| San Marino - Culture San Marino is a completely independent nation, member of the U.N. and everything. According to tradition, it has been independent, more or less, since 301 A. D. when a Christian stonemason called Marinus the Dalmation hid from the anti-Christian Roman Emperor Diocletian on the peak of the beautiful, foreboding and easily defended Mount Titano. The total landmass of the country is 61 km . It is completely surrounded by Italy. The citizens speak Italian. No, the San Marino Grand Prix is not actually held in the country itself. The rights have been farmed out to a nearby Italian town. They celebrate their founding day, September 3rd, with among other things a world-renowned crossbow competition and a nation-wide bingo game. San Marino is also stunningly picturesque. Out of the centre of the country just the medieval majestic Mount Titano, itself crowned by the three defensive forts that have made independence possible. Spectacular cliffs face the Adriatic while the Old City tumbles like a veil down the back of Titano, towards the Apennines. The country's major industry is its past. Most of the three MILLION tourists who visit each year come to see a seeming historical anomaly. They drive straight through the undulating Romagna countryside to Borgo Maggiore, a traditional market town at the foot of the Titano cliffs. Then it's right up the cable car to the San Marino city itself. | |
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