Liguria · Imperia
Seborga
A hilltop village at 517 meters above Bordighera that calls itself a principality, 276 residents, its own coins and stamps since 1963.
- Best time
- Apr–Oct
- By car
- 2 h from Genoa
- Population
- 276
Known for
PRINCIPALITY
Self-declared independent state since 1963, 200 voters, an elected prince every seven years, recognised by no government.
LUIGINO
Local currency minted by Seborga, pegged to the US dollar at six luigini, accepted in some village shops as a souvenir.
CISTERCIAN STATE
Ruled by Lérins prince-abbots from 1079 until 1729, an independent monastic principality inside the wider Ligurian patchwork.
When to visit
Best · Apr–Oct
- J10°
- F12°
- M13°
- A15°
- M19°
- J23°
- J26°
- A27°
- S23°
- O19°
- N14°
- D11°
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
Daytime averages, 2020–2024. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.
Why come
Seborga sits at 517 meters in the hills above Bordighera, 35 kilometers from Monaco. In 954 the counts of Ventimiglia ceded the territory to the Cistercian abbey of Lérins; in 1079 Gregory VII granted the abbots prince-abbot status and the right to mint coins. The Principality of Seborga ran as a Cistercian state until 1729, when it was sold to Vittorio Amedeo II of Savoy.
In 1963 Giorgio Carbone, head of the local flower-growers' cooperative, argued the sale had never been properly registered, declared the commune independent, and was elected prince. The 200 registered voters now elect a sovereign every seven years. Princess Nina Menegatto took the title in 2019.
Seborga prints its own stamps and mints a currency called the luigino. Italy does not recognise any of it, but the town does carry a Bandiera Arancione and a Borghi più belli badge, and on a clear day the view stretches from the Esterel coast to Cap Ferrat.
The Sunday letter
Seborga is on our list. Its letter is still to come.
We are writing about all 1,000 of these towns, one at a time, in a free letter every Sunday: the photo, the food, the festa. That is our mission. Sign up and you will be there when Seborga comes up. By Peter & Sophia, from Pietrasanta.
Read on
Seborga in our articles
The best hill towns in the province of Imperia6 towns, Seborga among them.
The prettiest small villages in the province of Imperia9 towns, Seborga among them.
10 Bandiera Arancione towns nobody has heard of10 towns, Seborga among them.
Balcony towns: high villages above the Ligurian sea10 towns, Seborga among them.
How to get there
From Genoa (GOA), about 2 hours by car.
Turin (TRN) is about 3h 11m away.
By car from the centre of Milan 3h 18m.
What to see
Chiesa di San Martino
Seventeenth-century parish church, single nave, the seat of the former Cistercian abbey transformed after the principality lost ecclesiastical status.
Palazzo dei Monaci
Former Cistercian abbots' residence on the main piazza, now used as the principality's symbolic government building.
Zecca di Seborga
Old mint that produced the principality's coins from the eleventh century, restored as a small museum on Via Verdi.
Belvedere di Seborga
Terrace at the upper edge of the village with sightlines across the Côte d'Azur to Monaco and Cap Ferrat on clear days.
Chiesa di San Bernardo
Small Romanesque chapel on the western edge of the village, dedicated to the Cistercian patron and used for principality ceremonies.
The slow-trip planner
Building a trip? Find where Seborga fits in a slow Italy circuit.
Answer five questions. We will shape a geographically coherent slow trip from the 1,000 Italian towns most travelers skip. Yours to save and share.
Living here
- Population 276
- In-betweeni
- Pharmacy: none mapped
- High school within a 30-minute drive
- Nearest airport Genoa, 1 h 55 min drive
- Regional capital Genova, 2 h 0 min drive
Common questions
- What is Seborga known for?
- Seborga is a hilltop village at 517 meters above Bordighera that calls itself a principality, 276 residents, its own coins and stamps since 1963.
- Where is Seborga?
- Seborga is a comune in the province of Imperia, in Liguria.
- What is the nearest airport to Seborga?
- Genoa (GOA), about 2 hours by car.
- How long is the drive from Milan to Seborga?
- About 3h 18m by car.
- When is the best time to visit Seborga?
- Best in Apr–Oct. August is the warmest month, averaging 27 degrees, and June the wettest, with about 14 rain days.
- Which other towns are like Seborga?
- Castelvecchio di Rocca Barbena, Perinaldo and Montesegale.
- How many people live in Seborga?
- 276 at the 2023 count.
Tags & datadesignations · numbers · sources
Recognised as
The numbers
- Elevation: 517 m
- Population: 276
- Surface area: 4.87 km²
These figures were compiled from public directories: ISTAT, OpenStreetMap and Wikidata, and from the official listings of the guides named on this page. Town details change; verify with official sources before you travel.
Similar
Towns like Seborga
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