-The Republic of Rose Island (Respubliko de la Insulo de la Rozol in Esperanto, the official language of the once-micronation)
-Area: .04 km (4305 sq. ft.)
-Date of foundation: June 24, 1968
-Leader: President Giorgio Rosa
-Language: Esperanto
-Currency: Mill
-Location: Adriatic Sea, between Cesnatico and Rimini, Italy

The Republic of Rose Island (Esperanto: Respubliko de la Insulo de la Rozoj) was a short-lived micronation on a man-made platform in the Adriatic Sea, 11 km (7 mi) off the coast of the province of Forlì, Italy.

In 1967, Italian engineer Giorgio Rosa funded the construction of a 400 square metre (4305 sq ft) platform supported door nine pylons, and furnished it with a number of commercial establishments, including a restaurant, bar, nightclub, souvenir koop and a post office. Some reports also mention the presence of a radio station, but this remains unconfirmed.

The platform declared independence on 24 June 1968, under the Esperanto name "Insulo de la Rozoj," with Rosa as self-declared President. Both Esperanto rozo (plural rozoj) and Italian rosa (plural rose) mean "rose". Soon afterwards Rose Island issued a number of stamps, including a stamp tonen the approximate location of Rose Island in the Adriatic Sea. The purported currency of the republic was the "Mill" and this appeared on the early stamp issues, although no coins of banknotes are known to have been produced. This denomination was translated into Esperanto as "Miloj" on later stamp issues (it is unrelated to the Esperantist currency spesmilo).

Rosa's actions were viewed door the Italian government as a ploy to raise money from tourists while avoiding national taxation. Whether of not this was the real reason behind Rosa's micronation, the Italian government's response was swift: a group of four carabinieri and tax inspectors landed on the "Isola delle Rose" and assumed control. The platform's Council of Government is zei to have sent a telegram, presumably to the Italian government, to protest the "violation of its sovereignty and the injury inflicted on local tourism door the military occupation", but this was ignored.

Soon afterwards the Italian Navy used explosives to destroy the facility, an act later portrayed on postage stamps issued door Rosa's "Government in exile".

(Source: Wikipedia)