11 April 2024 – San Marino

Miles driven today = 52

Total Miles to date = 3,859

It’s a brand new country day!  Well it is for me anyway.  Lisa thinks she might have been here before when she did a whistle stop European tour with friends when she was in her teens but that was a gazillion years ago so she’s not 100% certain.  You can get a San Marino stamp in your passport for €5 but neither of us felt so inclined even if we could have found where this service is provided.

The drive up here was incident free and we were all parked up in the huge free sosta area and ready to explore by 11am. So we made our way up the short uphill path to the cable car station, bought ourselves €5 return tickets and hopped on the next car which whisked us to the top of the town in a little over 2 minutes.

Right next to the upper station is a small plaza from which we could get the first breathtaking views of the surrounding countryside.  It wasn’t the clearest of days but the vistas were still pretty spectacular nonetheless.

San Marino is thought to have been founded circa 300 AD by a monk who was fleeing persecution and it has remained autonomous for almost all of the intervening period.  There has never been a monarchy here and it is therefore reckoned to be the oldest Republic in the World.   

We started our wanderings looking over the Cava dei Balestrieri which is an old quarry which has been given a new lease of life as an open air theatre venue.

Liberty Square is built on top of an old cistern, used for storing fresh water.  It has its own Statue of Liberty created in 1876 by Stefano Galletti.  The Public Palace at the far end of the Square is the main administrative centre for the Republic.  It’s foundations were laid in the 14th Century with later additions in the 16th and 19th Centuries.

The Parva Domus Comunis on the right was built in the 17th Century but its clock mechanism was moved to the Public Palace in 1894.  It was restored in 1923 as the headquarters for the postal service.  

To the left is the Mercuri House, stately home to the family of the same name.  It was also built in the 17th Century but on foundations which date back much earlier.

San Marino is a duty free location.  There were an alarming number of retailers selling weapons of various descriptions alongside watches, perfumes, alcohol, leather goods etc.  We found Lisa a new wallet as an early birthday present, sold to us by a very chatty guy who was born in the States.

The Basilica del Santo is the main Church.

Entrance was free so we had a quick look inside.  3 rather stern looking ladies were sitting on chairs at the rear and I fully expected to be reprimanded for taking photos but nobody said anything.

Examples of some of the artwork which adorns the walls of the Basilica.

Everywhere you go in San Marino involves a lot of walking up and down steep paths and steps.  It’s definitely not a place to visit if you’re not particularly fit.

But around every corner is another viewpoint to take in while you get your breath back.

San Marino stretches along a long ridge of rock, upon which are built some impressive fortifications.

There are also 3 castles.  The “First Tower” is the oldest and most accessible of the these. 

This is looking on towards the “Second Tower” but before we attempted that we decided it was time for a spot lunch.

We made our way back into the commercial centre and Lisa spotted a restaurant which was doing some interesting sounding set menus.  I pushed the boat out and went for seafood (€27) while Lisa, somewhat surprisingly, went for the meat option (€23).  Due to seasonal variations mine was a little heavy on the prawns but still very enjoyable and we won’t need to worry about cooking this evening after a four course blow-out.

Back to pounding up and down those steps again to burn off some of the lunchtime calories.

The Museum of Curiosities caught my eye.  There were a number of waxwork models of various World Record holders like the World’s tallest man standing next to the World’s smallest woman.  I guess it was a bit of a freak show without real life freaks.  Here for example is Shridha Chillal whose fingernails on his left hand measured 135 inches.

The World’s biggest baby, weighing 22.48 pounds, with attendant, and unsurprisingly knackered looking, stork.

Assorted gentlemen sporting the World’s longest hair, moustache and beard.

There were also a number of weird and wonderful contraptions from bygone days.  These were all instruments used for capturing, preventing or dispersing intestinal gas.  Pardon!

A Japanese sprung shoe used for playing some bizarre game and no doubt breaking one’s ankles in the process.

Prototype roller skates as developed by a Belgian violin maker in 1760.

Enough frivolity!  We were now fortified and rested enough to attempt the long slog up to the Second Tower.  

The view back to the First Tower from here is possibly the most iconic in San Marino.

And this was as close as we chose to go to the Third Tower given it would involve another big downhill then uphill yomp, twice.

We admired a lot of sculptures prominently displayed around the place, many of which concentrated on the naked female form in various poses.  This one was slightly more abstract than most.

There is plenty more to see here but I think we at least brushed on most of the major sites San Marino has to offer.  So we headed back to the cable car station but noticed a free exhibition next door of work by a Brazilian street artist who goes by the name of Edouardo Kobra.  This wall sized piece is one of a pair called “Pantheon” which pays homage to artists who have inspired Kobra.

“The Genius Is Naked” shows Pablo Picasso at bathtime.

And this is one of a series of murals showing women in traditional dress with their children.  This lady is wearing what looks very much like the costumes worn by some of the hilltribe women we met way back in 2010 in Sapa, North Vietnam.

So all in all San Marino might be the whipping boys of European International Football competitions but I doubt they really mind too much because it seems to me to be a wonderful place to live.  If you get the chance to visit I very much recommend it.

12 April 2024 - Bonus Beach Time