Italian guy creates his own nation

Italy has always been a land of micronations, city-states, and enclaves. Even today, San Marino and Vatican City are tiny independent nations surrounded by Italian soil. So why not one more? That's the idea of Luca Sellari, the new mayor of the Italian city of Fillettino. When the Italian government decided to save money by forcing towns of less than 1,000 to merge with neighboring cities—that was enough to hatch Sellari's plan. He wants to make Fillettino (pop. 598) an independent kingdom. And who will be the monarch? Sellari thinks he'd do the job just fine. He even started printing up money with his face on it.

Sellari isn't the only mayor in Italy trying to save his city from annexation. Some towns on the bubble are inviting displaced Libyans to come and live. Others have pointed out that the cost savings of merging the small cities is actually less than the Italian Parliament spends on catering. It's not likely Fillettino will succeed, but politics in Italy has never been predictable. (You can read more here.)