San Marino - The Oldest Surviving Republic in the World

Where is the Oldest republic?

     The tiny country of San Marino, a few miles from Rimini on the Adriatic coast and surrounded by Italy, set up its own government in the 10th Century. This makes San Marino the oldest surviving republic in the world.

     According to legend it was founded in the 4th Century by Marinus, a stone cutter from Dalmatia (now part of Yugoslavia). He fled to a mountain retreat, Monter Titano, to escape persecution by the Roman Emperor Diocletian.

     Marinus bequeathed this retreat to his followers to remain evermore as an island of liberty in a tyrannical world. The republic'a capital, San Marino, is built around the three craggy tops of Monte Titano, which rises to a height of 2,425 feet almost in the center of the country's 24 square miles.

     Over the centuries the republic has been invaded several times but has always regained its independence. In 1861, the people of San Marino, considerate of others, wrote to Abraham Lincoln expressing their concern over the troubles in America. An appreciative Lincoln wrote back: "Although your dominion is small, your state is nevertheless one of the most honoured in history."

     Napoleon had offered this "model of a republic" additional territory in 1797, but San Marino declined to accept it.

     The inhabitants are of Italian origin but they have one big problem. Over the centuries the families of the republic became so inter-related that the citizens found it impossible to provide a completely impartial system of law enforcement. Because of this they decided to "import" their judges and police forces from Italy. In this way the San Marino families have avoided feuds and family charges of favouritism.