Tavolara Island

Tavolara is a small island off the northeast coast of Sardinia, Italy. The island is a limestone massif 5 kilometres long and 1 kilometre wide, with steep cliffs except at its ends. Its highest point, Monte Cannone, is 565 metres above sea level. A cove and beach can be found at each end of the island, Spalmatore di Fuori at the northeast, and Spalmatore di Terra at the southwest. Currently, the island is inhabited by only a handful of families, and has a small cemetery and summer restaurant. The water around the island is a popular spot for scuba diving.

The nearest sizable town is Olbia, and the small fishing village of Porto San Paolo is directly across a small strait. The islands of Molara and Molarotto are nearby.

Most of the population of the island was displaced in 1962 when a NATO radiogoniometric station was constructed on the eastern half of the island. The aerials from the station can be seen from quite a distance, and that entire half of the island is restricted to military personnel.Tavolara is also home of the VLF-transmitter ICV, which works on 20.27 kHz and 20.76 kHz and which is used for transmitting messages to submarines. It can also be received (but not decoded) by PCs with a coil antenna at the soundcard entrance and FFT-analysis software.

The island and the surrounding waters are part of the Tavolara and Punta Coda Cavallo Marine Preserve created in 1997. The environmental protections placed on the park have added restrictions to the use of the area for tourism.

A natural column of rock on the island's coast resembles a human figure and is known as "the Stone Sentry" or "Pope's Rock." ["Ripley's Believe It or Not," April 25, 1972] Other stone formations include "Ulysses' Bow" (a natural arch) and the "Grotta del Papa" (a cave accessible by sea and boasting Neolithic cave paintings).

Flora and Fauna

A rare species of thorny knapweed, "Centaurea horrida", is endemic only to Tavolara and a few other fringe areas of northern Sardinia. In his "Natural History of Sardinia" (1774), Francesco Cetti reported huge rats inhabiting Tavolara, but these were probably the now-extinct Sardinian pika. In the 18th century, Sardinian lore claimed the wild goats of Tavolara had gold teeth. [McGrigor, Charles Rhoderick (1866), "Garibaldi at Home: Notes of a Visit to Caprera", pp 49-51] The goat herds were moved to Sardinia when the NATO station was built and there are no longer any goats on the island. The critically endangered monk seal had a breeding colony here until the 1960s. Once the home of a thriving lobster industry, Tavolara now attracts divers who come to view the coral, sponges, sea anemones, bottlenose dolphins, and even a few specimens of "Pinna nobilis", the rare giant clam whose byssus fibers were formerly used in the manufacture of sea silk for royal garments.

History

The island was known in ancient times as Hermea. According to tradition, Pope St. Pontian died on Tavolara following his abdication and exile in 235. It is probably identical to the island called Tolar, which was used by Arab ships in 848-849 as a base to attack nearby coasts. [Ferrero della Marmora, Alberto (1860), "Itinéraire de l'ile de Sardaigne pour faire suite au Voyage en cette contrée," pp 190-193]

In the 19th and 20th centuries, Tavolara was ruled by the Bertoleoni family as the Kingdom of Tavolara, one of the smallest kingdoms on the planet. It is now simply part of Italy, although it was never formally annexed.

In 1836, King Charles Albert of Sardinia visited the island and acknowledged Giuseppe Bertoleoni as an independent sovereign monarch. [Wallechinsky, David, and Amy Wallace (2005), "The New Book of Lists", pp 383-384, ISBN 1-84195-719-4] When he died in the 1840s, his eldest son became King Paolo I.

Tavolara was not included in the Italian unification, and King Paolo actively sought and obtained recognition from Italy. During his reign, in 1868 the Italian government began operating a lighthouse on the northeast end of the island. ["Notice to Mariners," "London Gazette," Aug 28, 1868, p 4734] Tavolara's sovereignty was reconfirmed in 1903, when Victor Emmanuel III of Italy signed a treaty of friendship with the nation. ["Tiny Republic Signs Treaty," "Atlanta Constitution", Nov 22, 1903, p10] After Paolo's death in 1886, ["E morto il Re!" "La Sardegna", June 8, 1886, p 1] and according to his wishes, the island became a republic, with a president and council of six elected every six years by a vote of the people, male and female. ["Smallest State in the World," "New York Times", June 19, 1896. p 6] Its third president was elected in 1896. ["Tiny Nation to Vote: Smallest Republic in the World to Hold a Presidential Election," "Lowell Daily Sun", Sep 17, 1896] ["Nation of 55 People: Republic of Tavolara in Its Third Presidential Campaign" "Boston Globe", Jan 10, 1897, p 34]

The monarchy, however, was reinstated in 1899. Since that time the island's kings have all come from the Bertoleoni family, recognized as the rulers of Tavolara by the Kings of Sardinia. Documents dating to 1767 affirm that Tavolara had never been a part of the Kingdom of Sardinia.

The third king of Tavolara was Carlo I, who was succeeded upon his death in 1928 by his son King Paolo II. [ "Tavolara's King Dies; Ruled Tiniest Realm; Charles Bartoleoni Was Monarch of Small Island Off Sardinia's Coast," "New York Times", Feb 1, 1928, p 27] Paolo went abroad, however, and left Carlo's sister Mariangela as regent in his absence. Queen Mariangela died in 1934, leaving the kingdom to Italy. ["Italy Gets Queen's Island of Tavolara," "Hartford Courant", July 9, 1934, p 15]

Her nephew Paolo II still claimed the kingdom, however, and ruled it until his death in 1962. That year marked the installation of the NATO station and the effective end of Tavolaran sovereignty.The present King Tonino of Tavolara is an Italian citizen named Tonino Bertoleoni, who runs "Da Tonino," a restaurant on the island. Politically, the interests of the island are represented in its external dealings by Prince Ernesto Geremia di Tavolara, of La Spezia, Italy, who has written a history of the island. [Geremia, Ernesto Carlo, and Gino Ragnetti (2005), "Tavolara - l'Isola dei Re", ISBN 8-84253-441-2]

The royal tomb of King Paolo I is in the graveyard on the island, surmounted by a crown.

References

* United States Hydrographic Office, Great Britain Hydrographic Office, Great Britain Admiralty, United States Navy Dept (1917), "Mediterranean Pilot", v 2, p 416-417

ee also

*Kingdom of Tavolara

External links

* [http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4044667769830205411 CGI simulated aerial video of Tavolara]
* [http://www.amptavolara.it Tavolara and Punta Coda Cavallo Marine Preserve]
* [http://www.cinematavolara.it Tavolara Film Festival]