San Marino
Fast facts
- Capital
- City of San Marino
- Official language
- Italian
- Currency
- Euro (€)
- Time zone
- CET
- Drives on
- right
- Calling code
- +378 (+39 0549 calling via Italy)
Facts from Wikipedia’s “San Marino” page (CC BY-SA 4.0).
San Marino (officially called the Most Serene Republic of San Marino) is a country in Europe. It is one of the smallest countries in the world. It is in Southern Europe and is fully surrounded by Italy (this is called an enclave, and only the Vatican City, Lesotho and San Marino are like this). Fewer than 30,000 people live there. Its total area is 61 km 2 . Its capital is the City of San Marino.
San Marino is claimed to be the world’s oldest republic that still exists. It was started on September 3, 301 A.D. by a skilled builder called Saint Marinus. Its written constitution was adopted on October 8, 1600. The very small nation was recognized by Napoleon’s France in 1797, and by the other European nations at the 1815 Congress of Vienna.
Even though it is an independent country, it depends very much on Italy. Since the 19th century, when Italy was unified, San Marino has been fully surrounded by Italy.
The biggest industry in San Marino is tourism. Selling postage stamps is an important source of income, too. San Marino is not a member of the European Union, but the euro is used in San Marino.
People in San Marino speak the Italian language. Most people in San Marino believe in Roman Catholicism.
History
Saint Marinus left the island of Rab (today Croatia) with his lifelong friend Leo, and went to the city of Rimini to work as a stonemason. After the Persecution of Diocletianus following his Christian sermons, he escaped to the nearby Monte Titano. There he built a small church and founded what is now the city and state of San Marino.
The official founding date is 3 September 301 AD. In 1320 the community of Chiesanuova chose to join the country. In 1463 San Marino extended with the communities of Faetano, Fiorentino, Montegiardino, and Serravalle. Since then there have been no changes in the country’s borders.
In 1503, Cesare Borgia occupied the Republic for six months. It remained like that until Pope Julius II intervened and restored the country’s independence.
Geography
San Marino is covered by the Apennine mountain range, and it has a rugged terrain with no natural level ground. The highest point in the country is Monte Titano. There are no bodies of water of any significant size. It is between the Italian regions of Emilia-Romagna and Marche.
San Marino is the third smallest country in Europe, Only Vatican City and Monaco are smaller.
Two rivers flow through San Marino. There is no major water transport, and no major port or harbour.
Municipalities
These are the 9 castelli (municipalities) of San Marino:
Food
The food of San Marino is very similar to Italian, especially the Emilia-Romagna and Marche regions. It has a lots of its own unique foods. It’s best known food is the Torta Tre Monti (“Cake of the Three Mountains” or “Cake of the Three Towers”), a wafer cake covered in chocolate. The country also has a small wine industry.
Written for younger readers
San Marino, in simpler words
This version comes from Wikijunior, a set of books written for children aged 8 to 11. It is shorter and uses plainer language than the article above.
From Wikijunior: Europe
San Marino is a tiny country in central Europe. It is completely surrounded by Italy. The capital city is the City of San Marino. San Marino is one of the smallest countries in the world. It is not part of the European Union but it uses the Euro as its currency.
Traditionally, San Marino was founded by Saint Marinus in 301 CE. Marinus was a Christian stonemason who fled to the hills that make up San Marino to avoid persecution under the Roman Empire. Before the 19th century most of present-day Italy consisted of small city states like San Marino. When all of the other small states in Italy united in the 19th Century San Marino refused to join and has never been part of Italy. San Marino remained neutral during World War I and World War II.
After World War II San Marino became the first country to be democratically ruled by a communist party.
San Marino is the third-smallest country in Europe, with only Vatican City and Monaco smaller. The total area that San Marino covers is 61 km 2 (23.5 sq mi). The climate is Mediterranean, with warm summers and mild winters. The country is completely surrounded by Italy - one of only 3 such countries in the world (the others are Vatican City, also surrounded by Italy, and Lesotho, surrounded by South Africa).
The Country has a population of approximately 31,000, 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. Emiliano-Romagnolo is widely spoken also. Roman Catholicism is the predominant religion.
Over 2 million tourists visit San Marino every year. Popular attractions include the Three Towers of San Marino, The Cathedral of San Marino and the state museum. Buying stamps and coins with the name San Marino on them is a popular souvenir for many tourists.
Where this page comes from
The article above is adapted from “San Marino” on Simple English Wikipedia, by its contributors. We removed reference markers, navigation boxes and tables, expanded measurement templates into readable numbers, and kept the prose otherwise intact. The simpler version is adapted from Wikijunior on Wikibooks.
Both sources are published under CC BY-SA 4.0, so this page is published under the same licence. You may share and adapt it, including commercially, as long as you credit the original and keep the same licence.
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