San Marino

Somehow, during the year that I lived in Padova, I never realized that there is a tiny, independent country called San Marino just west of Rimini, encircled by Central Italy.

Noticing that prior to this trip, I figured we could tick that country off the list while we were in the general neighborhood--why not?

Though no doubt you could stay longer, it was certainly a small enough nation to visit in a single night, and I learned quite a bit about San Marino during that short time. It's the only surviving Italian city-state, it's the oldest Republic in the world, and it has received UNESCO World Heritage Site status for representing an important stage in the evolution of democratic governments. Plus it's just really pretty. The hilltop of Mount Titano has been inhabited since the 300's.

 

Since than, successive residents have built a series of fortress castles that still stand as part of the old city (though the lower neighborhood from which I took the picture above is also part of the country of San Marino). From the mountaintop, the view is pretty spectacular.

We were up there on the evening we arrived just in time to watch a gorgeous sunset...

We also had enough light to walk around to see the outsides of a couple of the castles up close...

...and we had dinner with a pretty unbeatable view.



The next day, after a comfy night though Air BnB, our hosts sweetly drove us back up to the old city and used their connections to get us into the second castle for free. Such fun to explore.

And as if that weren't enough, they then drove us out to their house in the countryside (only a 15-minute drive from the only city, but already technically back in Italy) for an amazing, homemade lunch.

 
We're charmed, I tell you!

This was the last new country we're visiting on this trip. From here, we're back to Italy for the final leg of the journey, so stay tuned a bit longer...