I find the microstates of Europe to be such a strange thing. The Vatican is one thing, but it’s so strange to me to see places like Monaco and Andorra and Liechtenstein and San Marino hold the small territory that they carved out through wars and border shifts over centuries. San Marino considers itself to be the oldest surviving sovereign state and the oldest constitutional republic, which is a pretty impressive feat!
We arrived and parked at the bottom of the hill, and then from there you can take a cable car up to the top where the city of San Marino is. Once we were up there, we had a chance to explore the city a bit. We also had lunch at one of the spots that has a great view of the surrounding area. It was probably the worst meal I had on this trip, but the views made up for the weaker food experience. It is so beautiful to look out over the landscapes of San Marino and Italy!
San Marino had an interesting experience in the 20th century. They declared themselves neutral in WW1, which put them at odds with Italy and led to some tension. They developed their own fascist party to try to keep themselves in Mussolini’s grace, but maintained that same neutrality during WW2 as well. They were bombed in 1944 because the Allied forces incorrectly believed that they had been occupied by Germany.
They also had the world’s first democratically elected communist government, which was in power between 1945 and 1957. These microstates seem to have these really fascinating parts of their history – no one is paying that much attention to them on the world stage, so they can kind of do whatever they want.
San Marino was a good detour if you’re in the region, but isn’t a place I would necessarily say you need to go too far out of your way to see. It does have some beautiful views of the surrounding area, though! It made for a nice stop on our way up to Emilia-Romagna.