The Republic of Rose Island was a short-lived new country project located on a man-made platform in the Adriatic Sea, approximately eleven kilometres off the coast of Rimini, Italy.

The 400 square metre platform supported on nine pylons was constructed in 1967 by Italian engineer Giorgio Rosa - for whom the island was named - and who furnished it with a number of commercial retail establishments, including a restaurant, bar, nightclub, souvenir shop, post office and even a radio station.

Rosa declared his artificial island independent of Italy on 24 June, 1968, under the Esperanto name Insulo de la Rozoj, and subsequently produced such instruments of statehood as a flag, stamps and, reportedly, currency.

The Italian government's response was swift and heavy-handed;  a group of  four police and tax inspectors  landed on Rose Island and assumed control. Rosa's Council of Government is said to have sent a telegram to the Italian government, to protest the "violation of its sovereignty and the injury inflicted on local tourism by the military occupation", but this was ignored.

Soon afterwards the Italian Navy used explosives to destroy the facility - an act later portrayed on postage stamps believed to have been issued by Rosa's exile government.

The Republic of Rose Island remains one of only two purpose-built artificial island countries whose construction succeeded in creating "new" territory that could be occupied by a self-declared government.

Postage Stamps and Currency of Rose Island:
 
Aside from reports noting the operation of a (presumed) sea mail service between Rose Island and the Italian mainland, and the existence of a post office on the island-platform itself, the stamp-issuing history of the republic remains an almost complete mystery; the uncertain provenance of the stamps shown below does not even enable the establishment of a link between them and Rosa's project to be made with any degree of certainty - although the use of Esperanto - Rose Island's official language - and other details lend weight to the theory that these stamps are indeed genuine.

Rose Island is reported to have minted coinage, but as no specimens have so far come to light such reports may be apocryphal. Banknotes are not believed to have been issued.

Issue 1: Rose Island Date of Issue: 1968 (?) Printer: unknown Quantity: unknown Sheet Layout: unknown Stamp Dimensions:  mm Perforations: Denominations: 30 Mills (IR1) Varieties: none noted Presumed to be Rose Island's inaugural philatelic release, this stamp shows the general appearance of the inhabitable area of the platform, as well as the island's approximate location.

Issue 2: Italian Military Occupation Date of Issue: 1968 (?) Printer: unknown Quantity: unknown Sheet Layout: unknown Stamp Dimensions:  mm Perforations: Denominations: 30 Mills (IR2) Varieties: none noted This issue was presumably released while Rose Island was under Italian Military Occupation and consists of an overprint of Issue 1 to that effect, applied manually in black ink using a rubber stamp.

Issue 3: Destruction of Rose Island Date of Issue: 1968 (?) Printer: unknown Quantity: unknown Sheet Layout: unknown Stamp Dimensions:  mm Perforations: Denominations: 30 Miloj (IR3a), 60 Miloj (IR3b), 120 Miloj (IR3c) Varieties: none noted  This protest issue was presumably released after the destruction of Rose Island by the Italian Navy - which is the unmistakeable explosive event featured in the central panel of the design. The inscription refers to the Republic of Rose Island instead of simply Rose Island as previously, and the denomination is now given in Miloj instead of Mills.