The new currency of a would-be Italian Prince
A budget-saving proposal from the Italian central government has prompted outcries from many of the country’s small town mayors as the new measure would force towns of less than 1,000 people to merge with their neighbours.
The consolidating effort would effect 1,963 towns across Italy so 1,963 mayors of such small populations have reacted in protest to a varying degree. In Milan this weekend, 600 mayors donned their tricolor sashes to march in united dissent. Some mayors have turned in the symbolic keys to their cities, others have invited recent Lybian refugees to settle there and to boost their number of residents up over 1,000.
One mayor stands out from the rest with his plan to remain independent. Mayor Luca Seralli of Filettino wants his town to become a new state under a monarch- Prince Seralli.
Filettino is located near Rome and hosts a population of 598, well below the 1,000 needed to remain independent. Rather than merge with neighboring municipalities, Seralli wants to turn the town into a principality, with himself at the helm.
Filettino is now selling t-shirts emblazed with the town’s brand new coat of arms and has printed its own currency- the fiorito. Should Seralli’s long-shot plans ever be realized, the fiorito will carry a Euro exchange rate of 2:1.
