Where Is San Marino and What
Is It Known For?

View over San Marino

San Marino, officially the Most Serene Republic of San Marino, is a country situated on the eastern side of the Apennine Mountains. It is an enclave, in Italy. Its size is just over 61 km2 (24 sq mi) with an estimated population of almost 30,000. Its capital is the City of San Marino. One of the European microstates, along with Liechtenstein, the Vatican, Monaco, Andorra, and Malta, San Marino has the smallest population of all the members of the Council of Europe. A third of the people live in the capital.

San Marino is 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 Arbe. 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.

The constitution of San Marino, enacted in 1600, is the world's oldest constitution still in effect. San Marino's culture remains Italian, mainly Emilia-Romagnan in essence. It is one of the wealthiest countries in the world in terms of GDP (per capita), with a figure comparable to some of the more developed Italian regions, such as Lombardy and the Province of Bolzano-Bozen. San Marino is considered to have a highly stable economy, with the lowest unemployment rate in Europe, no national debt and a budget surplus.

There is some agriculture and light industry, but most income comes from tourism. Italy is the main trading partner.