Republic of San Marino

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0-San Marino member of UNO

1-Map: Location

2-Map: Geography

3-Map: People

4-Tourism

5-How to reach San Marino

6-Government

7-How San Marino was saved?

8-Economy

9-Foreign relations

History of Republic of San Marino

San Marino

How San Marino was saved?

It answers a question asked by more and more people following the mounting interest in San Marino since the small country took its place among the nations of Europe and the world.

The Republic is a member of prestigious international organisations such as the Conference on European Security and Cooperation, the Council of Europe where it ranks on a par with mach larger coun­tries, and, since 2 March, 1992, the United Nations Organisation. It is a sovereign state in every respect. It exchanges ambassadors and signs treaties. And the singularity of all this becomes more and more evident as new associations come into being following the fading iden­tity of national states.

A lot of people ask themselves how a tiny medieval town, similar to many others scattered throughout the Italian peninsula and the rest of Europe, was able to survive the upheavals which periodically chan­ged the political geography of Europe and remain an independent nation. 

     San Marino is not the chance result of history. It was not created by the whim of a potentate, king, pope or emperor. San Marino was born thanks to the efforts - extended over several centuries - of a small community which, having convinced itself that it did "not depend on anyone" - a right bequeathed by the Saint - lay  claim to the recogni­tion of that right with a determination and a consistency  which arouse admiration and respect.

The history of San Marino is the progression of an idea, an idea of freedom which a handful of mountain men with much extravagance and little common sense conceived in their natu­ral and cultural isolation well before the year one thousand and then went on to stubbornly defend using every means at their disposal against all those who threatened it, against the rogues, know-alls and bullies of every age who, like Machiavelli, believed only in brute force and crafty codicils until finally that idea took firm root.

       A "unique pheno­menon" is how the Swiss historian, Paul Aebischer describes it, and "a human event which deserves admiration". It is exciting to delve back into the events of history, all arranged in an orderly and rational manner, to satisfy the need of the mind to understand how that idea took on concrete form and how those poor and ignorant mountain men were able to accomplish so much. 

      The people of San Marino confront history, even great history, in a very simple way, their decisions always based, as it were, on common sense, and with an amount of astuteness common to all human beings. What surprises is their perseverance, their determination which, for more than one thousand years, has never failed, as if the community had always been directed by a common mind, a common will, like the plan of an up-and-coming family to acquire wealth and power.