Not many people know that San Marino’s independence history is extremely old; it is in fact considered the oldest in the world after the Roman independence. San Marino was founded in 301 A.D. when Santo Marino, a stone-cutter escaping the Roman persecution because of his Christian beliefs, established a little Christian community on the Mount Titano.

Besides the historical interest, this enclave of only 61,5 km², is fascinating for many reasons. First of all San Marino is only five minutes away from the Adriatic sea, located half way between Rimini and Riccione. Crossing the antique “Porta Del Loco” is impossible not to be mesmerized by the beauty of the place. The first thing that visitors see, going through the door, is the writing; it is still well visible, and it discouraged travelers from bringing weapons into the city. Fines were in fact in place for the ones that did. The writing, the door, and the walls immediately take the mind of the visitors back to the XIV century, when this guard post was built, and it feels as if from that moment through today only a few years have gone by.

San Marino also offers breathtaking treats like the three famous fortresses located on the highest point of the Mount Titano; they are a trademark of this place and they are called Rocca, Cesta, and Montale. There is also a State Museum that shows paintings and masterpieces from artists such as Francesco Menzocchi, Pompeo Batoni, Elisabetta Sirani, and Bernardo Strozzi, just to mention few.

From a naturalistic standpoint, the territory is full of numerous and interesting situations: Mount Titano, that represents the symbol of San Marino State, marks the beginning of the Tuscan-Emilian Apennine and with its 749 meters above the sea level it is the highest location of the State of San Marino.

As to the surrounding view, mainly made of hills, Mount Titano has an unusual configuration: it is in fact a rock calcareous-arenaceous, because of the shattering of an undersea plate that occurred twenty millions years ago. The remaining fragments have formed Mount Della Verna, Simoncello, Fumaiolo, and San Leo. From Mount Titano originate torrents whose waters flow into the main rivers that run through the State of San Marino. Among others, the Marano and the Marecchia River, that after over twenty kilometers flow into the Adriatic Sea; the Marano River is located in Riccione, while the Marecchia River is in Rimini. The lowest point of the State of San Marino is Falciano, near Serravalle, at 55 meters above the sea level.