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I'm headed towards Tavolara, off the coast of Sardinia, a little island that supposedly is the smallest kingdom in the world. I'm going to meet the king. who has a restaurant. Named for its distinctive table-shaped mountain, Tavolara is only a quarter of a mile wide, and less than three miles from the coast. Today, it's home to only eleven residents. And a seafront restaurant run by its most illustrious inhabitant. Tonino. [in Italian] - Hi. - Hello.
[in Italian] So. Ninety-two-year-old Tonino Bertoleoni is the King of Tavolara. [in Italian] Beautiful day. [in Italian] Yes! [in Italian] Today is perfect. [in Italian] Yes, yes, yes. [in Italian] - Luckily. - Yes. His family have laid claim to this tiny island since his great-great-grandfather took the reins in 1836. [in Italian] So, it was Giuseppe Bertoleoni, my ancestor of Genoese origin. And one day he decided to come to Sardinia with his boat.
He saw this mountain here - [in Italian] Yes. and settled in the island of Tavolara. Though no official records exist of Giuseppe's arrival on the island, his storied reign began after an improbable encounter with the King of Sardinia, Charles Albert of Savoy. [in Italian] The Savoys heard about this Bertoleoni who had taken these islands, and wanted to get to know this Giuseppe Bertoleoni. told King Charles Albert, he told him, "You are the king of Piedmont and Sardinia, but I am the king of Tavolara." This joke. And King Charles Albert, when he heard this, that he said this joke, he said, "Well, I will name him King of Tavolara for real."
He took pen and paper and wrote, "Giuseppe Bertoleoni, born" - and so on - "King of Tavolara." In the 1860s, during the Italian Unification, Sardinia was absorbed into the Kingdom of Italy. But Tavolara maintained its independence, producing another five kings, and two queens. Today, Tonino is the living legacy of this two hundred-year-old fairytale. But to find out how this kingdom has managed to stay sovereign, I'm going to meet the rest of the family at a royal banquet. of sorts. The crown jewel of the kingdom is the family restaurant, Da Tonino. They serve whatever they can get their hands on, meaning seafood.
Giuseppe and I join the rest of the royals for appetizers and formal introductions. [in Italian] -Cheers. -Cheers. We're starting with spaghetti with clams and bottarga, which is dried Sardinian mullet roe. [in Italian] Delicious. [in Italian] I love bottarga. [in Italian] Oh, yes. Mmmm. This is really good. [in Italian] This is my grandfather. [in Italian] Grandfather. Brothers, wife, and grandchildren. This photograph… Queen Victoria had it in Buckingham Palace. And it has written on it: "The smallest kingdom in the world, Tavolara Island."
This black and white portrait is the family's most prized possession. Amazing. I love that. [in Italian] Yes. Proof that their royal lineage was once respected around the world. Oh, my! Gorgeous. Oh my god. [in Italian] Thank you. [in Italian] Dad. [in Italian] - Just a bit. - What can I give you? [in Italian] Okay, that is enough. Okay. [in Italian] Delicious. [in Italian] - Anyway, it is good, isn't it? - Delicious. In 1946, Italy voted to abolish its monarchy and depose the King of Savoy, rendering Tavolara's royal recognition meaningless.
Which put an end to the island's independence. [in Italian] To me, this is a kingdom. [in Italian] - Yes. - Of course. [in Italian] - Yes, yes, yes. Yeah. [in Italian] - Thank you. - Thank you. [in Italian] King! [in Italian] - Thank you. - Thank you. Kingdom or no Kingdom, Tonino is still the beloved ruler of this little paradise. Just ask his royal subjects. A Sardinian writer once said, 'if Sardinia is an island, then every Sardinian is an island unto themselves.'
Its isolation has given traditions both weird and wonderful. And some might say, it's even made fairy tales come true.
