Seuraa blogiani Bloglovinin avulla Follow

Total views on my most magnificent blog

Wednesday, May 24, 2017

San Marino, Cool Facts #182

<= 181. Italy                                                                                                          183. Vatican City =>




1. World's Smallest and Oldest Republic 

- San Marino is the world's smallest and oldest republic
- Besides ancient Rome it's considered as the oldest republic in history 
- The republic of San Marino was founded on September 3rd 301
- Saint Marinus escaped the Diocletianic Persecution to the Monte Titano in 301 and there he built a church, thus founding what is now the city and state of San Marino 
- When Saint Marinus died he said: "Relinquo vos liberos ab utroque homine", which meant "I leave you free from both men" referring to the Pope and Emperor 
- Saint Marinus was a stonemason from the island of Rab, from modern-day Croatia 
- Saint Marinus fleed persecution for his Christian beliefs 
- Surprisingly the republic has a crown in the flag, however it doesn't refer to monarchy but instead to sovereignty 
- San Marino and Vatican City are only remnants of the several Italian city-states, which were created and destroyed after the fragmentation of Roman Empire and before the unification of Italy in 1861 

San Marino landscape


2. Napoleon and San Marino 

In 1797 Napoleon's army presented a threat to San Marino as the troops advanced in Italy. San Marino managed to save its liberty thanks to Regent Antonio Onofri, who gained the respect and friendship of Napoleon. Due to the intervention Napoleon promised to guarantee and protect the independence of San Marino. He even offered to extend San Marino's territory according to its needs, but the offer was declined by the Regents, who feared future retaliation from other states to take back their lost areas. 

Napoleon Bonaparte sending Commissioner Gaspard Monge to San Marino

3. San Marino's role in the Italian Unification  

San Marino had an important role during the Italian unification process, which started in 1815 and ended in 1871. San Marino offered refuge for many people, because of their support for unification. One of the leaders of the unification process was Giuseppe Garibaldi, who had taken momentary refuge in San Marino with only 250 men still following him in 1849. In recognition of San Marino's support, Garibaldi accepted the wish of San Marino not to be incorporated into the new Italian state. 
San Marino's special status was recognized and San Marino entered a customs union with Italy. 


Giuseppe Garibaldi


4. Communist Government of San Marino in 1945 

- In 1945 San Marino became the first country in the world with a democratically elected communist government
- It was a coalition between the Sanmarinese Communist Party and the Sanmarinese Socialist Party
- The communists ruled San Marino from 1945 until 1957
- In 1957 the communist government was overthrown in a coup supported by the Italian government
- The Sanmarinese Christian Democratic Party became the ruling party in San Marino after the coup in 1957


Palazzo Pubblico, the seat of government of San Marino


5. Geography of San Marino 

- Monte Titano dominates the scenery in San Marino
- Monte Titano has three peaks called Montale, Cesta and Guaita and they all have their medieval fortress
- Before 1463 San Marino consisted of only Monte Titano
- In 1463 San Marino together with the Papal States successfully defended the conquest attempts in the area by the Malatesta family from Rimini
- As a reward Pope Pius II granted San Marino the villages of Fiorentino, Montegiardino and Serravalle
- Since then the borders of San Marino haven't changed

Monte Titano's three peaks with fortresses


Timeline

301 Saint Marinus escaped the Diocletianic Persecution to the Monte Titano, where he built a church and thus founded what is now the city and state of San Marino
1262 The constitution of San Marino was drawn
1463 San Marino got its current borders
1631 San Marino's independence was recognized by the Papacy
1797 Napoloen conquered Italy, but he was willing to recognize the Republic of San Marino thanks to the intervention of Regent Antonio Onofri
1923-1943 Sanmarinese Fascist Party ruled the country
1944 San Marino was bombed for a while by the Allied forces, because it was thought that San Marino was overrun by Germany and used to amass stores and ammunition 
1945 San Marino had the world's first democratically elected communist government, which ruled until 1957
1957 The communist government was overthrown in a coup supported by Italy, after which the Christian Democratic Party started ruling the country
1988 San Marino became a member of the Council of Europe
1992 San Marino became a UN member 

No comments:

Post a Comment