Secret places!

It gets me every time. ‘Hidden Gems’, ‘Secret Tuscany’ - secret anything, all those words that are cliched travel words, yet still we respond. On my last trip to Italy I bought ‘Secret Rome’ to go on the bookshelf alongside my other 27 books on Rome and ‘Secret Dolomites’! I’ve used those words to headline some of my newsletters. It may not be a secret, but often it is a place that is not mainstream and one that you wouldn’t find with limited time, or your own car, or it could be a place that you have never heard of.

I’m talking another tiny country within Italy, so tiny that its total area is 61 square kilometres. Let me introduce you to the third smallest country in Europe, the fifth smallest country in the world AND the oldest country in the world.

It is called SAN MARINO.

Where is San Marino?

The country lies between the regions of Emilia-Romagna and Le Marche. Only a 25 minute drive away is the coastal town of Rimini on the Adriatic Sea and in two hours you are in Bologna. The capital of this country is also called San Marino and is perched on the top of Monte Titano, 739 metres above sea level, on the northeastern side of the Apennine Mountains.

The country has a population of 34,000 people and around 4,000 people live in the capital which, in 2008, became a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

History of San Marino

The walled city of San Marino was named after a saint, of course, Saint Marinus. Originally a stonemason from the island of Rab (found in what is now modern Croatia), he and fellow Christians escaped religious persecution at the hands of the Roman Empire and settled on the top of Monte Titano, where he built a church, out of which grew the community that would become San Marino. The official founding date is 3rd September, 301.

How has San Marino managed to keep their country intact?

San Marino has mostly stayed independent over the centuries because of its well fortressed mountainous landscape. In the 1800s the country took in many people who were persecuted for supporting the unification of Italy. Giuseppe Garibaldi promised to honour San Marino’s desire not to be included in the Italian unification and pressured King Victor Emanuelle II to call off a planned annexation of San Marino in 1860.

In 1962, a friendship treaty guaranteed its continued independence from the Italian state.

Why visit San Marino?

The only way to reach the country is via land by car or bus. There is no train station and no airport. The capital has everything you would expect - castles, monuments, museums and incredible views to the east coast of Italy. The three stone towers on the top of Monte Titano are linked with bridges and reached via narrow winding staircases.

Nearly two thousand years of relative stability has led the country to also be called the Most Serene Republic of San Marino. Its main agricultural products are wine and cheese; the spoken language is Italian and the currency is euro.

Palazzo Pubblico in Piazzza della Liberta is where the ceremonial changing of the guard occurs. Guardie di Rocca, in their distinctive red and green uniforms, patrol the borders of the country. In the summer months, the Changing of the Guard follows a rigid schedule. It starts at 2:30pm and takes place every thirty minutes after that.

We first visited nine years ago and stayed at Hotel Titano, right behind the beautiful Piazza della Liberta in the historic centre with expansive views over the whole country! The small number of tourists who have discovered San Marino are daytrippers, so the best time to enjoy the town is in the evening when you can truly appreciate how unique this place is. Strolling the stone streets in the still of the night in the oldest country in the world is quite magical.

It is well worth adding this country onto your next Italian adventure!

Ci vediamo la prossima settimana.

Deb