Calvi, Corsica

In the south of the northern coast of Sardinia, known throughout the world as the Emerald Coast, in the azure sea rises a secluded and wild island-the rock of Tavolara.

There are no roads or hotels on it, and the only inhabited part of it is a beach of white sand, the length of which can be measured in steps.

The part-time King of Tavolara runs a five-square-kilometer monarchy in shorts and sandals, supervising 11 of the kingdom’s inhabitants, a hundred mountain goats, and several species of endangered falcons.