"A Deceptively Delightful Republic " a San Marino Travel Page by James63

At 26 square miles, the Most Serene Republic of San Marino, its official name, is the world's third smallest country, its smallest and oldest republic, and the only country to be founded by a saint. (Excluding, perhaps, Vatican City.) Moreover, San Marino's unique political system has given it world attention well beyond what its size would suggest.

Divided into nine districts called "castles," San Marino is governed by two Co-Regents, elected out of the membership of the Grand Council, or parliament, who may serve no more than 6 months, and who are then subject to scrutiny by all of the Republic's citizens and can be held legally responsible for their actions in office. Given this unique system, the Republic was mentioned by James Madison several times in the Federalist Papers as proof that a republic could survive in a world then filled with monarchies. (Though ultimately, he decided that the country's small size and population made it an inappropriate model for the fledgling United States.) Later, Abraham Lincoln sent a letter to the Republic's people lauding them for this same accomplishment, and accomplishment it has been.

Since its founding by Christian refugees from the Roman Empire under its patron, Saint Marinus, the Republic has managed to survive the intercine wars on the Italian peninsula during the barbarian invasions, the Middle Ages, and the Renaissance - it even managed to expand its initial territory in this time. It survived Napoleon, who was so impressed that he offered to expand it further. (The Sammarinese declined the offer.) It survived the wars of Italian unification in the 1850s and 60s, largely because it once sheltered Garibaldi from capture by the Austrians, thereby earning his eternal gratitude. It managed to remain neutral in World War I, though several of its citizens were killed. More remarkably, San Marino remained neutral in World War II, in part by adopting a government that was philosophically close to Benito Mussolini's National Fascist Party while being committed to the Republic's perpetual neutrality and while sheltering several thousand refugees. Though, again, the Sammarinese suffered casulaties when the country was accidentally bombed, and then briefly occupied with the Republic's permission, by the Allies. All in all, an incredible track record, and even today the Republic stands proudly aloof from the European Union.

Entirely surrounded by Italy just inland from the Adriatic Sea near Rimini, San Marino has been described as the world's largest theme park. To be certain, the Sammarinese know the value of a tourist lira - or euro now - and the capital city, perched atop Mount Titano and also called San Marino, has more than its fair share of cheesy tourist shops and snack bars.

However, to anyone willing to spend more than just a few hours snapping pictures, the Republic offers some small but quite good museums, interesting medieval architecture, a few good restaurants, two or three good hotels, some breathtaking scenery, three castles, and amidst all the souvenier shops, several higher quality shops that are worth a look. What is more, although most tourists will limit their stop to a day trip in San Marino's mountaintop capital, several of the other small towns in the Republic, including Serravalle, Monte Giardino and Borgo Maggiore, are definitely worth visiting.

To be certain, when you first cross the ostentatiously marked border from Italy, the first few miles into the Republic look less like Europe than suburbia U.S.A., with a riot of neon signs and shopping malls. However, persistence pays in San Marino and with patience and a willingness to ask for a little direction from the friendly natives, the lucky traveller will discover a hidden treasure that goes beyond the souvenier shops and of which the Sammarinese are justly proud.

P.S. My deepest thanks to Mr. Lino Sbraccia and his wife, both Sammarinese natives and fellow VT tourists, for their generous hospitality during my visit.