The Grand Duchy of Castiglione is a huge, socially progressive nation, renowned for its barren, inhospitable landscape, compulsory military service, and absence of drug laws. The compassionate, hard-working, democratic population of 631 million Castiglioneans hold their civil and political rights very dear, although the wealthy and those in business tend to be viewed with suspicion.

The relatively small, liberal, outspoken government juggles the competing demands of Welfare, Education, and Healthcare. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Palermo. The average income tax rate is 10.3%.

The strong Castiglionean economy, worth 41.7 trillion francs a year, is broadly diversified and led by the Basket Weaving industry, with major contributions from Book Publishing, Furniture Restoration, and Uranium Mining. Average income is 66,143 francs, with the richest citizens earning 5.3 times as much as the poorest.

Discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation is illegal, drugs containing the compound "oleum de serpens" are being sold to cancer patients, students are wary of colorfully decorated new teachers with names like Professor Pipsqueak, and shooting someone has never been safer. Crime, especially youth-related, is almost non-existent. Castiglione's national animal is the lion, which teeters on the brink of extinction due to widespread deforestation.

Castiglione is ranked 111,695^th in the world and 45^th in LunarPunk for Safest, scoring 77.52 on the Bubble-Rapp Safety Rating.