San Marino
- For other places with the same name, see San Marino (disambiguation).
| |
| Capital | San Marino |
| Currency | euro (EUR) |
| Population | 32,471 (January 2013 est.) |
| Electricity | 230V/50Hz (European, Italian plug) |
| Country code | +378 (+0549 From Italy) |
| Time zone | UTC+1 |
| Emergencies | 112, 115 (fire department), 118 (emergency medical services), 113 (police) |
| Driving side | right |
| edit on Wikidata | |
San Marino (officially the Republic of San Marino) is the third smallest state in Europe (after the Vatican City and Monaco), and claims to be the world's oldest republic. According to tradition, it was founded by a Christian stonemason named Marinus in 301 A.D. San Marino's foreign policy is aligned with that of Italy, which surrounds it. Social and political trends in the republic also track closely with those of its larger neighbour.
Understand
San Marino is the world's oldest republic and Europe's third smallest state. It is the sole survivor of the independent city states that used to make up the Italian peninsula before the unification of Italy. It lies 657m above sea level with spectacular views of the surrounding countryside and Adriatic coast, and is situated only 10km from Rimini. Legend has it that the founder of San Marino, a stonemason arrived from the island of Rab in Dalmatia, climbed Mount Titano to found a small community of Christians, persecuted for their faith by the Emperor Diocletian.
San Marino is made up of a few towns dotted around the mountain sides. The capital of San Marino is itself called 'San Marino' and is situated high up on a mountain top. The capital is surrounded by a wall and three distinct towers overlook the rest of the country. The site "San Marino: Historic Centre and Mount Titano" has become part of the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2008.
The towns surrounding the capital are more industrial and generally not as attractive as the main city. San Marino is 20 times bigger than Monaco and half the size of Liechtenstein.
Get in
San Marino has open borders, but foreigners staying more than 20 days in San Marino must have a permit from the government.
By plane
San Marino has no airports. The nearest major airport is at Rimini. There are other airports at Ancona, Bologna and Forlì.
By train
San Marino has no railway stations. The nearest major railway station is at Rimini.
By car
You should have no problems driving into San Marino. Border controls do not exist.
San Marino is highly accessible but can take 3-4 hours from the West.
Mostly all free parking, try not to park right at the bottom of the hill, otherwise it's a long way to the top!
By bus
Bus 72 runs from Rimini to San Marino daily at regular intervals. A return ticket costs around €8. This bus can be found just outside the Rimini train station. Note that if you show up just a few minutes before departure it may be full and you may be told to wait until the next bus, one hour later. It is perhaps then advisable to show up a little bit earlier to ensure enough seats remain on the bus. There is someone selling tickets at the bus stop before the bus arrives.
By other means
There is a 1.5km cable railway connecting the city of San Marino to Borgo Maggiore.
Get around
Once you're inside the walled city, it's small enough to simply walk around. There are only a few streets on which cars are able to drive (and only if they are small cars).
Talk
The people in San Marino speak a very clear Italian.
English is learned at school in San Marino and Russian is spoken in many shops due to the many Russian tourists.
The Akademio Internacia de la Sciencoj San Marino (AIS) (English: International Academy of Sciences San Marino) is one of San Marino's main higher education institutes and actually uses the Esperanto language.
See
San Marino’s main attractions are the three towers, which feature on the national flag. Only the Guaita Tower and the Cesta Tower are open to visitors, and are small castles at the top of Mount Titano and offering excellent views over San Marino and Italy as well the Adriatic Sea.
Cesta is the larger of the two and has a small museum of armour. You can purchase the “Yellow Card” for €3 which lets you enter one castle, or the “Red Card” which lets you enter both and is €4.50. Between the two towers is a path which follows the city walls along the side of a cliff. There are good photo opportunities of the towers. Other attractions include:
- Piazza del Liberta: This small square offers expansive views and are fringed on both sides by two government buildings, including the Palazzo Pubblico, the town hall.
Otherwise, simply walk around! The narrow cobbled streets are full of surprises and you can go up and down the city to explore. There are virtually no cars and the streets have a very medieval feel. You can climb the city walls and walk along it at places. Some sights you may see include Basilica di San Marino, a Roman styled church.
You can also see the San Marino lake in Faetano where fish can be caught.
Do
Get your passports stamped at the tourist information centre. This is an excellent souvenir as they stick a visa tax stamp and then an official ink stamp over the top, €5.
Buy
San Marino uses the euro, like several other European countries. One euro is divided into 100 cents. The official symbol for the euro is €, and its ISO code is EUR. There is no official symbol for the cent.
All banknotes and coins of this common currency are legal tender within all the countries, except that low-denomination coins (one and two cent) are phased out in some of them. The banknotes look the same across countries, while coins have a standard common design on the reverse, expressing the value, and a national country-specific design on the obverse. The obverse is also used for different designs of commemorative coins. The design of the obverse does not affect the coin's acceptability.
- A lot of the souvenir shops sell weapons, from swords to B-B guns.
- Like other states which have the Euro as their currency, San Marino has its own patterns on the back of the Euro coins. You can try to obtain these coins by simply going around buying things and collecting the coins that way, but a quicker solution is to buy the set in a souvenir shop. Unfortunately, these sets seem to lack the €1 and €2 coins.
Prices for items such as disposable cameras and batteries are cheaper in San Marino than they are in Italy. This is partly because in San Marino you don't have to pay the 20% IVA (VAT) that you have to pay in Italy.
Eat
Obviously Italian dishes, like lasagne, spaghetti alla bolognese, gelato (Italian ice-cream), and whatever you eat in Italy.
Supermarkets in San Marino are few and far-between, although the following can help in this area:
- Conad, Azzurro Shopping Center, V M Moretti 23, Serravalle.
- Sma Supermercati. Via del Passetto 113, Fiorentino
- Ristorante Terrazza Titano. Contrada del Collegio 31
- La Fratta, Via Salita alla Rocca, 14 (Next to the parking lot n.6).
Drink
- The local beer is very tasty.
- Spirits are also very commonly found, especially Limoncello, a lemon liquor.
- Try the locally produced wine.
- The coffee, like in its Italian neighbour, is superb.
Sleep
Although San Marino has a few hotels, the seaside resort of Rimini has a lot more and is probably a cheaper option.
- Grand Hotel San Marino, The Grand Hotel San Marino rises on the peak of Monte Titano, close to the Rocche and the Old Town Center.
- Hotel Titano. Located right in the centre of the town. The rooms are small but comfortably furnished and it is connected to a very nice restaurant. The downside is that unless you are an early riser, the nearby church bells will ring every 15 minutes to remind you of the time starting from early in the morning.
Learn
- The Akademio Internacia de la Sciencoj San Marino (AIS) (International Academy of Sciences San Marino). Science institute that uses the Esperanto language.
Stay safe
San Marino is a safe country. Like in any other place that attracts many tourists, you should watch out for pickpockets.
Stay healthy
This is a very healthy place. If you become ill, procedures are the same as the European Union, although serious conditions will likely see you transferred to Rimini.
Respect
San Marino is a very proud country and it should be viewed in this respect. Be respectful when having photos taken with the guards, a smile will do, hand gestures/funny faces are not received well.
It would be considered very offensive to call them "Italians" - not that they don't like Italians, but they are just extremely proud of their independence.
Connect
Cope
Health care
Diplomatic missions
Holy See (The) (Vatican Apostolic Nunciature in San Marino), P.le Domus Plebis, ☏ +378 0549 992448.
Italy, Avenue A. Onofri 117, ☏ +378 0549 991271.
Portugal, Battisti St, nº 3.
Romania, Via Valle di Marco 4, phone: +378 0549 995400, Fax: +378 0549 995 576 email: adolfo.morganti@libero.it Honorary Consulate General of Romania in San Marino
Go next
Italy is the way in, Italy is the way out. You can further explore the Montefeltro region in the south, or visit the sunny coast of Rimini in the north.