San Marino

San Marino, officially the Republic of San Marino (sæn məˈriːnoʊ/ san-mə-REE-noh; Italian: Repubblica di San Marino) and also known as the Most Serene Republic of San Marino (Italian: Serenissima Repubblica di San Marino), is an enclaved microstate surrounded by Italy, situated on the Italian Peninsula on the north-eastern side of the Apennine Mountains. Its size is just over 61 km2 (24 sq mi) with an estimated population of over 30,000. Its capital is the City of San Marino, its largest city Dogana. San Marino has the smallest population of all the members of the Council of Europe.

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. Legend has it that Marinus left Rab, then the Roman colony of Arba, in 257 when the future emperor, Diocletian, issued a decree calling for the reconstruction of the city walls of Rimini, which had been destroyed by Liburnian pirates.

San Marino is governed by the Leges Statutae Republicae Sancti Marini, a series of six books written in Latin in the late 16th century, that dictate the country’s political system, among other matters.

The country's economy mainly relies on finance, industry, services and tourism. It is one of the wealthiest countries in the world in terms of GDP (per capita), with a figure comparable to the most developed European regions. San Marino is considered to have a highly stable economy, with one of the lowest unemployment rates in Europe, no national debt and a budget surplus.



San Marino is divided into the following nine municipalities, known locally as castelli (meaning "castles").

San Marino (City of San Marino, officially Città di San Marino) is the capital.

There are also eight minor municipalities:
Acquaviva, Borgo Maggiore, Chiesanuova, Domagnano, Faetano, Fiorentino, Montegiardino, Serravalle.

The largest town of the Republic is Dogana, which is not an autonomous castello, but rather belongs to the Castello of Serravalle.

In a similar way to an Italian comune, each castello includes a main settlement, called capoluogo, which is the seat of the castello, and some even smaller localities known as frazioni.



The main tourist attractions in the most popular destination in the country, the City of San Marino, and the rest of the nation are:

The Three Towers of San Marino (The First Guita Tower, The Second Cesta Tower, and the Third Montale Tower)
The Cathedral of San Marino
The medieval Palazzo Pubblico
The Piazza della Libertà, including the Statua della Libertà
The Museo di stato di San Marino, or the State Museum of San Marino
The Museo San Francesco
The small medieval alleyways, shop-lined streets, scenic terraces and little churches all dispersed around the city and the country.