San Marino is one of those places that I didn’t expect to like as much as I did, but this micro country was truly a special place to visit. I discovered it by chance and it quickly became a must-visit on our road trip through Italy! I quickly absorbed all the information I could about the country and there were plenty of fun facts about San Marino to intrigue our entire group.
It’s located about three hours south of Venice and is home to incredible views of the Italian countryside. I was happy we got to spend a night here and enjoy the views, history, and unique atmosphere of San Marino.
Any time someone asks me where they should go in Italy, if they are anywhere near Venice, I immediately recommend visiting San Marino. Nestled inland from the Adriatic Coast, the iconic towers are a sight worth seeing. If you’re planning a trip, here are some interesting fun facts about San Marino. Be sure to sign up and get your free country guide filled with practical tips, useful apps, and important information.
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If you want a guide to show you around this impressive country, I recommend these tours:
- Historical Center Private Tour
- Audio Guide Historic Walking Tour
- Guided Tour of the UNESCO Historic Center of San Marino
Interesting Historical Fun Facts about San Marino
Archaeological research suggests there was a settlement as early as the 5th century BC.
Marinus, a Christian stonemason, founded San Marino in A.D. 301.
Officially, the Republic of San Marino became a political entity during the Age of Commune in the 1200s.
On April 6, 1862 the San Marino flag and Coat of Arms were officially adopted.
The blue color on the flag represents the sky and the white represents the snow on Mt. Titano.
San Marino stayed neutral during both World War I and II.
German forces did occupy San Marino for a short time in WWII, but the Battle of San Marino in 1944 pushed them out.
Throughout its long history, San Marino has never lost an invasion. It has always maintained its sovereignty.
San Marino has offered unconditional political sanctuary throughout the centuries. Even with it’s neutral status in WWII, they gave asylum to over 100,000 evacuees from the areas of Italy that were being bombed.
In 1894, the country issued its first commemorative stamps.
Sports Fun Facts about San Marino
San Marino has not won one of its 30 World Cup and European Championship qualifying matches since 2008.
San Marino’s first Olympic Games were the Summer Games of 1960. It’s been in numerous summer and Winter Olympics.
San Marino won its first medals at the Tokyo 2020 (2021) Summer Olympics. Two medals for shooting and one for wrestling.
San Marino is the smallest country to win an Olympic medal, slightly beating Lichtenstein and Bermuda.
You can learn the legends and history of San Marino with this Historical Center Private Tour (for up to 5 people!)
Geography Fun Facts about San Marino
The Republic of San Marino is a south European Country.
San Marino is the fifth smallest country in the world – after Vatican City, Monaco, Nauru, and Tuvalu.
San Marino is the third smallest country in Europe. It is only 23.6 square miles (61 square kilometers).
It is completely landlocked by Italy.
There was a train that traveled from Rimini to San Marino. Unfortunately, the train was destroyed during World War II. It wasn’t rebuilt, making the easiest way to get to San Marino by car.
In the heart of San Marino is Mount Titano. This is what gives San Marino its breathtaking views of the countryside.
Mount Titano has 3 peaks, each home to one of the towers of San Marino Castle. Two – Guaita and Cesta can be visited. Montale, the smallest, is privately owned and not accessible to tourists.
The capital city of San Marino is also named San Marino.
Travel Fun Facts about San Marino
San Marino’s official language is Italian. Many residents also speak Romagnol, the oldest dialogue of the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy.
The borders are open – meaning there are no border checks when you enter or leave San Marino.
San Marino is not part of the Schengen Zone, but since all of the borders are with Italy (who is part of the Schengen Zone) so you can’t technically enter the Schengen Zone from here. San Marino doesn’t have a public airport, train station, or ports so you’d have to come through Italy (and thus the Schengen Zone) to access San Marino. It’s a little complicated, but nothing you have to worry about if you come from Italy!
If you’re a stamp collector, you can buy one for five Euros at the tourist office.
It is not a member of the European Union, but it does use the Euro as its currency.
After an interesting discussion at dinner, we finally asked our waiter how to refer to the people of San Marino. His response? Sammarinese. Definitely wasn’t one of our guesses.
San Marino is consistently one of the least visited countries in Europe, with only 60,000 people visiting every year.
Miscellaneous Fun Facts about San Marino
President Abraham Lincoln is an honorary citizen of San Marino.
It opened a paid postal service in 1607.
In 1894, the country issued its first commemorative stamps.
San Marino has an embassy within the United States, but the United States doesn’t have an embassy in San Marino.
The population of San Marino is around 354,000. Making it about half of the population of the New York City suburb town I grew up in!
Fun Things to do in San Marino
You can visit the Parliament. The Palazzo Pubblico building is where the Grand & General Council of San Marino meets. It’s open to the public.
Walking up Mt. Titano is exhausting and a must-do in San Marino. You’ll get to see the historic city walls along your route to Cesta Tower and Guaita Tower at the top.
Cesta Tower houses the Museum of Ancient Arms with thousands of weapons dating back to Medieval times!
You can check out my complete guide to things to do in San Marino.
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Interesting facts about San Marino! I didn’t have the chance to visit the country yet but it looks beautiful!
I can’t believe that I didn’t know to visit here on my last trip to Venice. I also didn’t know that San Marino is one of the 5 smallest countries in the world.
Wow, you’ve opened my eyes to a new country! Love this, great article, thanks for sharing!
I knew some of these fun facts from when I visited San Marin a few years ago, but there were some I didn’t know too.
The Schengen zone fact was one I didn’t know and had fun thinking about how so many people must have technically fallen foul of the law crossing the invisible borders of the country.
I found that fascinating too! haha so weird!
I had heard of San Marino but didn’t know you could enter it from Italy so easily. I wish I’d visited when I went to Venice. I love small countries like this with an interesting history. It’s definitely on my radar now.
Now here is a country that is not “obvious”. I didn’t know most of the facts about San Marino and I learned a lot from this post. I will consider it for a future occasion when I feel like going somewhere less known. Thanks for sharing
Fun post! I know very little about San Marino but now I can say I know more the fifth smallest country in the world! I too would never have guessed that demonym (Sammarinese), and I am surprised it gets so few visitors. Hopefully I will get a chance one day 🙂
I had never heard of San Marino and certainly didn’t know that it was a country. It’s also interesting that it’s land locked by Italy. I’d for sure love to climb Mt. Titans.
San Marino has always been on my radar. I like the novelty of it being the 5th smallest country in the world, and after visiting Vatican City and Monaco, it’s kind of a neat thing to visit a small country that really feels like a city. You shared lots of interesting facts that I wasn’t aware of. And being neutral during both wars likely means that all of the historical buildings and monuments are intact. A climb up Mt. Titans would be top of my list.
How interesting. I really didn’t know too much about San Marino but it sounds like a small but mighty place. I’d be interested to know why Lincoln is an honorary citizen. it sounds with a visit for sure, and the adoption of the euro and open borders would make it an easy place to visit from Italy. I’m surprised more people don’t go
Loved learning about these facts! You wouldn’t expect San Marino to hold so much history, fascination, and beauty for such a small country. I’d love to visit Italy again, rent a car, and visit this place.