L’isola che non c’è: il curioso caso dell’Isola Ferdinandea tra accrezione mancata e dispute sul possesso

Among the methods of acquiring the territorial base of a State, accretion can generate territorial disputes when it modifies previously existing border agreements. In Italy, a little known case of (failed) accretion the Ferdinandea Island, of volcanic origin, in the Strait of Sicily, which for a few months of 1831 was a possible case of territorial dispute that ended unexpectedly. This paper narrates the events by analyzing what possible international legal repercussions could occur if a similar case were to arise again in the Mediterranean Sea, where the territorial interests of the States come into contact at several points