The Most Serene Republic of San Marino (Italian: Serenissima Repubblica di San Marino) is a country in the Apennine
Mountains. It is a landlocked enclave, completely surrounded by Italy. One of the European microstates, San Marino has the smallest population of all the members of the
Council of Europe.
San Marino claims to be the oldest constitutional republic in the world: it was founded on
3 September 301 by Marinus of Rab, a Christian
stonemason fleeing the religious persecution of Roman
Emperor Diocletian. San Marino's constitution, dating back to 1600, is the world's oldest written constitution still in effect.[1]
History
-
According to tradition, Marino left the Adriatic island of Rab (Italian: Arbe) with his
lifelong friend Leo and went to the town of Rimini as a stone worker. After persecution because
of his Christian sermons, he escaped to the nearby Monte Titano, where he built a small
church and thus founded what is now the city and the state of San Marino. The official date of foundation of the Republic is
3 September 301.
By the mid-5th century, a community was formed; because of its relatively inaccessible location and its poverty, it has
succeeded, with a few brief interruptions, in maintaining its independence. In 1631 its independence was recognized by the
papacy.
Bust of
Giuseppe Garibaldi in San Marino, the first monument in the world dedicated
to the "Hero of the Two Worlds". The work of Stefano Galletti, it was erected in 1882.
During the early phase of the Italian unification process of the 19th century,
San Marino served as a haven of refuge for numerous persons who were persecuted because of their support for the unification. In
memory of this support, Giuseppe Garibaldi accepted the wish of San Marino not to be
incorporated into the new Italian state. Napoleon refused to take the country. He
commented, "Why, it's a model republic!"
The government of San Marino made United States President Abraham Lincoln an honorary citizen. He wrote in reply, saying that the republic proved that "government
founded on republican principles is capable of being so administered as to be secure and enduring."[2]
In World War I, Italy declared war on Austria-Hungary on 23 May 1915 while San Marino stayed neutral.
In World War II San Marino did not join Italy in declaring war on the United Kingdom in 1940. San Marino immediately declared its neutrality. Later, Axis forces retreated through the country and were pursued by the American and British forces. The
Allied troops left the country a few weeks later.
The head of state is a committee (council) of two captains-regent. San Marino also
holds the record for the world's first democratically-elected communist government, which held
office between 1945 and 1957.
San Marino was the world's smallest republic from 301 to 1968,
until Nauru gained independence.
San Marino became a member of the Council of Europe in 1988 and of the
United Nations in 1992. It is not a member of the European Union.
Geography
-
Much of the Republic can be seen from the top of Mount Titano
San Marino is an enclave in Italy, on the border between the regioni of Emilia Romagna and Marche. Its topography is dominated by the Apennines mountain range,
and it has a rugged terrain. The highest point in the country, Monte Titano, is situated at
749 metres (2,457 ft) above sea level. There are no bodies of water of
any significant size.
The climate is Mediterranean, with warm
summers and mild winters.
San Marino is the third-smallest country in Europe, with only Vatican City and
Monaco being smaller.
Municipalities
San Marino is divided into the following nine municipalities, known locally as castelli or castles (sing.
castello, each on a different hill, as depicted on the republic's coat of arms), that are also towns to the world.
- The City of San Marino (Città di San Marino) is the eponymous
capital. There are also eight minor municipalities:
The largest town of the Republic is Dogana, which is not an autonomous castello
but rather belongs to the castello of Serravalle.
Each castello, like Italian comuni, includes a main town that is the seat of the
castello, called capoluogo, and some even smaller localities known as frazioni.
Politics
-
The Politics of San Marino takes place in a framework of a parliamentary
representative democratic republic, whereby
the Captains Regent are the heads
of state, and of a pluriform multi-party system. Executive power is
exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested
in both the government and the Grand and General Council. The judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature.
San Marino was originally led by the Arengo, initially formed with the heads of each family.
In the 13th century, power was given to the Great and General Council. In 1243, the first two
Captains Regent were nominated by the Council. This method of
nomination is still in use today, as of 2007.
The legislature of the republic is the Grand and General Council
(Consiglio grande e generale). The Council is a unicameral legislature which has 60 members with elections occurring every
5 years under a proportional representation system in all nine administrative districts. These districts (townships) correspond
to the old parishes of the republic. Citizens eighteen years
or older are eligible to vote. Besides general legislation, the Grand and General Council approves the budget and elects the
Captains Regent, the State Congress (composed of 10 Secretaries with executive power), the Council of Twelve (which forms the
judicial branch during the period of legislature of the Council), the Advising Commissions,
and the Government Unions. The Council also has the power to ratify treaties with other countries. The Council is divided into
five different Advising Commissions consisting of 15 councilors which examine, propose, and discuss the implementation of new
laws that are on their way to being presented on the floor of the Council.
The Honorable Fiorenzo Stolfi, Secretary for Foreign and Political Affairs and for Economic Planning of the Republic of San
Marino and President of the Council of Europe, meeting with US Secretary of State
Condoleezza
Rice in Washington, DC.
Every 6 months, the Council elects two Captains Regent to be the heads of state. The Regents are chosen from opposing parties
so there is a balance of power. They serve a 6-month term. The investiture of the Captains Regent takes place on April 1 and October 1 in every year. Once this term is over, citizens have 3
days in which to file complaints about the Captains' activities. If they warrant it, judicial proceedings against the ex-head(s)
of state can be initiated.
The practice of dual heads of state, as well as the frequent re-election of the heads of state, are derived directly from the
customs of the Roman Republic. The Council is equivalent to the Roman Senate; the Captains Regent, to the consuls of ancient
Rome.
San Marino is a multi-party democratic republic. The two
main parties are the Democratic Christian Party of San Marino
(PDCS) and the Party of Socialists and Democrats (PSD, a merger of the
Socialist Party of San Marino and the Party of Democrats) in addition to several other smaller parties. Due to the small size of San Marino
and its low population, it is difficult for any party to gain a pure majority and most of the time the government is run by a
coalition. As a result of the June 2001 election, the PDCS and PSS control a majority of seats in the Council.
Economy
-
Although San Marino is not an official European Union member, it is allowed to use the
euro as its currency by virtue of arrangements with the council
of the European Union; it is also granted the right to use its own designs on the
national side of the euro coins. Before the Euro, the Sammarinese lira was coupled to and exchangeable with the Italian
lira. The small number of Sammarinese euro coins, as was the case with the lira before it, are primarily of interest to
coin collectors.
The tourist sector contributes over 50% of San Marino's GDP, with more than 3.3 million tourists visiting in 1997. Other
key industries are banking, electronics, and ceramics. The main agricultural products are wine and cheese.
San Marino's postage stamps, which are only valid for mail posted within the country,
are mostly sold to philatelists and also form a source of income. San Marino is a member of
the Small European Postal Administration
Cooperation.
The per capita level of output and standard of living are comparable to those of Italy, which supplies much of its food.
Taxation
The corporate profits tax rate in San Marino is 19 percent. Capital gains are subject to a five percent tax; interest is
subject to a 13 percent withholding tax.
In 1972, a valued added taxation (VAT) system was introduced in Italy, and was applied in San Marino, in accordance with the
1939 friendship treaty. In addition, a tax on imported goods, to be levied by San Marino, was established. Such taxes, however,
were not, and are not, applied to national products. Until 1996, goods manufactured and sold in San Marino were not subject to
indirect taxation.
Under the European Union customs agreement, San Marino continues to levy taxes, the equivalent of an import duty, on imported
goods. Also, a general VAT was introduced, in replacement of the Italian VAT.
Demographics
-
The state has a population of approximately 29,000, including 1,000 foreigners, most of whom are Italians. About 5,000
Sammarinese live in foreign countries, predominantly in Italy.
The language spoken is Italian, with the Emiliano-Romagnolo dialect, and Roman Catholicism is
the predominant religion.
- Further information: Demographics of Italy
Military
-
The Guard of the Rock in dress uniform during the investiture of the new Captains Regent in the Piazza della Libertà.
San Marino has one of the smallest military forces in the world. National defence in the face of an aggressive world power is,
by arrangement, the responsibility of Italy's armed forces. Different branches have
varied functions including: performing ceremonial duties; patrolling borders; mounting guard at government buildings; and
assisting police in major criminal cases.
Crossbow Corps
Although once at the heart of San Marino's army, the Crossbow Corps is now an entirely ceremonial force of about 80 volunteer
soldiers. The Crossbow Corps since 1295 has provided demonstrations of crossbow shooting at festivals. Its uniform is medieval in
design, and although it is a statutory military unit, it has no actual military function today.
Guard of the Rock
Three members of the Guard of the Rock
The Guard of the Rock is a front-line military unit in the San Marino armed forces, a state border patrol, with responsibility
for patrolling borders and defending them. In their role as Fortress Guards they are also responsible for the guarding of the
Palazzo Pubblico in San Marino City, which is the seat of national Government. In
this role they are the forces most visible to tourists, and known for their colourful ceremony of Changing the Guard. Under the
1987 statute the Guard of the Rock are all enrolled as 'Criminal Police Officers' (in addition to their military role) and act to
assist the police in investigating major crime. The uniform of the Guard of the Rock is distinctively red and green in color.
Guard of the Council Great and General
A member of the Guard of the Council
The Guard of the Council Great and General commonly known as The Guard of the Council or locally as the 'Guard of Nobles',
formed in 1740, are a volunteer unit with ceremonial duties. Due to its striking blue white and gold uniform, it is perhaps the
most well-known part of the Sammarinese military, and appears on countless postcard views of the republic. The functions of the
Guard of the Council are to protect the Captains Regent, and to
defend the Great and General Council during its formal sessions. They also provide a ceremonial bodyguard to government officials
on festivals of both state and church.
The Army Militia
In former times all families with two or more adult male members were required to enrol half of them in the Army Militia. This
unit remains the basic fighting force of the armed forces of San Marino, but is largely ceremonial. It is a matter of civic pride
for many Sammarinese to belong to the force, and all citizens with at least six years residence in the republic are entitled to
enroll.
The uniform is dark blue, with a kepi bearing a blue and white plume. The ceremonial form of the uniform includes a white
cross-strap, and white and blue sash, white apaulettes, and white decorated cuffs.
The Military Ensemble
Formally this is part of the Army Militia, and is the ceremonial military band of San Marino. It is comprised of around 50
musicians. The uniform is largely similar to that of the Army Militia itself. The music of the Military Ensemble accompanies most
state occasions in the republic.
The Gendarmerie
Established in 1842, the Gendarmerie of San Marino is a militarised police service. Its members are full-time and have
responsibility for the protection of citizens and their property, and for the preservation of law and order.
The entire military corps of San Marino depends upon the co-operation of full-time forces and their retained (volunteer)
colleagues, known as the Corpi Militari Volontari, or Voluntary Military Force.
Transport
Aerial tramway to Monte Titano.
-
There are 220 km of highways in the country, the main road being the San Marino Superhighway. Roads are well used by private car drivers. Sammarinese authorities
license private vehicles with distinctive licence plates which are white with blue figures with the coat of arms, usually a
letter followed by up to four numbers. Many vehicles also carry the international vehicle identification code (in black on a
white oval sticker), which is "RSM".
There are no airports in San Marino, but there is an international heliport located in Borgo
Maggiore. Most tourists who arrive by air land at Federico Fellini
International Airport close to the city of Rimini and then make the transfer by bus.
Two rivers flow through San Marino, but there is no major water transport, and no major port or harbour.
Public transport
San Marino has limited public transport facilities. There is a regular bus service between
Rimini and the city of San Marino, popular with both tourists and tourist industry workers commuting to San Marino from Italy. This service stops at approximately twenty
advertised locations in Rimini and within San Marino, with its two terminus stops at Rimini railway station and San Marino coach
station, respectively.
A limited licensed taxi service operates nationwide. There are seven licensed taxi operating companies in the republic[3], and Italian taxis regularly operate within San Marino when
carrying passengers picked up in Italian territory.
There is a 1.5 km aerial tramway connecting the city of San Marino on top of Monte Titano with Borgo Maggiore, a major town in the republic,
with the second largest population of any Sammarinese settlement. Indeed, for the tourist visitor the aerial tramway gives the
best available views of Borgo Maggiore, as the cars sweep low over the rooftops of the main town square. From here a further
connection is available to the nation's largest settlement, Dogana, by means of local
bus service.
Sammarinese international bus service link with Rimini, Italy.
Two aerial tramway cars, known as gondolas, and numbered '1' and '2', operate in opposition on a cable, and a service is
provided at roughly fifteen minute intervals throughout the day. A third vehicle is available on the system, being a service car
for the use of engineers maintaining the tramway.
Railway
Today there is no railway in San Marino, but for a short period prior to World War II,
it had a railway network consisting of a single narrow-gauge line, connecting the country with the Italian rail network at
Rimini. Due the difficulties in accessing the capital, San Marino City (which has a mountain-top location), the terminus station was to be located at
the village of Valdragone but was extended to reach the capital through a steep and winding
track comprising many tunnels. The railway was opened on 12 June 1932.[4] An advanced system for its time, it was an electric railway, powered from
overhead cables. It was well built and well used, but was almost completely destroyed during the fighting in this region during
World War II. Many disused artifacts such as bridges, tunnels and stations are still well
visible today and in some cases have been refurbished and converted to parks, public footpaths or traffic routes.
Culture
The Three Towers of San Marino are located on the three peaks of
Monte Titano in the capital. They are depicted on both the Flag of San Marino and its coat of arms. The
three towers are: Guaita, the oldest of the three (it was constructed in the eleventh century); the thirteenth-century
Cesta, located on the highest of Monte Titano's summits; and the fourteenth-century Montale, on the smallest of
Monte Titano's summits, still privately owned.
San Marino has a famous cake known as La Torta Di Tre Monti ("Cake of the Three
Mountains/Towers"), similar to a layered wafer cake covered in Chocolate.
Sport
-
San Marino, along with Italy, enjoys football (soccer) as its most popular sport.
The San Marino Championship, founded under the auspices of the FSGC
(San Marino Football Federation), is the premier footballing competition
in San Marino. The fifteen teams that take part in the competition are split into two groups of eight and seven teams. The top
three from each section at the end of the regular season progress into a semi-knockout style Championship Playoff. Prior to 2007,
the playoff champion earned a spot in the preliminary rounds of the UEFA Cup. In 2007,
UEFA granted San Marino a spot in the 1st Qualifying Round of the Champions League. 2007 league champions S.S. Murata was the
first team to represent San Marino in the Champions League when they participated in the 2007-08 competition, losing to Finland's Tampere team.
San Marino also has a representative in the Italian system, with San Marino Calcio
playing in the third tier of Italian football, Serie C2/B. San Marino play their home matches
in the Sanmarinese at the Stadio Olimpico of Serravalle.
The San Marino national team played its first unofficial
international match in 1986, in which it suffered a 0-1 defeat to the Canadian Olympic team. Its first competitive outing was on November 14,
1990, a 0-4 loss against Switzerland in
the European Championship qualifier. These defeats set the tone for
most of the following outings of the team, who are regarded as whipping boys in the qualifying sections of the European
Championship and the World Cup.
2005 San Marino Grand Prix
They had a brief moment of glory when they faced England in a World
Cup qualifier on November 17, 1993 and took the lead through
David Gualtieri after just 8.3 seconds - still the fastest goal in World Cup
competition [1]. Despite this
goal, only San Marino's third at international level, the microstate went on to lose 7-1.
Until recently, San Marino's international record was one of almost total failure, with famous draws against Turkey and Latvia being the only
partial successes in an international career that contains over 70 defeats. However, on the 29
April 2004, San Marino recorded their first ever win, with a 1-0 victory over Liechtenstein
in an international friendly. Andy Selva scored the only goal in a close game that finally
gave this tiny republic a footballing victory.
On September 6, 2006, San Marino suffered their biggest ever defeat, losing 13-0 to world giants Germany in the Stadio Olimpico. It was also the largest goal margin defeat in European
Championship Qualifying history. In the same competition on February 7th 2007, they came within 8 seconds of the best result in
their history. They were level at 1-1 with the Republic of
Ireland after 94 minutes when Stephen Ireland scored within 8 seconds of the
final whistle. The goal scored by San Marino was their European Qualifying first goal since losing 4-1 to Austria in 1998.
As of May 2007, San Marino is 195th in the FIFA world rankings.
One of the Formula One races, the San Marino
Grand Prix, is named after the state, although it does not actually take place there. It takes place at the
Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari in the Italian town of Imola, about 100 km northwest of San Marino, along the Via Emilia. The race
was etched in infamy after two fatal accidents occurred at the 1994 Grand
Prix, when Ayrton Senna and Roland
Ratzenberger were killed.
The race was removed from the calendar for 2007.
San Marino has a rather successful professional baseball team, T & A San Marino, which play in the top division of Italian professional baseball, the
Serie A1. It has participated in the European Cup tournament for the top European professional baseball teams several times, hosting
the event in 1996, 2000 and 2004, and scheduled to host in 2007. It won the championship in 2006.
Manuel Poggiali is one of San Marino's most winning sportsmen. He won 2 motorcycle
World Championships, in 2001 with 125cc bikes and in 2003 with 250cc
bikes.
Music of San Marino
-
Cuisine
-
The cuisine of San Marino is strongly similar to Italian, especially that of the
adjoining Emilia-Romagna and Marche regions, but it has a
number of its own unique dishes and products. Its best known is probably the Torta Tre Monti ("Cake of the Three
Mountains/Towers"), a chocolate layer cake depicting The Three Towers of San
Marino.
Miscellaneous topics
Basilica of Saint Marino (left) and church of Saint Peter (right) in San Marino City.
-
- Related: Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari, the circuit that hosts the San
Marino Grand Prix
References
External links
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