Republic of Cospaia shared border with what from 1532 to 1569?
Republic of Cospaia The Republic of Cospaia ( local dialect : Republica de Cošpäja ) was a small state within modern-day Italy , located in northern Umbria , independent from 1440 to 1826 . It was located in what is now the hamlet ( frazione ) of Cospaia in the comune of San Giustino in the Province of Perugia . History . It unexpectedly gained independence in 1440 after Pope Eugene IV , embroiled in a struggle with the Council of Basel , made a sale of territory to the Republic of Florence . By error , a small strip of land went unmentioned in the sale treaty and its inhabitants declared themselves independent . The misunderstanding arose from the fact that , about 500 meters from the stream that was to establish the demarcation ( simply called Rio ) , there was a homonymous stream . The delegates of the Florentine republic considered the Rio which was located further north as the new delimitation , whereas the delegates of the Papal States considered it the one further south . Thus a sort of terra nullius was formed whose inhabitants declared themselves independent , no longer subject to any authority . In 1484 its autonomy was formally recognized by both Florence and the Papal States , considering it not worth the trouble to redraw treaties in regard to an already complicated border . On May 25 , 1826 , Cospaia was divided between Tuscany and the Papal States . The treaty was signed by the fourteen remaining family heads of Cospaia , in exchange for a silver coin , and being allowed to grow up to half a million tobacco plants a year . Birth of the republic . The republican form of government was extremely rare until the French Revolution . There were maritime republics ( with aristocratic institutions ) , the Republic of San Marino and alleged Republic of Senarica ( in Abruzzo ) , with an elected doge akin to the system used in Venice , but its real existence has not been historically proven with proper documentation . The cospaiesi , therefore , preferred to base their independence on the total freedom of the inhabitants , all holders of sovereignty , not entrusted to any organ of power , unlike in states . Cospaia also had an official flag , which is still used on some occasions . The banner was characterized by a black and a white field , divided diagonally . In the coat of arms there appeared the village between the two small streams , with two fish on the right and the plant of Nicotiana tabacum on the left , above was the motto and years of the republic . The cospaiesi did not , therefore , have tribute obligations with either the Papal States nor the Grand Duchy of Tuscany , and the goods that passed through the territory were not subject to any tariffs ; it was therefore a free economic zone and buffer state between the two powers . Although Cospaia extended over just 330 hectares ( 2 kilometers long and about 500 meters wide ) , the 250 inhabitants treasured the situation and took advantage of it to increase the cultivation of tobacco , among the first in the Italian peninsula . Even now , some varieties of tobacco are defined with the name of cospaia . Cospaia was an early centre of tobacco production within Italy , using 25 hectares of fertile soil to grow it . One of the reasons for the prosperity of Cospaia was that it was the only place in Italy that didnt follow with the papal ban on tobacco growing , thus ensuring a monopoly on production . Form of government . The Republic of Cospaia did not have a formal government or official legal system . There were no jails or prisons and there was no standing army or police force . At the head of the administration , there was the Council of Elders and Family Heads , which was summoned for decision making and judicial duties . The curate of San Lorenzo also took part in the meetings of the Council of Elders , as president , a position shared with a member of the Valenti family , the most important in the country . Council meetings were held in the Valenti house until 1718 , when the council began to meet in the Church of the Annunciation , where they would stay until the republics dissolution . On the architrave of the church door one can still read the only written law of the tiny republic : Perpetua et firma libertas , or Perpetual and secure freedom . The Latin phrase referred to was also engraved on the parish bell . After several centuries of existence , Cospaia was reduced to a mere receptacle of contraband . The concept of freedom was somewhat tarnished in favor of its privileges , which attracted people of all kinds , for economic reasons or to escape the justice of the two large adjacent states . This situation was not unusual in the small states , especially in the border ones . End of the republic . After the end of the Napoleonic Era , on 26 June 1826 , with an act of submission by fourteen representatives of the republic , Cospaia became part of the Papal States : every Cospaiese , as compensation , obtained a papal silver coin and the authorization to continue tobacco cultivation , which was taken over by rich local landowners such as the Collacchioni and the Giovagnoli , who bought most of the territory contained within the borders of the former republic . They then extended tobacco production to the whole valley , imposing it as the principal agricultural commodity .