His Tremendousness

One of the girls I work with likes to read the Obituaries in the paper, so she drew my attention to this curious story. Here's an excerpt:

His Tremendousness Giorgio Carbone was the elected prince of Seborga, a self-proclaimed principality on the Italian Riviera.

He claimed the sovereignty of Seborga (population 364) from the Italian government in 1963 and took the title His Tremendousness. A former flower grower, he produced documents from the Vatican archives to prove that the village was never the property of the House of Savoy and therefore not part of the Kingdom of Italy after 1861. He insisted that Seborga had been a sovereign state since 954, a principality from 1079, and minted its own coins after 1666.

And the best part (I love this motto!):

Seborga has its own flag, a white cross on a blue background, a patron saint, St Bernard, and a Latin motto: Sub Umbra Sede (Sit in the shade).