Interesting facts about San Marino

san marino flag

San Marino is a mountainous microstate surrounded by Italy.

It situated on the Italian Peninsula on the northeastern side of the Apennine Mountains.

San Marino officially the Republic of San Marino also known as the Most Serene Republic of San Marino.

The official language is Italian.

As of 1 January 2016, the population of San Marino was estimated to be 32,571 people.

Its size is just over 61 square kilometers (24 square miles).

Geographically, San Marino is the world’s fifth smallest country and the third smallest in Europe (after the Vatican and Monaco).

The City of San Marino, also known simply as San Marino or locally as Città, is the capital city of the Republic of San Marino.

san marino city

The Palazzo Pubblico is the town hall of the City of San Marino as well as its official Government Building.The building was designed by the Roman architect Francesco Azzurri and was built between 1884 and 1894.

palazzo pubblico san marino

The Basilica of the Saint was designed and built, starting in 1826, by Antonio Serra, an architect from Bologna, on the grounds of the ancient Church of the 5th century, which was demolished to make place for the new Basilica.

basilica of the saint san marino

Monte Titano is a mountain of the Apennines and the highest peak in San Marino. It stands at 739 meters (2,425 feet) above sea level and is located immediately to the east of the capital, San Marino.

San Marino has no flat ground; it is entirely composed of hilly terrain.

San Marino Historic Centre and Mount Titano was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2008.It covers 55 hectares (136 acres) , including Mount Titano and the historic center of the city which dates back to the foundation of the republic as a city-state in the 13th century.

monte titano

The Three Towers of San Marino are a group of towers located in San Marino. Located on the three peaks of Monte Titano in the capital, also called San Marino, they are depicted on both the national flag and coat of arms.

The Guaita is the oldest of the three towers, and the most famous. It was constructed in the 11th century and served briefly as a prison.

guaita san marino

The Cesta is located on the highest of Monte Titano’s summits.It was constructed in the 13th century on the remains of an older Roman fort.

cesta san marino

The Montale, on the smallest of Monte Titano’s summits, was built in the 14th century and is still privately owned.Unlike the other towers, this one is not open to the public.

montale san marino

With over 100 unique sculptures in a small area, San Marino has some very amazing works of art, the most famous of which is the Lady of Liberty located in front of the city hall.She’s wearing a crown with the three towers Mount Titano.

lady of liberty san marino

San Marino claims to be the oldest surviving sovereign state and constitutional republic in the world, as the continuation of the monastic community founded on 3 September 301, by stonecutter Marinus of Arba.

It also has the oldest constitution in the world (that’s still in use) – it was enacted in 1600.

The Mountainous state attracts over 3 million tourists every year.

Olive, pine, oak, ash and other trees grow in San Marino. The country’s animals include moles, hedgehog, foxes, badgers, weasels and hares.

san marino nature

There are several streams and small rivers, including the Ausa, Marano, and the San Marino.

There are 220 kilometers (140 miles) of roads in the country, the main road being the San Marino Highway.

The people of San Marino are called Sammarinese.

The cuisine of San Marino is extremely similar to Italian.

Torta Tre Monti (“Cake of the Three Mountains/Towers”), based on The Three Towers of San Marino. It is a traditional Sammarinese cake made of layers of thin waffled wafers cemented together by chocolate or hazelnut creme.

cake

San Marino’s per capita GDP of US$55,449 and standard of living are comparable to that of Denmark.

Key industries include banking, electronics, and ceramics. The main agricultural products are wine and cheese.

Also San Marino’s postage stamps, which are valid for mail posted in the country, are mostly sold to philatelists and are an important source of income.

San Marino remained neutral in both the First World War and the Second.

They provided refuge to more than 100,000 persecuted Italians and Jews during WWII. This was 10 times the population of San Marino at the time.

When a New York paper wrote that San Marino had declared war on Britain in 1940, the Sammarinese government wrote to the British government to say it hadn’t declared war.

San Marino has one of the smallest military forces in the world. National defence is, by arrangement, the responsibility of Italy’s armed forces.