Filettino has even started printing its own currency, the Fiorito - complete with a picture of Mayor Sellari.

Mayor Luca Sellari displays Filettino's own bank currency - the 'Fiorito' - at his office in Filettino, Italy, August 2011.

The village's few shops stock T-shirts bearing the new Filettino coat of arms. For now, they are just souvenirs. Sellari insists, though, there is legal precedent.

Before unification in the 19th century, Italy was made up of dozens of principalities and kingdoms. Some, like San Marino, still survive.

“We were the first ones to protest, maybe the ones who protested loudest - and the government stepped back. At the moment the town is not merged with the neighboring village, but still, the government is forcing us to unify our services. That would force our costs up, so I hope [Prime Minister] Monti’s new government will propose a reasonable solution to this,” said Sellari.

Rosa Maria Giulitti helps run Filettino’s main restaurant, La Galleria. She remains skeptical of the mayor’s plans.

“We don’t want to be independent from Italy, we don’t want to be out. We just want to manage our own resources, which we don’t want to concede to anyone else,” said Giulitti.

Giulitti’s mother takes over the cooking - insisting that the local cattle produce the tastiest steak in the world. "This is the local blood of the principality!" she declares.