SAN MARINO

officially Republic of San Marino, Italian Republicca di San Marino small republic situated on the slopes of Mount Titano, on the Adriatic side of central Italy between the Romagna and the Marche regions and surrounded on all sides by the Republic of Italy. The republic's area of 23.5 square miles (61 square km) makes it the smallest independent state in Europe after Vatican City and Monaco and, until the independence of Nauru (1968), the smallest republic in the world. The territory has an irregular rectangular form with a maximum length of 8 miles (13 km), northeast to southwest. It is crossed by the Marano and Ausa (Aussa) streams, which flow into the Adriatic Sea, and by the stream of San Marino, which falls into the Marecchia River. The landscape is dominated by the huge, central limestone mass of Mount Titano (2,424 feet ); hills spread out from it on the southwest, whereas the northeastern part gently slopes down toward the Romagna plain and the Adriatic coast. The silhouette of Mount Titano, with its three summits crowned by ancient triple fortifications, may be seen from many miles away. The climate is mild and temperate, with maximum temperatures of 79 F (26 C) in summer and 19 F (-7 C) in winter. Annual rainfall ranges between about 22 inches (560 mm) and 32 inches (800 mm). Vegetation is typical of the Mediterranean zone, with variations due to elevation, and includes olive, pine, oak, ash, poplar, fir, and elm and many kinds of grasses and flowers. Besides domestic and farmyard animals, moles, hedgehogs, foxes, badgers, martens, weasels, and hares are found. Indigenous birds and birds of passage are plentiful. The Republic of San Marino traces its origin to the early 4th century AD when, according to tradition, St. Marinus and a group of Christians settled there to escape persecution. By the 12th century San Marino had developed into a commune ruled by its own statutes and consuls. The commune was able to remain independent despite encroachments by neighbouring bishops and lords, largely because of its isolation and its mountain fortresses. Against the attacks of the Malatesta family, who ruled the nearby seaport of Rimini, San Marino enjoyed the protection of the rival family of Montefeltro, who ruled Urbino. By the middle of the 15th century it was a republic ruled by a Grand Council60 men taken from the Arengo, or assembly of families. Warding off serious attacks in the 16th century (including an occupation by Cesare Borgia), San Marino survived the Renaissance as a relic of the self-governing Italian city-states. Rule by an oligarchy and attempts to annex it to the Papal States in the 18th century marked the decline of the republic. When Napoleon invaded Italy he respected the independence of the republic and even offered to extend its territory (1797). The Congress of Vienna (1815), at the end of the Napoleonic Wars, also recognized its independent status. During the 19th-century movement for Italian unification, San Marino offered asylum to revolutionaries, among them Giuseppe Garibaldi. After Italy became a national state, a series of treaties (the first in 1862) confirmed San Marino's independence. The San Marino constitution, originating from the Statutes of 1600, provides for a parliamentary form of government. The Great and General Council (Parliament) has 60 members, elected every five years by all adult citizens. It has legislative and administrative powers and nominates every six months the two captains regent (capitani reggenti), who hold office for that period and may not be elected again until three years have elapsed. The Great and General Council is headed by the captains regent, who are heads of state and of the administration. The Congress of State, a council of ministers, is composed of 10 members, elected by the Great and General Council from among its members, and constitutes the central organ of executive power. Each member has charge of a ministerial department. The territory has no mineral resources, for the centuries-long quarrying of Mount Titano's stone and the craft that depended upon it have become exhausted. The republic's economy, therefore, relies entirely upon its inhabitants' enterprise. Its principal resources include industry, tourism, commerce, agriculture, and crafts. Manufacturing produces building materials, paints and varnishes, paper, metalwork, textiles, clothing, furniture, rubber and leather footware, ceramics, china, food and confectionery products, liqueurs, cosmetics, and sanitary articles. Tourism is the sector of greatest expansion, and it makes a major contribution to the inhabitants' income. Alongside traditional excursion tourism, a convention-type tourism, based on the development of modern hotel facilities, and residential tourism are growing. Agriculture, although no longer the principal economic resource in San Marino, has not shown any major decrease in production: wheat, corn (maize), and barley are the chief crops; dairying and livestock also are important. Traditional craft products of San Marino include articles in ceramics and wrought iron and modern and reproduction furniture. Fine printing, particularly of postage stamps, is a useful source of revenue. Although traces of human presence from both prehistoric and Roman times exist in the territory, Mount Titano and its slopes are known to have been populated, with certainty, only after the arrival of St. Marinus and his followers. A sizable element of San Marino's population now consists of non-San Marino citizens and, in a strong majority, Italians. More than 20,000 San Marino citizens, or Sammarinesi, are resident abroad, principally in Italy, the United States, France, and Argentina. Almost all of San Marino's citizens are Roman Catholics. The official language is Italian. A widely spoken dialect has been defined as Celto-Gallic, akin to the Piedmont and Lombardy dialects as well as to that of Romagna. Social programs for the citizens of San Marino are extensive. The state finds employment for those who cannot find work with private concerns. Against a social security contribution, all citizens receive free, comprehensive medical care and assistance in sickness, accident, and old age, as well as family allowances. The state aids home ownership through its buildings schemes. Education is free up to 14 years of age. For higher level schooling, the state grants aid to students attending universities and institutions outside San Marino. The capital, San Marino, is set high on the western side of Mount Titano, beneath the fortress crowning one of its summits, and is encircled by triple walls. Borgo Maggiore, farther down the slope, was for centuries San Marino's commercial centre, and Serravalle, beneath its castle of the Malatesta family, is agricultural and industrial. Most of San Marino's landscape is agricultural in character, but industrial concerns have intruded on the centuries-old forms of agricultural life. A network of roads connects San Marino with the surrounding regions of Italy. Motorcoach services connect San Marino city with Rimini and, in summer, directly with the Adriatic coast. The capital is reached from Borgo Maggiore by means of a cable railway. Pop. (1988 est.) 22,304. residential city, Los Angeles county, southern California, U.S., southeast of Pasadena. In 1903 Henry Edwards Huntington purchased the San Marino Ranch and founded the community. His estate, deeded to the public, includes the Huntington Library (with rare English and American literary and historical collections including a Gutenberg Bible), Art Collections (where Gainsborough's Blue Boy and Sir Thomas Lawrence's Pinkie are displayed), and Botanical Garden (with specimens of unusual flora). El Molino Viejo (1812), a grist mill and San Marino's oldest building, is preserved. Inc. 1913. Pop. (1990) 12,959.