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Further up the rocks with panoramic views over the mimosa and broom-filled valley below is Seborga, a tiny "principality". The fascinating history of the village dates back to the late tenth century when the Benedictine abbot of Lerino (the islands of Lérins lie in French waters on the Côte d'Azur, off the celebrated town of Cannes) bought the fiefdom from Count Guido di Ventimiglia, conferring the title of prince upon himself. At the time the purchase was not a particularly good deal (rocky crags, a few chestnut and pine woods and land which required back-breaking work before it could be farmed), if one discounts the fact that the abbots of Lerino founded a mint and began turning out coins (casts of the coins can be seen in the Bicknell museum in Bordighera). Of course, history is full of oversights and Seborga was the subject of just such an event in 1815; the Congress of Vienna overlooked the village in its efforts to redistribute European territories after the Napoleonic wars.
Today Seborga is fighting for its independence, helped along by the determination of its inhabitants and democratically-elected Prince (George I, a flower-grower by profession). It has its own ministers and ambassadors, issues passports and stamps and is hoping to produce its own currency, the "Luigino". An unusual past and an exiting future for this animated ancient village which is grouped around the parish church of San Martino and the galleried palazzo dei Monaci in a web of dark alleyways, low colonnades and cobbled streets. |
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Browse through the most evocative pictures of Seborga
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Hamlets:
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How to get there: Uscire al casello dell'Autostrada dei Fiori di Bordighera. Girare a sinistra e seguire le indicazioni |
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This town belongs to the Comunità Montana Intemelia. Visit the section dedicated to this montain community |
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Municipal Tourism Association
PRO LOCO SEBORGA - VIA DELLA ZECCA,
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Town Hall contact details
Facts and figures
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Population: (source ISTAT December 1999)
335
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Area: Km2
5
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Altitude: mt
500
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