I know Rocco Milano while I saw the prince once. But do not mention my name, I have no operational assignment, never participated in, never received written appointments nor have I ever been invited to enter their headquarters “. A think about it, Gianni Rolando surveyor may have a spiritual father but only a “Grand Chaplain” can match the “Prince of San Bernardino, Duke of Piedimonte, Count of Derthona, Sovereign Grand Master of the Military Hospitaller Order of San Bernardino and Sovereign Grand Master of the San Marziano Order” (official name in full).
Acrobatic attitudes
Let’s go to a fundamental point: the legal bases. The Principality claims to have “its own territory in the Red Sea, legally and claimed”. International recognition – they acrobatically affirm – is proven by a Notorious Deed drawn up in San Marino on 30/09/2013 and confirmed by the Apostilla of the Titan Foreign Secretariat of 07/10/2013. Real documents of a real notary. But you have to read them: Rolando receives the investiture of “regent” of the newborn island after a “popular consultation” (at the bar?) And thanks to a “diplomatic note” from the “Governor of Amomu, Hon. Reverendissimo Cesidio Tallini”. Amomu stands for the United Nations Multi Oceanic Archipelago and most reverend as “bishop of the Cesidian Church”. Count Mascetti-Tognazzi would sum it all up in one super… word. However, this would be international recognition. The New York Times he dealt with Tallini many years ago because he, a Long Island resident, signing himself as “Governor of Independent Long Island” issued communiqués for the secession from New York and the United States. Failed design, according to Tallini, due to the intervention of the CIA. More concrete is His Highness of Ravenna who, to demonstrate the legitimacy of the kingdom, also unveils an “Arbitral Ruling of Recognition of the Principality made enforceable by the Ordinary Court of Sassari on 02/01/2017”. But you have to read it. It is the story of a guy from Genoa, president of a noble association, who was inexplicably skeptical about the title of Prince self-attributed by Rolando; he basically considered him a charlatan. The dispute was resolved by appointing three arbitrators who ultimately agreed with Rolando: «He is really the Prince of the sovereign state of San Bernardino, with the privilege of diplomatic immunity and the right of extraterritoriality in his residence». After that the decision was simply filed, for enforceability, with the court of Sassari which never entered into the merits of the matter. Why Sassari? Casimiro MastinoSassari lawyer, he was one of the arbitrators and today he is a high representative of the State with the rank of “Lord Minister of Justice, Ethics and Morality”. To the Foreigninstead, it is indicated “Mrs. Countess Djarsa Premoli” but the list of ministries and officials is endless.
The Prince of the Tides
We call the Prince, addressing him with a respectful but more sober “Mr. Rolando”. He is not offended and confirms that he has never been on the islet “and in any case now it would be impossible because it is in the hands of pirates” who infest those waters. He speaks of the Principality of him as “a beautiful dream to carry out humanitarian aid”. They are all volunteers, he says: entrepreneurs, accountants, greats. “And we’re not asking anyone for money. The payments for citizenship? I have blocked everything until we are ready but we are in negotiations for mutual recognition with 15 states (they were “thirty” in the Christmas video, ed). For our digital currency, the Pax, we are ready and authorized by the various countries we deal with to have commanderies under the flag of San Bernardino. With Congo we are very far ahead: among other things, the president’s wife asked us for help in founding him ».
However, it seems that the Red Sea has played a terrible joke on the Prince. By setting the geographical coordinates obtained from the official documents on google maps (15,1588 North Latitude and 42,1019 East Longitude) even zooming to the maximum, i.e. with the possibility of framing tiny rocks from the satellite, the island cannot be seen. Disappeared, the sea has recovered. We tell Mr. Rolando: his Principality no longer exists. A few seconds of silence. Then he replies: «The island has disappeared up to a certain point; every now and then it re-emerges, it depends give her tides “. And when he re-emerges he is the only, indisputable Prince of San Bernardino, the island that exists and does not exist.
November 2, 2022 | 07:21
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