[1] Set up by the Bertoleoni family, allegedly sanctioned by Charles Albert, King of Sardinia, it claims to be one of the smallest kingdoms in the world.

It is probably the island previously called Tolar, which was used by some Arab ships in 848–849 as a base to attack nearby coasts.

The New York Times described a government (supposedly recognized by Italy in 1887) with a president and council of six elected every six years by a vote of the people, regardless of gender.

[10] Her nephew Paolo II still claimed the kingdom until he died in 1962, a year that marked the installation of a NATO station on the island.

Politically, the interests of the micronation are represented in its external dealings by Ernesto Geremia of La Spezia, Liguria, Italy, who has written a history of the island.