Republic of Rose Island
The Republic of Rose Island (Esperanto: Respubliko de la Insulo de la Rozoj; Italian: Repubblica dell'Isola delle Rose, both lit. 'Republic of the Island of the Roses') was a short-lived micronation on a man-made platform in the Adriatic Sea, 11 kilometres (6.8 mi) off the coast of the region of Emilia-Romagna, Italy, built by Italian engineer Giorgio Rosa, who made himself its president and declared it an independent state on 1 May 1968. Although Rose Island had its own government, currency, post office, and commercial establishments, and the official language was Esperanto, it was never formally recognized as a sovereign state by any country of the world.