"A jump into the past" Top 5 Page for this destination San Marino by Azhut

San Marino is one of the oldest Republic in Europe. We have a document from the year 951, by the king of Italy Berengario II written in "plebe Sancti Marini". It confirms the presence of a community around the parish of San Marino. Its history if full of legends about its real origins, as you can read below:

I found this infos on the site you can read below
It was during the year 257 a.c. when the emperor Diocleziano ordered the reconstruction of the walls of Rimini, destroyed earlier by Demonstene the king of Liburni.
Amongst the many stone cutters that had been called from all over Europe came two from Dalmazia, they were destined to remain in the memories of many: Marino and Leo.
Respectful of God and full of charity, they contributed in the spreading of the Christian faith right up to the moment of their retreat, Leo to Montefeltro and Marino to mount Titano. In the time spent on mount Titano, Marino spoke of great prodigals, like the healing of a woman possessed or of the domestication of a bear. The most important moment however came about when Marino met Verissimo and his mother Felicissima, the owners of the mount. Verissimo contested Marino's residency on his grounds, but providence did not abandon him and Verissimo was struck down with a paralysis. The mother was desperate for help and begged Marino to waste no time in helping out her son. This was soon done, and the gesture won over the faith of both mother and son who were converted into Christianity.

For gratitude they donated mount Titano to him and all his descendants. Marino continued his life of prayer and retreat up until the 3rd of September of an unknown year, he sadly died. This date is remembered by the Republic. This is taken from what is written in the hagiography of the XII century of Saint Marino. What is truth and what is fiction is difficult to say, for sure we know that Demonstene the king of Liburni never actually existed and also that if Diocleziano really did reconstruct the walls of Rimini it definitely wasn't in the year 257.
Studies have shown that San Marino lived sometime in the period between 500 and 700. It is even possible that the hagiography has been in the past, at least in part, falsified to guard the territorial patrimony of the monastery of San Marino against the vindictive attempts of the bishop of Rimini at the time of the Feretrano Decree.
Whatever the truth is, the legend is a sure expression of the strong will of independence from the habitants of mount Titano and offers a picture of life in the "antique land of liberty".

For more details go at this site, where I took the legend you read :-)
San Marino

Technical datas:
Surface: 61 kmq

Borders:
north-east: Emilia Romagna
sud-west: Marche

Capital: San Marino

Inhabitants: 30.000

 

Palazzo Pubblico

The building that is today one of the little Republic's symbols, stands on the place where years ago was established the old Palace, called Domus Magna Comunis, that was built at the end of the XIV centuries.
The new Palazzo Pubblico or Palazzo Governativo, was built between 1884 and1894 by the architect Francesco Azzurri, following the style of the Comunal Palaces of the XIII and XIV centuries. The Palace is today hosts the official ceremonies of the Republic and is the seat of the main istitutional and administrative organs as i Capitani Reggenti, Il Consiglio Grande e Generale, ll Congresso di Stato and Il Consiglio dei XII. The façade, white and quite simple, is made of sandstone and constellated by a huge variety of "shields" that represent the influence of the most important Italian lineages (Visconti, Montefeltro, etc.).

What to see in San Marino:

Seconda Torre that hosts the Museo delle armi antiche, Palazzo del Governo, Basilica del Santo, Chiesa di San Francesco and pinacoteca-museo, Chiesa dei Capuccini, Mostra dell'artigianato sammarinese, Museo delle armi moderne.

• Pros:A very nice place to visit
• Cons:Few parking areas maybe!
• In a nutshell:A medioeval atmosphere