Tonino Bertoleoni

The only King among restaurateurs and the only restaurateur among Kings.

In Sardinia, in the splendor of the Gulf of Olbia, is the island of Tavolara, approximately 6 km².

This land boasts the enchanting beauty of nature, formed by a rock that the ancient mythology describes as “the ship of Greek navigators, petrified by Poseidon.” The island is shaped like a large table, generously open to all tourists, with its quaint restaurant “Da Tonino”. In this place you are and you eat “as a King”, and here this is partly a truth, because the island of Tavolara is really a Kingdom.

We had a pleasant chat with Tonino Bertoleoni, the current and actual King of Tavolara, sunny person, smiling and simple.

The story of his family, that he jealously guards, began at the end of ‘700, when the beautiful island of Tavolara was still deserted and uninhabited. The Genoese Giuseppe Bertoleoni (the great-grandfather of Tonino) came from Corsica, fell in love with this land and settled here at the turn of the ‘700 and the ‘800. Giuseppe became the first resident and owner of Tavolara and devoted himself breeding of a rare breed of wild goats, gold teeth, who populated the island.

Precisely these animals brought luck to the family Bertoleoni. In the years thirties of the ‘800, the King of Piedmont and Sardinia, Carlo Alberto of Savoy, came to Tavolara, curious to see the famous goats. Just landed, the ruler introduced himself as “King of Sardinia”. Paolo Bertoleoni (Giuseppe’s son) replied jokingly: “And I am the King of Tavolara”. Between the two quickly developed a relationship of sympathy, and the King remained on the island for a few days.

After a good hunt for wild goats, the King of Sardinia decided to give his new friend Paolo a sheet of paper, written by his own hand, where he recognizes the title of King of Tavolara to him. This paper, however, had no official validity, and Paolo realized it a few years later, when he was involved in a quarrel with the state that wanted to expropriate him from the island.

Paolo, very worried, told his wife Nina the decision to go to Turin to ask the King for recognition of his role, and show the famous “document” which he signed. And so it was. The King gave him a historical scroll in which it was written: “Paolo Bertoleoni is the sole owner and King of Tavolara”. This news ended up in the newspapers, the story of the little kingdom of Sardinia became public and came to the United Kingdom. In 1896, the Queen Victoria sent a ship with her “reporters” in order to photograph the inhabitants of this mythical kingdom. The rulers of the “royal island” were immortalized in a historic photo with the caption “The royal family Bertoleoni of Tavolara, the smallest Kingdom in the World”. The original of this image is in the museum of Buckingham Palace in London, and the copy on display in the restaurant “Da Tonino”. This was the only official proof of the existence of the Kingdom, because the historical parchment has been lost over the years. No such evidence was sufficient for the Italian Republic, which has never recognized the Kingdom of Tavolara. There was only one case of “partial recognition”.

 King Tonino, great-grandson of Paul Bertoleoni says:

“The land of the State attempted to expropriate our family from the island because it was necessary to build a military lighthouse (which later became the radio beam of NATO). It was eventually signed a kind of bill of sale with the King of Tavolara, where it says that he sells a portion of the island to the state. On that special occasion was recognized both his property, and his title.”.

For two hundred years, the ruling family Bertoleoni lives on its own island, where they had initially created a local production of lime for the construction industry. In 1955 this activity was interrupted because of the increasing competition on mainland, so they began to dedicate to the tourist activities, opening the restaurant, where it is exposed the official emblem of the Kingdom, and the line of boats connecting the island to Porto San Paolo.

Mr. Bertoleoni, do you actually feel a King?

“The history of my family is beautiful, but in life we are all equal, there is no difference between me and any other person. Maybe my ancestors got more, but the latest generations of Bertoleoni do not reign, they work.”.

Have you ever done anything to obtain official recognition of the Italian State? You know that you’d become like San Marino? All of you would become citizens of the Kingdom of Tavolara!”

“Yeah, at least like San Marino! … But…no, we never did anything for this … At least, I do not care. Then we will see what will the heirs do …”.

Youthful and energetic King Tonino does not show at all his eighty-two and is still going strong. Who will be his successor? In a private document, the “Sovereign of Tavolara” has already appointed a successor, his son Giuseppe, 44 years old. “His Grace”, the Prince Giuseppe Bertoleoni, is the chef in the restaurant “Da Tonino” and magnificently uses his “scepter”, creating truly unique dishes, perfectly suiting a King’s taste.

Elena Buldakova, Guido De Simone, Valentina Sennik

Photo Guido De Simone

Photos, by courtesy of the Family Bertoleoni