San Marino by Jaco Verheul

San Marino, officially the Republic of San Marino, is a state situated on the Apennine Peninsula on the eastern side of the Apennines. It is an enclave surrounded by Italy. The country is slightly larger than 61 km² and has a population of over 30,000. The capital city is San Marino. San Marino has the smallest population size of any member of the Council of Europe.

San Marino is the oldest surviving constitutional republic in the world: the continuation of the monastic community was founded on September 3, 301 by the holy deacon and stonemason Marinus of Arbe. Legend has it that Marinus left the then 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.

San Marino is said to have been founded in the year 301 by St. Marinus, a monk and stonemason who tried to escape the persecution of Christians by Emperor Diocletian, making it the oldest surviving republic in the world. Marinus' companion founded neighboring San Leo in the same year.

The tiny country was recognized by Napoleon's France in 1797 and by the other European states at the Congress of Vienna in 1815.

Although a sovereign state, it is heavily dependent on Italy, which has completely surrounded it since its unification in the 19th century. Until well into the nineteenth century, San Marino enjoyed protection from the Church State. After the ecclesiastical protection, San Marino became more independent from other countries and the internal government, under the leadership of Domenico Fattori (1860-1908), gained more power. However, much consideration had to be given to the Kingdom of Italy, which bordered San Marino.