Easter under the banner of the contemporary art

This Easter the Angelo Biffi Art Gallery organised an exhibition of contemporary art by the artist Marzocca Antonio entitled "From our Land", along the "carrugi" of the Principality of Seborga ("carrugi" is the local dialect term used for the old narrow laneways and streets).

The open air exhibition took place on Sunday 23 and Monday 24 March.

WW2 Bomb in Seborga!

A bomb, from the second World War, discovered inside a wall of a house in Seborga few days ago was discharged on Wednesday morning, 5 March.

The town held its breath for at least an hour. To dislodge the bomb which had been there since it landed on 9 September 1944, a team of military experts (Engineers/Sappers) was called in from the Alpina Torinese Brigade. They took the shell to be detonated at Mount Nero, near the place called: “Passo del Bandito”.

The whole operation started just before 10 am. Beside the army, the Carabinieri (Italian Military Police) from Bordighera and members of the Emergency Services of Seborga-Vallebona and some volunteers from the local Red Cross were also called to guarantee the safety of the operation.

The shell had not exploded during a bombardment made by the Germans in the area which had sought to uncover a group of partisans whom they suspected were hiding in Seborga.
Indeed the five members belonging to the Resistance group were found and executed. Among them were also two young girls, 18 and 20 years of age.

That day six other people died: five members of a family from Perugia and an old person who did not stop at the “alt” command because he was deaf and was shot dead on the spot by a burst from a machine gun.

For the entire time, necessary for the removal of the shell, some houses were evacuated during the morning: in particular the house of Giuliano Fogliarino, owner of the flat in which the bomb was embedded in the wall for more than 60 years, and some houses near by.

Fortunately the children of the local school were not present on that day because they were on an excursion but to make the retrieval difficult, the shell was embedded in the wall at eight metres from the ground. A small mistake could have caused a disaster.

The knowledge of the experts made the dislodgement of the shell possible in just 15 minutes. Then the bomb was transported by the military in a isolated area called “Passo del Bandito”, on the mount Nero: a place considered ideal for such an operation as it is far away from houses and people. (Lorenza Rapini - La Stampa)

Mr. André Triquet bestowed Baron by Prince Giorgio I of Seborga

We are pleased to be informed that HH Prince Giorgio I of Seborga has bestowed of the noble title of Baron on Mr André Triquet, our Honorary Consul General in France who is also responsible for the Economic Relations with that country and Head of Cabinet of HH at the Department of Foreign Affairs.

After many years of dedicated service to the Principality and in particular to the Sovereign Order of the Knights of Saint Bernard of Chiaravalle as Master and Herald, Baron Triquet today receives a well deserved recognition for his tireless hard work.

At the same time, HH has promoted to the title of Baroness his affable wife, artist and painter Madame Béatrice Tintignac. Our deepest congratulations and best wishes to Baron Triquet and his consort!

This new initiative promoted by our Prince, who this year celebrates 45 years of reign, opens the road for the creation of a “Seborgan Nobility” comprised of people of newly noble status as well as nobles already recognized by the Principality of Seborga for their titles conferred overseas, even by countries that no longer exist.

It means now that with the existence of Nobility there will be a Princely Court and the creation of the label: "Supplier of the Court of the Principality of Seborga" (similar to the endorsement used in commercial activities in UK: "By Appointment to Her Majesty the Queen"), on which HH has already issued a decree dated 5 July 2002.

The Principality of Seborga could also bestow noble titles on behalf of States or foreign Entities, for example the Holy See, if requested. The Holy See (that has maintained its tutelage on Seborga for about thousand years and guarantees its no-annexation by Italy) in the past it has conferred noble titles on people who merited but then ceased doing so on the basis of a pronouncement made by HH Paolo VI in 1964.