San Marino is the third smallest country in the world, with a land area of roughly 24 square miles—bigger than both the Vatican and Monaco, but smaller than Liechtenstein and Washington, DC. It is a self-governing country within Central Italy, sandwiched between the Italian regions of Emilia-Romagna and Marche. The country’s western border is just a 20-minute drive away from the coastal Italian town of Rimini, off the Adriatic Sea, according to Conde Nast Traveler.
San Marino was named after, naturally, Saint Marinus. Originally a stonemason from the island of Rab,he and fellow Christians escaped religious persecution at the hands of the Roman Empire and settled on Monte Titano, where he built a church, out of which grew the community that would become San Marino.
San Marino shares similarities with a country like Switzerland in its comparatively small size, mountainous isolation, and habitual political neutrality. Nearly two thousand years of relative stability has led the country to also be called the Most Serene Republic of San Marino.
At first glance, San Marino might resemble any other Italian commune on the peninsula: Its main agricultural products are wine and cheese; its national language is Italian; its currency is the euro; visitors can freely cross the Italian-Sammarinese borders without paperwork. That said, its unique history and culture can still be found and experienced when you look more closely. Though San Marino is part of neither the European Union nor the Eurozone, it uses the euro as its currency. Coins with San Marino’s designs on the national side are highly sought after by collectors; you can find them exchanged locally, especially at souvenir shops. Another thing you can collect when you visit the country: passport stamps. Since landlocked San Marino doesn’t have an airport or a train station (the closest ones are in Rimini), the only ways into the country are land routes from Italy via car or bus.
Italy’s influence is apparent in the language of San Marino, where the official language is Italian. But among the 47,000 citizens of San Marino today, roughly 83% speak Sammarinese, a variety of the Romagnol language historically spoken in the region of Emilia-Romagna. The basic words are: buongiorno for “good morning,” per favore for “please,” and grazie (“gra-tsyeh”) for “thank you.”
The country’s tourism revolves around the City of San Marino, where you can find most of the restaurants, cafés, hotels, and shops catering to tourists. For an expansive view of the country and the Adriatic Sea, take the cable car that climbs Monte Titano and connects the Sammarinese commune of Borgo Maggiore to the city’s historical center. There, check out the Palazzo Pubblico in the Piazza della Liberta—literally the ‘public palace’ in the ‘place of liberty,’ fittingly named sites in this Most Serene Republic.
San Marino’s food scene might seem familiar at first glance because of its deep ties to Italy. In addition to its small wine and cheese industries, San Marino is well represented on the Italian plate—quite literally. Two of its signature desserts, the Torta Tre Monti and the Torta Titano, are hazelnut, chocolate, and cream cakes inspired by their namesakes, the three towers of San Marino and Monte Titano, respectively.
The City of San Marino has a fair number of options for accommodation, like the Hotel Titano, right behind Piazza della Libertà. There’s also the Grand Hotel San Marino down the road, where it has a restaurant L’Arengo, open for lunch and dinner, with fantastic offerings of Sammarinese wines.
Source: CN Traveller – The website of Condé Nast Traveller Magazine | CN Traveller
