Sua Tremendità
In the early 1960s, Giorgio Carbone, then head of the local flower-growers co-operative in Seborga in northern Italy, began promoting the idea that the town retained its historic independence as a principality.
Carbone was elected Prince of Seborga on 23 April 1995, when, in an informal referendum, Seborgans voted 304 in favour, 4 against, for the Principality's constitution, and in favour of independence from Italy.
Carbone reigned until his death on 25 November 2009. Prince Giorgio carried the honorific title Sua Tremendità ("Your Tremendousness"). He was succeeded, after a brief interregnum, by Prince Marcello I (Marcello Menegatto).
In June 2006, a controversy arose when a woman calling herself "Princess Yasmine von Hohenstaufen Anjou Plantagenet", who claimed to be the rightful heir to the throne of Seborga, offered to return the principality to Italy.
Her claim was contested by the then-prince, Giorgio I, who asserted that there were no credible sources supporting her, and said: "Pah! No one has ever even seen her as far as I know. I call her the internet princess."
Seborga has a local currency, the luigino, which is legal tender inside the city along with the euro. The luigino's value is pegged at USD 6.00. Seborga has issued stamps and a novelty Tourist Passport.
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